Songs Of Faith and Devotion deviated from their former synthpop/darkwave guise by incorporating a more aggressive, grunge-tinted sound. The recording of the album and subsequent 14-month Devotional tour proved excruciating for all involved. The band lived and worked together in the same house, which Andy Fletcher described as “claustrophobic.” Martin Gore felt massive creative pressure to top his writing for Violator. Lead singer Dave Gahan had picked up a heroin addiction in Los Angeles, which only complicated matters all around, as well as threatened his life.

The mounting stress and creative frustration finally wore out Alan Wilder’s patience, prompting him to quit Depeche Mode for good.  Fletcher reminisced about the nightmarish scene: “We were in the worst possible state as members but we were creating some of our best work… at the time, it was a living hell…I remember thinking ‘I’m never going to make another record under these circumstances again, because it’s so much not fun’. And music should be fun – there should be some sort of enjoyment there.”

It was a difficult labour and regrettable loss, but Depeche Mode would eventually bounce back. Despite Martin Gore’s anxiety, Andy Fletcher was correct: the extreme pressure of recording the album led to truly masterful songwriting – some of Gore’s strongest. It is raw and real; a collective exorcism borne of deep anguish and compassion. Upon its release, Songs of Faith and Devotion reached number one in several countries, becoming the first Depeche Mode album to debut atop the charts in both the UK and the US. By 1997, the album would sell 4.5 million copies.

Perhaps the lessons the band learned can benefit you, too.

In 2020, Mute Records announced via Instagram that Songs Of Faith And Devotion – 12″ Singles Collection on audiophile-quality 12″ vinyl. The collection was remastered from the original tapes and cut at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.  The artwork for the exterior of each of the new box sets draws on street art iconography inspired by the original releases, while the vinyl sleeves themselves feature the original vinyl single artwork.

Americans, you can order the album here via Rhino.

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Following the departure of founding member Vince Clark to form Yazoo with Vocalist Alison Moyet, songwriting duties on A Broken Frame were left to Martin Gore, who continues his role as the primary songwriter to this day. Gore wrote the entirety of A Broken Frame, despite Alan Wilder having already become involved with the band. Wilder had not officially joined the Depeche Mode yet despite already becoming a part of the touring band prior to the release of the album.

A Broken Frame was recorded at Blackwing Studios in London, and produced by Daniel Miller, with engineering by John Fryer and Eric Radcliffe. The album sleeve features the return of legendary 80’s photographer Brian Griffin (Echo and The Bunnymen, Siouxsie and The Banshees, etc), who took inspiration from Russian and Ukrainian art for the cover.

The album had three singles, with each an accompanying video directed by Sex Pistols videographer Julien Temple.

“See You”

“The Meaning of Love”

“Leave In Silence”

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Now Daniel Miller is curating Mute: A Visual Document—a 320 page book of comprehensive discographies, including photography and video stills from legendary photographers, conceptual artworks, and “rare ephemera and equipment”. Also included is a family tree of Mute artists,  and anecdotal and photographic contributions from important figures in the label’s history that include Moby, Alison Goldfrapp, Anton Corbijn, Bleddyn Butcher, Brian Griffin, Jon Spencer, Barry Adamson, Ivan Novak (Laibach), Angus Andrew (Liars), Adrian Shaughnessy and Tom Hingston.

The book follows the comprehensive 10-disc singles and b-sides boxset Mute: Audio Documents 1978 – 84, which was released in 2007.

Mute: A Visual Document, is a project helmed by author and musician Terry Burrows is being released by Thames & Hudson on November 28th

Pre-Order Here

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We discussed with Douglas the Post-Punk influences of Berlin (including The Birthday Party, Einstürzende Neubauten and Malaria!), as well as Techno’s influence on Industrial/EBM and vice versa—plus how he ended up working with Terence Fixmer, and his thoughts on Berghain—and it’s infamous door policy.

We also remembered the late Frank Tovey of Fad Gadget, who would have turned 60 on the day this interview was filmed.

..and off camera we briefly discussed Hazel Hill McCarthy III (his wife), and her work on Bight of the Twin—a film about Voodoo made with Genesis BREYER P-ORRIDGE.

Pick up FIXMER/MCCARTHY SELECTED WORKS 2003/2016

and catch Terence and Douglas at their next gig:

17.09.2016
Germany | Oberhausen | Kulttempel
FB Event Page

Read our interview with Terence Fixmer here:

Getting Beneath the Skin | An Interview with Terence Fixmer

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Following the release of Back to Nature via Mute, many other fantastic track were to Follow; such as Ricky’s Hand, Coitus Interruptus, Love Parasite, For Whom The Bells Toll, and of course the Einstürzende Neubauten inspired track Collapsing New People.

In remembrance of Frank, watch this full concert shot on the 28th of February. 1984 at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda.

Setlist:

01 State Of The Nation
02 Coitus Interruptus
03 King Of The Flies
04 I Discover Love
05 Ideal World
06 Collapsing New People
07 One Man’s Meat
08 The Ring
09 Jump
10 Ad Nauseam
11 Lemmings On Lover’s Rock
12 Love Parasite
13 For Whom The Bells Toll
14 Ricky’s Hand
15 Back To Nature

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Already suffering fatigue from touring and stardom from Depeche Mode, Clarke had initially written “Only You” a sentimental ballad for the band he was exiting, a song to which his bandmates both Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher declined to use it.

Hoping to continue his relationship with Mute,  Clarke would then prepare the song to present to label head and founder Daniel Miller.

Clark would then recruit blues-inspired The Screamin’ Ab Dabs vocalist Alison Moyet to perform on the song from an advertisement she placed in Melody Maker looking for a new band.

While the initial demo both Clark and Moyet recorded left Miller unimpressed, publishing associates from Scandinavia heard the demo and liked it, and possibly encouraged Miller to have a change of heart, which led to the pair being quickly booked at Blackwing Studios where Clarke has previously recorded Speak and Spell with his former band.

Lyrically, “Only You” is a torch song about the resignation and sorrow of a relationship being over, where a small bit of hope still lingers.

“Only You” was released in the UK in March of 1982 and rose to number two on the UK singles chart. This enabled the duo to continue to record their debut album at Blackwing Studios. But,  as the studio had already been booked during the day by fellow Mute artist Fad Gadget, Yazoo had to record most of the album during the early mornings, with the assistance of Blackwing studio owner Eric Radcliffe on production. The album was named Upstairs at Eric’s in recognition of Radcliffe’s input in the sound along with Clark and Moyet.

Upstairs at Eric’s was released in the UK on August 20th, 1982, and on August 23rd in the US. Despite the band being named Yazoo after blues record label Yazoo Records, it was the fact that there was already an American band named Yazoo that required Clarke and Moyet to shortened their name two letters to Yaz for the album’s North American release.

In addition to “Only You”, the album was Upstairs at Eric’s was preceded by another top three UK single with the more uptempo “Don’t Go”, whose intro is perhaps the most memorable in synthpop, save for its followup…

Released as a single only in North America due to it becoming a club hit, “Situation”, a song whose intro features singer Alison Moyet’s laughter being sampled innumerable times, is unquestionably one of the most recognizable synth-pop and club tracks of all time, rivaling even New Order’s “Blue Monday”.

Tracklist:

1. Don’t go
2. Too pieces
3. Bad connection
4. Midnight
5. In my room
6. Only you
7. Goodbye
8. Tuesday
9. Winter kills
10. Bring your love down (Didn’t I)
11. The other side of love
12. Situation

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It’s been a decade since any New Order studio album has been released, which was 2005’s Waiting for the Siren’s Call (not counting the 2013 Lost Sirens which was a compilation of unreleased material from the WFTSC sessions).  WFTSC was markedly alt-rock for the likes of a band who wrote some of the grandest synth anthems of the 1980s but it was a good album with melodies that one would expect from New Order.  However, the presence of acoustic guitar and live drumming was strong and void of electronic-heavy dance hits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wflNtNou7sk

But, like the saying goes, what once was old is new again: the return of the (analogue) synth.  Right in line with New Order’s announcement – purposeful or not – is the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show in Anaheim, California where all the cool music gadgets, instruments and toys are showcased and presented to drooling collectors.  The show’s highlight, of course, is the synthesizer.  Korg, amongst other brands, has revived their vintage analog synths that disappeared in the mid-1980s.  Because of the ease of digital technology, analog synths declined in popularity – we, as a species, do enjoy the ease of technology, which was what digital synths provided to musicians.  However, in the transition to digital, the distinguishable analog sound disappeared.  Even those who aren’t familiar with the difference between analog and digital can tell the difference between New Order’s 1983 Power, Corruption & Lies and the 1989 release Technique.  Synth connoisseurs and fans are biting at the chance to own and preview the golden-age analog synth reproductions (original Korgs can sell in the high thousands) including Martin Gore who attended the NAMM show.

The brilliance of New Order is this “Blue Monday” studio session circa 1984 where every member of the band is on a synth or electronic drums.  It sounds so pure and unique – something only analog equipment can produce.  The bassline for the song was created on a Moog Source, an Oberheim DMX drum machine and samples.  (In the video, you can see a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 whose successor, the Prophet-6, only debuted this year at NAMM.)  It was a song ahead of its time and is undoubtedly one of the strongest and most relevant dance tracks ever written.  By watching the clip, it’s easy to understand why the analog craze is starting up again, proof that easier is not always better.  Such resonances we synth fans can only hope for in New Order’s new studio album.

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