Depeche Mode: "We know we'll be ghosts again"

The British band Depeche Mode was founded in 1980 by the musicians Martin Gore (keyboard, guitar, vocals), David Gahan (vocals), Andy Fletcher (keyboard) and Vince Clarke (keyboard). Vince Clarke left after one year and was then co-founder of Erasure. Martin Gore took over the songwriting for him. For a while, Depeche Mode continued as a trio. Then Alan Wilder took over Vince Clarke's part.

After their debut album "Speak & Spell", Depeche Mode were considered part of the New Wave scene because of their heavy use of electronic instruments. Sometimes they were called the "Doors of punk music", sometimes the "Einstürzende Neubauten of pop music" because of their use of unusual rhythm instruments.

The band itself cites groups like The Velvet Underground, Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Neil Young, Roxy Music, Sparks and Siouxsie and the Banshees as role models. Martin Gore is also a fan of Elvis Presley.

In the late 1980s, the band lived in Berlin, which was still divided at the time and attracted many artists because of its special situation. Depeche Mode also had many fans in the GDR and then received a request from the state youth organisation FDJ in the GDR to give a concert in East Berlin. Depeche Mode, who were already on their way to becoming a super-band, agreed and so it came to a single and memorable performance in the GDR, on 7 March 1988 in the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle, which, however, only had room for 6400 spectators. The performance was kept secret for a long time. Nevertheless, thousands of fans gathered in front of the hall in the hope of getting a ticket.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a music revolution took place, out of which a wide variety of musical genres developed, including techno, house, synth pop, goth, dark wave and many others. Depeche Mode grew out of the New Wave scene over time and, with countless hits, became one of the very big mainstream pop bands in the history of music over the last four decades. Depeche Mode has since placed well over 50 tracks in the UK singles chart and nearly 20 top 10 albums in the UK long-player chart.

Depeche Mode also celebrated successes as a live band all over the world and still fills the large halls of the metropolises today, more than 40 years after its founding. The music press and the music industry awarded the group countless prizes as one of the most successful and best bands in the world.

On Thursday evening, 19/05/2022, Depeche Mode announced the sudden death of their founding member and keyboard player Andy Fletcher. 

Andy Fletcher

In June, the two remaining founding members Martin Gore and Dave Gahan announced the cause of death of their colleague. Andy Fletcher died of an aneurysm of the aorta (aneurysma dissecans aortae), a rupture of the aorta.

With their song "Ghost again", title track of a new album, Martin Gore and Dave Gahan say goodbye to Andy Fletcher and in the video for the track they quote images from the film "The Seventh Seal" by Ingmar Bergman, in which a knight plays chess with death. 

"We know we'll be ghosts again":

Verse 1: Dave Gahan]
Wasted feelings
Broken meanings
Time is fleeting
See what it brings

[Pre-Chorus: Dave Gahan]
Hellos, goodbyes, a thousand midnights
Lost in sleepless lullabies

[Chorus 1: Dave Gahan & Martin L. Gore]
Heaven's dreaming
Thoughtless thoughts, my friends
We know we'll be ghosts again
[Verse 2: Dave Gahan]
Sundays shining
Silver linings
Weightless hours
All my flowers

[Pre-Chorus: Dave Gahan]
A place to hide the tears that you cried
Everybody says goodbye

[Chorus 2: Dave Gahan & Martin L. Gore]
Faith is sleeping
Lovers in the end
Whisper we'll be ghosts again

[Chorus 1: Dave Gahan & Martin L. Gore]
Heaven's dreaming
Thoughtless thoughts, my friends
We know we'll be ghosts again

[Chorus 2: Dave Gahan & Martin L. Gore]
Faith is sleeping
Lovers in the end
Whisper we'll be ghosts again

Depeche Mode's live gigs are an experience:

Links

• Depeche Mode Homepage...
• Depeche Mode YouTube channel...
• Hommage an Ingmar Bergman...