DEPECHE MODE - PLAYING THE ANGEL

Depeche Mode is an English electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The original line-up included Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. Since 2022, the band has consisted of Gahan and Gore. With Clarke as the primary songwriter, Depeche Mode released their debut album "Speak & Spell" in 1981 during the British new wave movement and were part of the MTV-driven Second British Invasion. Clarke left the band later that year and went on to form the groups Yazoo and Erasure. The remaining trio recorded their second album, "A Broken Frame" (1982), with Martin Gore as chief songwriter. Alan Wilder later joined the band, contributing to a line-up that lasted until 1995, beginning with the albums "Construction Time Again" (1983) and "Some Great Reward" (1984). "Black Celebration" (1986) and "Music for the Masses" (1987) helped establish Depeche Mode as a leading alternative band of the 1980s, with their June 1988 concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl attracting over 60,000 attendees. In 1990, the band released their seventh album, "Violator", which reached number seven on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The following album, "Songs of Faith and Devotion" (1993), was also successful, though internal struggles during recording and touring led to Wilder's departure in 1995. Depeche Mode continued as a trio of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher, releasing "Ultra" in 1997, followed by "Exciter" (2001), "Playing the Angel" (2005), "Sounds of the Universe" (2009), "Delta Machine" (2013), and "Spirit" (2017). After Fletcher's death in 2022, Gahan and Gore continued as a duo, releasing their latest album, "Memento Mori", in 2023. Depeche Mode have had 54 songs chart in the UK singles chart, 17 Top 10 albums in the UK chart, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. They were included in Q magazine's list of the "50 Bands That Changed the World!" and rank number 98 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2016, Billboard named them the 10th Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Studio albums Speak & Spell (1981) A Broken Frame (1982) Construction Time Again (1983) Some Great Reward (1984) Black Celebration (1986) Music for the Masses (1987) Violator (1990) Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) Ultra (1997) Exciter (2001) Playing the Angel (2005) Sounds of the Universe (2009) Delta Machine (2013) Spirit (2017) Memento Mori (2023) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.