Depeche Mode

In 2020, it will be forty years since Dave Gahan joined the synthesizer project of Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher as the lead singer. He was also the one who quickly came up with the perfect name for them: Depeche Mode. Shortly thereafter, Daniel Miller from Mute Records discovered the young sound innovators, and by 1984, the band celebrated their first number-one hit in Germany with "People Are People." The relationship with Germany would remain particularly special throughout the band's career: nowhere else in the world did more Depeche Mode singles reach the Top 10. Daniel Miller is even said to have remarked, "Depeche Mode are the greatest German band." Now, this band looks back on an unparalleled career marked by unexpected commercial successes and creative heights, as well as personal conflicts and tragedies. With their perfect blend of cool electronics and emotional vocals, Depeche Mode became the most influential synthpop band in the world - they were the first to combine industrial elements with captivating melodies, creating their own unique style. Despite all their later sound experiments, they remained unmistakable, thanks not only to Dave Gahan's distinctive voice but also to Martin Gore's special talent as a songwriter, who masterfully depicts his explorations into the deepest emotional abysses with irresistible melancholy and pop sensibility. "Depeche Mode - Cult Band for the Masses" is now the first comprehensive and well-researched pictorial biography of the successful band. On 240 lavishly illustrated pages, renowned music journalist Ian Gittins recounts the milestones of their career, from their beginnings in the dreary British dormitory town of Basildon to the triumphant "Global Spirit" tour, during which Depeche Mode performed for a total of 2.3 million fans, culminating in two sold-out concerts at the Waldbühne in Berlin in July 2018.