121-447: Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑntɔ ɲoːˈɦɑnəs ˈxɛrɪt kɔrˈbɛiɱ vɑɱ ˌʋɪlənsˈʋaːrt] ; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2 , having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both bands over three decades. His music videos include Depeche Mode's " Enjoy
242-568: A DM single on the Billboard Hot 100 , and was a Top 20 hit in Canada. "People Are People" became an anthem for the LGBT community, regularly played at gay establishments and gay pride festivals in the late 1980s. Sire , the band's North American record label, released a compilation of the same name which included tracks from A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again as well as several B-sides . On
363-548: A Gun " and " It's No Good ", the album Ultra was released in April 1997. The album debuted at No. 1 in the UK as well as Germany, and No. 5 in the US. The band did not tour in support of the album, with Fletcher quoted as saying: "We're not fit enough. Dave's only eight months into his sobriety, and our bodies are telling us to spend time with our families." As part of the promotion for the release of
484-723: A Heart", would also be included on the next studio album Black Celebration ). In the United States, the band's music appealed primarily to an alternative audience who were disenchanted with the predominance of "soft rock and 'disco hell'" on the radio. This view of the band was in sharp contrast to how the band was perceived in Europe, despite the increasingly dark and serious tone in their songs. In Germany, France, and other European countries, Depeche Mode were considered teen idols and regularly featured in European teen magazines, becoming one of
605-507: A UK Top 3 hit for Yazoo. Gore, who had written "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the instrumental "Big Muff" for Speak & Spell , became the band's main composer and lyricist. In late 1981, the band placed an anonymous ad in Melody Maker looking for another musician: "Name band, synthesise, must be under twenty-one." Alan Wilder , a classically trained keyboardist from West London, responded and, after two auditions and despite being 22 years old,
726-643: A band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. Fletcher would later recall, "Why am I in the band? It was accidental right from the beginning. I was actually forced to be in the band. I played the guitar and I had a bass; it was a question of them roping me in." In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an Ultravox -influenced band, the Plan, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith. In 1978–1979, Martin Gore played guitar in an acoustic duo, Norman and
847-555: A café in Groningen around 1975. He took a lot of photographs of the band Herman Brood & His Wild Romance and these led to a rise in fame for Brood and in exposure for Corbijn. From the late 1970s the London-based New Musical Express (NME), a weekly music paper, featured his work on a regular basis and would often have a photograph by him on the front page. One such occasion was a portrait of David Bowie wearing
968-727: A collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys on the track "Purple Zone", which reached number one in the Official Physical Singles Chart and also the Official Vinyl Singles Chart. In early 2022, Almond supported Ukraine and released an English-language cover of the Ukrainian folk song, "What A Moonlit Night". Almond formerly divided his time among London , Moscow and Barcelona . He stopped living in Moscow following
1089-518: A collapsed lung and damaged hearing. He began a slow recovery determined to get back on the stage and in the studio. In June 2007, Almond released an album of cover songs, Stardom Road . Picked to tell a story of his life and career, the album featured songs as diverse as "I Have Lived" by Charles Aznavour , to "Stardom Road" by Third World War, Frank Sinatra's " Strangers in the Night ", and "Kitsch" by Paul Ryan. The album featured his first new song since
1210-478: A concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl . Paid attendance of 60,453 was the highest in eight years for the venue. Its massive success marked a breakthrough for the band in the United States. . The event was documented in 101 , a concert film by D. A. Pennebaker and its accompanying soundtrack album. The film is notable for its portrayal of fan interaction. Alan Wilder came up with the title, noting that it
1331-640: A cover of the Frankie Valli 's "The Night", which led to a Top of the Pops appearance for the band, their first since the mid-1980s. Almond also presented New Music Television that year. Almond released Stranger Things in 2001. In October 2004, Almond was seriously injured in a motorbike accident near St Paul's Cathedral , London. Near death and in a coma for weeks, he suffered two huge blood clots and had to undergo emergency surgery twice. He also suffered serious head injuries, multiple breaks and fractures,
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#17328631225901452-420: A darker tone and became more pessimistic. The music video for " A Question of Time " was the first to be directed by Anton Corbijn , beginning a working relationship that continues to the present. Corbijn has directed 22 of the band's videos. He has also filmed some of their live performances and designed stage sets, as well as most covers for albums and singles starting from Violator . For 1987's Music for
1573-506: A dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to Wilder's introduction of the Synclavier and E-mu Emulator samplers . By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial -influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten (the latter becoming Mute labelmates in 1983). "Everything Counts" rose to number six in
1694-513: A fellow student; they formed Soft Cell in 1977. As a child, Almond listened to his parents' record collection, which included his mother's " Let's Dance " by Chris Montez and " The Twist " by Chubby Checker , as well as his father's collection of jazz, including Dave Brubeck and Eartha Kitt . As an adolescent, Almond listened to Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg . He listened at first to progressive music , blues , and rock, and bands such as Free , Jethro Tull, Van der Graaf Generator ,
1815-583: A lineup that continued until 1995, beginning with the albums Construction Time Again (1983) and Some Great Reward (1984). The albums Black Celebration (1986) and Music for the Masses (1987) cemented them as a dominant force within the electronic and alternative music scenes, and their June 1988 concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl drew a crowd of over 60,000 people. In 1990, they released their seventh album, Violator , which reached number seven on
1936-630: A live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town , the band was approached by Daniel Miller, an electronic producer and founder of Mute Records , who was interested in their recording a single for his burgeoning label. The result of this verbal contract was their first single, " Dreaming of Me ", recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981. It reached number 57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this,
2057-586: A loincloth backstage in New York when starring in The Elephant Man . In the early years of London-based The Face , a glossy monthly post-punk life style / music magazine, Corbijn was a regular contributor. He made his name photographing in black-and-white but in May 1989 he began taking pictures in colour using filters. His first venture in this medium was for Siouxsie Sioux . Between 1998 and 2000, in collaboration with
2178-407: A mic and sample it?' It's obvious ; you spend all day trying to get a synthesizer to try and create this sound but you can just go [repeats noise] and you've got it. Then you can send it through some other device after that, and you've got something that sounds absolutely nothing like a voice, but the source was a voice. ... It is a very interesting process." Alan Wilder on the genesis of some of
2299-539: A more downbeat and atmospheric electronica album, Open All Night . This featured R&B and trip hop influences, as well as torch songs for which he had become known. The album featured a duet ("Threat of Love") with Siouxsie Sioux as well as one ("Almost Diamonds") with Kelli Ali (then of the Sneaker Pimps ). "Black Kiss", "Tragedy" and "My Love" were the singles from the album Open All Night . Almond relocated in 2000 to Moscow where he rented an apartment. With
2420-583: A number of Art events. "Tainted Love", a cover of a Gloria Jones Northern Soul classic, was number one in the UK and in many countries over the world, and was in the Guinness Book of Records for a while as the record that spent the longest time in the Billboard Top 100 chart in the US. It also won the best-single award of 1981 at the first Brit Awards. Soft Cell brought an otherwise obscure Northern Soul classic to mass public attention and their version of
2541-420: A number of accompanying videos. Other album covers featuring work by Corbijn include those for Springsteen, Nick Cave , Siouxsie's second band The Creatures , Bryan Adams , Metallica , Therapy? , The Rolling Stones , Bon Jovi , The Killers , Simple Minds , R.E.M. , The Bee Gees , Saybia , Clannad and Moke . Corbijn began his music video directing career when Palais Schaumburg asked him to direct
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#17328631225902662-642: A recording artist, a fact he celebrated with a new concert tour in Autumn 2010. Also in the summer of 2010 Almond was named Mojo Hero, an award given by the music magazine Mojo . The award was presented to Almond by Anohni who flew from New York for the occasion. In 2011, Almond released the Feasting with Panthers album, a collaboration with musician and arranger Michael Cashmore . It featured poetry set to music, including works by Count Eric Stenbock , Jean Genet , Jean Cocteau , Paul Verlaine and Rimbaud . Later in
2783-661: A show at Dodger Stadium . An estimated 1.2 million fans saw this tour worldwide. In 1991, Depeche Mode contribution "Death's Door" was released on the soundtrack album for the film Until the End of the World . Film director Wim Wenders had challenged musical artists to write music the way they imagined they would in the year 2000, the setting of the movie. The members of Depeche Mode regrouped in Madrid in January 1992. Gahan had become interested in
2904-425: A solo artist. His collaborations include a duet with Gene Pitney on the 1989 UK number one single " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart ". Almond's career spanning over four decades has enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, and he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He spent a month in a coma after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2004 and later became a patron of the brain trauma charity Headway. He
3025-760: A special mention for the Caméra d'Or prize for best debut feature film. In addition, the film also won the Michael Powell award for best new British feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival . In 2010, Corbijn returned as a director with the character-based thriller The American , starring George Clooney. On 26 October 2011, Corbijn directed a webcast by Coldplay from the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain. His film A Most Wanted Man
3146-399: A studio recording of his 2011 show, Ten Plagues – A Song Cycle . In 2014 Almond was awarded a fellowship from Leeds College Of Music and performed several concerts with the colleges Contemporary Orchestra And Pop Choir. 2015 saw the release of The Velvet Trail , an album of original material co-written and produced by Chris Braide . Almond also worked on a song cycle to accompany
3267-511: A theatrical moment and a chance to be relegated to the bad book, I immediately said yes." Noise musician Boyd Rice performed the simple ceremony in "a small grotto in a wood" owned by Rose McDowall close to where the Hellfire Club used to meet. Almond states that the ceremony involved "no dancing naked, no bonfires, no blood sacrifice", but even so "every hair on my neck stood on end and sweat broke out on my top lip." Almond later stated in
3388-469: A treatment centre in Canterbury for addiction to prescription drugs. However, on its release Fantastic Star gave Almond a hit single with "Adored and Explored", and also minor hits and stage favourites such as "The Idol" and "Child Star". Fantastic Star was Almond's last album with WEA and also marked the ending of his managerial relationship with Stevo Pearce. Almond signed to Echo records in 1998 with
3509-482: A tribute show to Marc Bolan, his teenage hero. At the concert he dueted with Bolan's wife, Gloria Jones, on an impromptu version of "Tainted Love". In October 2007, the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent picked Almond's "Strangers in the Night" to represent their show at London's Fashion Rocks . Almond performed for the event at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2008 and 2009, Almond toured with Jools Holland throughout
3630-599: A trio— Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013) and Spirit (2017)—until Fletcher's death in 2022. Gahan and Gore have since continued as a duo. Their latest album, Memento Mori , was released in 2023. Depeche Mode have had 54 songs in the UK Singles Chart , 17 Top 10 albums in the UK chart, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Q included
3751-538: A two-album deal with BMG Rights Management . In 2017, the compilation album Hits and Pieces / The Best of Soft Cell & Marc Almond , debuted at number seven in the UK album chart. In September 2017 the album Shadows & Reflections was released, entering the UK chart at No.14. In 2017 Almond was presented with an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from Lancashire's Edgehill University, and delivered that year's graduation address. In September 2018 Soft Cell played
Anton Corbijn - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-546: A video. After seeing the resulting video for "Hockey", the band Propaganda had Corbijn direct "Dr. Mabuse". After that he directed videos for David Sylvian , Echo & the Bunnymen , Golden Earring , Front 242 , Depeche Mode , Roxette and U2 . His first video in colour was made for U2 in 1984 for their single " Pride (In the Name of Love) ". In 2005 Palm Pictures released a DVD collection of Corbijn's music video output as part of
3993-564: The Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA . The following album Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993) was also a success, though the band's internal struggles during recording and touring resulted in Wilder's departure in 1995. The band returned to the lineup of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher, and released the album Ultra in 1997. The band continued touring and recorded five more albums as
4114-653: The Director's Label series. In 1994 Corbijn directed a short film about Captain Beefheart/Don Van Vliet for the BBC called Some Yoyo Stuff . He made his feature film debut with Control , a film about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis . It premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007. The film is based on Deborah Curtis ' book Touching from a Distance about her husband and
4235-543: The Flesh Volcano single in 1987. In 1982, Almond formed Marc and the Mambas as an offshoot project from Soft Cell. Marc and the Mambas was a loose experimental collective that set the template for the artist that Almond would become. The Mambas at various times included Matt Johnson , Steve James Sherlock , Lee Jenkinson, Peter Ashworth, Jim Thirlwell and Annie Hogan , with whom Almond worked later in his solo career. Under
4356-784: The Russian invasion of Ukraine , stating in a 2024 interview "I don't think I can see myself ever going back to Moscow now. I think as an Englishman, and as an openly gay man, I'd just be too scared." In the same interview, it was mentioned that he had recently bought a small farm in Portugal . Almond has stated that he dislikes being pigeon-holed as "a 'gay' artist", saying that such a label "enables people to marginalise your work and reduce its importance, implying that it won't be of any interest to anyone who isn't gay". In his autobiography, Almond describes being invited for initiation into Anton LaVey 's Church of Satan , and that "not being one to turn down
4477-557: The Waldbühne in Berlin . Some of this footage, intertwined with the stories of six life-long fans in the audience, became the film Spirits in the Forest , which was released in theaters worldwide on 21 November 2019. In Corbijn's interview with NME he spoke about the origins behind the idea of this film and said that they (him and Depeche Mode) "decided to look at the reason for why Depeche Mode
4598-412: The "mini Bolshoi" in Moscow. Transmitted live on television Almond made a plea for tolerance of gay people. The tour was fraught with troubles, which Almond detailed in his autobiography, but it marked the beginning of his love affair with the genre of Russian folk torch songs known as Romance. Almond's next album Fantastic Star saw him part with WEA and sign to Mercury Records. Much of Fantastic Star
4719-633: The 'Mother Fist' album "embraces classic European cabaret to wonderful effect, more so than any American or English rock album since Bowie's Aladdin Sane or Lou Reed's Berlin ." McCarrick left The Willing Sinners in 1987 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees , from which point Hogan and McGee became known as La Magia. Almond signed to EMI and released the album The Stars We Are in 1988. This album featured Almond's version of " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart ", which
4840-451: The 1980s included an album of Brel songs, called Jacques , and an album of dark French chansons originally performed by Juliette Gréco , Serge Lama and Léo Ferré , as well as poems by Rimbaud and Baudelaire set to music. This album was released in 1993 as Absinthe , and was initially recorded in the late 1980s then finished in Paris in the early 1990s. Almond's first release in the 1990s
4961-466: The American tour, the band was, according to Gore, "shocked by the way the fans were turning up in droves at the concerts". He said that although the concerts were selling well, Depeche Mode struggled to sell records. In September 1984, Some Great Reward was released. Melody Maker claimed that the album made one "sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose." In contrast to
Anton Corbijn - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-578: The Banshees , Morrissey , Peter Murphy , Simple Minds , Clint Eastwood , The Cramps , Roxette , Herbert Grönemeyer , Annie Lennox , and Eurythmics , amongst others. Perhaps his most famous and longest standing associations are with Depeche Mode and U2 . Corbijn's work relationship with Depeche Mode began with the filming of a music video for their 1986 single " A Question of Time ". Corbijn says that he soon "started to realise that [his] visuals and their music went really well together. Then [he] did some live photos, and it eventually turned into designing
5203-446: The Banshees , Sparks , Cabaret Voltaire , Talking Heads and Iggy Pop . Gahan's onstage persona was influenced by Dave Vanian , frontman of The Damned . Gahan has also later credited David Bowie, James Brown , Elvis Presley and Prince as influences on his performance style. Composition of Sound would become embarrassed about their band name and started thinking of changing it. There were several potential variants, including
5324-534: The Johnsons . Anohni joined the band on stage for one song, singing "My Little Book of Sorrows" with Almond. In 2013, Almond revived Ten Plagues and performed it for a month at Wilton's Music Hall in London. He also performed with Jethro Tull 's Ian Anderson on stage performing Tull's concept album "Thick as a Brick" at The Royal Albert Hall . That year Almond also received The Ivor Novello Inspiration Award which
5445-586: The Mambas moniker, Almond recorded two albums, Untitled and the seminal double opus Torment and Toreros . He disbanded the collective when it started to feel too much like a regular band. Soft Cell disbanded in 1984 just before the release of their fourth album, This Last Night in Sodom , but the duo briefly reunited in 2001 and again in 2018. Almond's first proper solo album was Vermin in Ermine , released in 1984. Produced by Mike Hedges, it featured musicians from
5566-453: The Mambas outfit, Annie Hogan , Martin McCarrick and Billy McGee. This ensemble, known as The Willing Sinners, worked alongside Almond for the subsequent albums Stories of Johnny (1985) from which the title track became a minor hit, and Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters (1987), also produced by Mike Hedges. The latter album was highly acclaimed in reviews, with Ned Raggett writing that
5687-436: The Masses , the band's sound and working methods continued to develop. It was the first time they worked with a producer not related to Mute Records. Dave Bascombe was called to assist with the recording sessions; although, according to Alan Wilder, Bascombe's role ended up being more that of engineer. In making the album, the band largely eschewed sampling in favour of synthesizer experimentation. While chart performance of
5808-653: The Masses Tour began 22 October 1987. On 7 March 1988, with no previous announcement that they would be the headlining act, Depeche Mode played in the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle , East Berlin, becoming one of the few Western groups to perform in the Communist East Germany . They also performed concerts in Budapest and Prague in 1988, both Communist also at the time. The world tour ended on 18 June 1988 with
5929-537: The O2 Arena in London celebrating the band's 40-year career. Almond's next solo album, Chaos and a Dancing Star , also written with Braide, was recorded in Los Angeles and released in January 2020. Ian Anderson played flute on the album. During COVID-19 lockdowns , Almond and David Ball wrote a new Soft Cell album, Happiness Not Included , which was released on 6 May 2022. The album contained 12 new tracks, including
6050-560: The Silence " (1990), U2's " One " (version 1) (1991), Bryan Adams ' " Do I Have to Say the Words? ", Nirvana 's " Heart-Shaped Box " (1993), Travis 's " Re-Offender " (2003) and Coldplay 's " Talk " (2005). He directed the films " Viva la Vida " (2008); the Ian Curtis biographical film Control (2007), The American (2010); A Most Wanted Man (2014), based on John le Carré 's 2008 novel of
6171-761: The UK Top 5 in 1992. Later that year, Almond played a lavish one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which featured an orchestra and dancers as he performed material from his entire career. The show was recorded and released as the CD and video 12 Years of Tears . In 1993 Almond toured Russia (including Siberia ) by invitation of the British consul in Moscow. Accompanied only by Martin Watkins on piano, he played small Soviet halls and theatres, often without amplification, and ended at
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#17328631225906292-796: The UK as well as guesting at shows by Current 93, Baby Dee and a tribute show to the late folk singer Sandy Denny at the Festival Hall. In October 2009, Almond released his second album of Russian romances and gypsy songs entitled Orpheus in Exile . The album was a tribute to gay Russian singer Vadim Kozin , who was exiled to the gulags of the Arctic Circle. The album was produced by Alexei Fedorov and features an orchestra arranged by Anatole Sobolev. In June 2010, Almond released Varieté , his first studio album of self written material since Stranger Things in 2001. The album marks Almond's 30th anniversary as
6413-553: The UK charts, reaching number six. The following tour saw the band playing their first shows in North America. Two more singles, " The Meaning of Love " and " Leave in Silence ", were released ahead of the band's second studio album, on which they began work in July 1982. Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he wasn't needed for the recording of the album, as the core trio wanted to prove they could succeed without Vince Clarke. A Broken Frame
6534-436: The UK, also reaching the top 30 in Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden and West Germany. Wilder contributed two songs to the album, "The Landscape Is Changing" and "Two Minute Warning". In September 1983, to promote Construction Time Again , the band launched a European concert tour. In their early years, Depeche Mode had really attained success only in Europe and Australia. This changed in March 1984, when they released
6655-476: The UK, with the former also charting in the US. "I remember going to see them in Giants Stadium, and they broke the merchandising record; of Bon Jovi , U2 —all these bands—Depeche Mode were the biggest!" Flood , on Giants Stadium concert. The World Violation Tour saw the band play several stadium shows in the US. 42,000 tickets were sold within four hours for a show at Giants Stadium, and 48,000 tickets were sold within half-an-hour of going on sale for
6776-433: The US and earned the band a second gold record, and it won Best British Single at the 1991 Brit Awards . To promote their new album, Violator , the band held an in-store autograph signing at Wherehouse Entertainment in Los Angeles. The event attracted approximately 20,000 fans and turned into a near riot. Some attendees were injured while being pressed against the store's glass by the crowd. As an apology to those injured,
6897-419: The Who , and the Doors . He bought the first ever issue of Sounds because it contained a free poster of Jimmy Page . Almond became a fan of Bolan after hearing him on The John Peel Show , buying the T. Rex single " Ride a White Swan ". From then on, Almond "followed everything Marc Bolan did" and it was his obsession with Bolan that prompted Almond to adopt the "Marc" spelling of his name. He discovered
7018-428: The Worms, with school friend Phil Burdett on vocals. In 1980, Clarke and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass; the pair were soon joined by Gore as a third instrumentalist. Dave Gahan joined the ensemble later in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local Scout hut jam session , singing a rendition of David Bowie 's " ' Heroes ' ". With
7139-446: The advent of affordable synthesizers and the increasing popularity of electronic music, the group began pursuing a synth-pop direction. The first live concert of Composition of Sound as a four-piece was on 14 June 1980 at Nicholas School, Basildon, England, UK. There is a plaque commemorating the gig at the James Hornsby School in Basildon, where Gore and Fletcher were pupils. Gahan's and Gore's favourite artists included Siouxsie and
7260-426: The album, they did perform two short concerts in London and Los Angeles, promoted as "Ultra Parties". Ultra spawned two further singles, " Home " and " Useless ". A second singles compilation, The Singles 86>98 , was released in 1998, preceded by the new single " Only When I Lose Myself ". In April 1998, Depeche Mode held a press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Cologne to announce the Singles Tour. The tour
7381-418: The author's portrait on many of Gibson's books, including Neuromancer . Corbijn is the subject of Josh Whiteman's 2009 documentary film Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn . In May 2011, Corbijn presented Mandela Landscape , an artwork consisting of Corbijn's portrait of Nelson Mandela stitched by Dutch textile artist Berend Strik . Both the original work and 80 signed art prints were sold to fund
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#17328631225907502-427: The band as a personal assistant since the beginning of their career in 1980. In June 1995, Alan Wilder announced that he was leaving Depeche Mode, explaining: Since joining in 1982, I have continually striven to give total energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the furthering of the group's success, and in spite of a consistent imbalance in the distribution of the workload, willingly offered this. Unfortunately, within
7623-399: The band in its list of the "50 Bands That Changed the World!" Depeche Mode also rank No. 98 on VH1 's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2016, Billboard named Depeche Mode the 10th Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Depeche Mode's origins date to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed
7744-414: The band played their first-ever concerts behind the Iron Curtain , in Budapest and Warsaw . In October 1985, Mute released a compilation, The Singles 81→85 ( Catching Up with Depeche Mode in the US), which included the two new non-album hit singles " Shake the Disease " and " It's Called a Heart ", with the US version also including their B-sides ("Fly on the Windscreen", the B-side of "It's Called
7865-464: The band recorded their second single, " New Life ", which climbed to number 11 in the UK charts and got them an appearance on Top of the Pops . The band went to London by train, carrying their synthesisers all the way to the BBC studios. The band's next single was " Just Can't Get Enough ". The synth-pop single became the band's first UK top ten hit. The video is the only one to feature Vince Clarke. Depeche Mode's debut album, Speak & Spell ,
7986-436: The band released a limited edition cassette tape to fans in Los Angeles, distributed through radio station KROQ (the sponsor of the Wherehouse event). Violator was the first Depeche Mode album to enter the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 , reaching Number 7 and staying 74 weeks in the chart. It was certified triple platinum in America. Two more singles from the album—" Policy of Truth " and " World in My Eyes "—were hits in
8107-469: The band was interviewed as a group. The Devotional Tour followed, documented by a concert film of the same name . The film was directed by Anton Corbijn , and in 1995 earned the band their first Grammy nomination. The band's second live album, Songs of Faith and Devotion Live , was released in December 1993. The tour continued into 1994 with the Exotic Tour , which began in February 1994 in South Africa, and ended in April in Mexico. The final leg of
8228-418: The band's sound. The album debuted at number one in both the UK and the US, only the sixth British act to achieve such a distinction to date. The first single from the album was the grunge-influenced " I Feel You ". The gospel influences are most noticeable on the album's third single, " Condemnation ". Interviews given by the band during this period tended to be conducted separately, unlike earlier albums, where
8349-400: The biggest hits from Almond's career throughout the previous ten years. The album reached the UK Top 10. Almond then signed to WEA and released a new solo album, Tenement Symphony . Produced partly by Trevor Horn , the album yielded three Top 40 hits including renditions of the Jacques Brel classic "Jacky" (which made the UK Top 20), and "The Days of Pearly Spencer" which returned Almond to
8470-449: The biggest-selling 12-inch single in Warner Records ' history up to that point. "I think in a way we've been at the forefront of new music; sort of chipping away at the standard rock format stations." Martin Gore, stated to NME – July 1990. Released in February 1990, " Enjoy the Silence " reached number six in the UK (the first Top 10 hit in that country since "Master And Servant"). A few months later it reached number eight in
8591-425: The biography Torn Apart by Lindsay Reade ( Tony Wilson 's ex-wife) and Mick Middles. Although shown outside the Palme d'Or competition, Control was the big winner of the Director's Fortnight winning the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the "Regards Jeunes" Prize award for best first or second directed feature film and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar. It also received
8712-405: The club hit "Memorabilia". Soft Cell's first release was an independent record (funded by Dave Ball 's mother) entitled "Mutant Moments" via Red Rhino Records in 1980. "Mutant Moments" came to the attention of music entrepreneur Stevo Pearce , who at the time was compiling a "futurist" chart for the music papers Record Mirror and Sounds which featured young, upcoming and experimental bands of
8833-468: The encouragement and connections of executive producer Misha Kucherenko, he embarked on a three-year recording project of Russian romance and folk songs, called Heart on Snow . Featuring many Russian stars old and new such as Boris Grebenshchikov , Ilya Lagutenko of the Russian band Mumiy Troll , Lyudmila Zykina and Alla Bayanova and featuring The Rossiya Folk Orchestra conducted by Anatole Sobolev, it
8954-581: The filming of a multi media performance of À rebours (translated as Against Nature ) by Joris-Karl Huysmans . The score for this project was written by Othon Mataragas with words from Feasting with Panthers collaborator Jeremy Reed . Reed states that he wrote 15 songs for the project commenting that Against Nature is "still probably one of the most decadent books ever written" and that Almond had always wanted to perform it, stating that "now we're both jaded aesthetes we could do it". In 2016, Almond landed his first major label deal in 20 years, signing
9075-587: The group, this level of input never received the respect and acknowledgement that it warrants. He continued to work on his personal project Recoil , releasing a fourth album ( Unsound Methods ) in 1997. Despite Gahan's increasingly severe personal problems, Gore tried repeatedly during 1995 and 1996 to get the band recording again. However, Gahan would rarely turn up to scheduled sessions, and when he did, it would take weeks to get any vocals recorded; one six-week session at Electric Lady in New York produced just one usable vocal (for "Sister of Night"), and even that
9196-760: The international edition of ZAM Magazine , an independent platform of African talent. On 19 December 2011, Corbijn was announced as being on the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival , held in February 2012. At this occasion, the Berlinale Special screened the documentary Anton Corbijn Inside Out (directed by Klaartje Quirijns ) at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele . Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon , Essex in 1980. Originally formed with
9317-536: The lineup of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke , the band currently consists of Gahan and Gore. With Clarke as their primary songwriter, Depeche Mode released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981 amid the British new wave scene. Clarke left the band at the end of 1981, going on to form the groups Yazoo and later Erasure . The remaining trio recorded their second album, A Broken Frame (1982), with Martin Gore as chief songwriter. The band then recruited Alan Wilder , establishing
9438-464: The most famous synth-pop bands in the mid-'80s. Depeche Mode's musical style shifted slightly again in 1986 with the release of their fifteenth single, " Stripped ", and its accompanying album Black Celebration . Retaining their often imaginative sampling and beginning to move away from the "industrial pop" sound that had characterised their previous two LPs, the band introduced an ominous, highly atmospheric and textured sound. Gore's lyrics also took on
9559-679: The motorbike accident, "Redeem me (Beauty Will Redeem the World)". Stardom Road was to be one of three albums for the Sanctuary label, the UK's largest independent record label up until 2007 when it got itself into financial difficulty and was sold off in June 2007 to Universal Music Group . In July 2007, Almond celebrated his 50th birthday on stage at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and in September performed at
9680-457: The name "Musical Moments" that was suggested by Vince Clarke as both a band name and the name of their first album. Starting at their concert on 24 September 1980 at Bridge House, the band changed their name to Depeche Mode, chosen by Dave Gahan. When explaining the choice for the new name, which was taken from a mistranslation of the name of French fashion magazine Dépêche Mode , Gore said, "It means 'hurried fashion' or 'fashion dispatch'. I like
9801-529: The new grunge scene sweeping the US and was influenced by the likes of Jane's Addiction , Soundgarden , Alice in Chains and Nirvana . "There's so many sounds that are created from the voice that you wouldn't know were taken from the voice, like rhythm sounds. The number of times I've been sitting in the studio and said, 'I wish I could get a bass that would just go [mimics wet, thick hip-hop bass-drum sound].' Then I think, 'Why can't I just go [repeats noise] into
9922-595: The new wave of electronic sound. He signed the duo to his Some Bizzare label and they enjoyed a string of nine Top 40 hit singles and four Top 20 albums in the UK between 1981 and 1984. They recorded three albums in New York with producer Mike Thorne: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret , Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing and The Art of Falling Apart . Almond became involved with the New York Underground Art Scene at this time with writer/DJ Anita Sarko , which led him to meet artists including Andy Warhol and perform at
10043-666: The painter Marlene Dumas , he worked on a project called "Stripping Girls", which took the strip clubs and peep shows of Amsterdam as their subject; while Corbijn later exhibited photographs, Dumas took Polaroids which she then used as sources for her paintings. Corbijn has photographed Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (formerly of Led Zeppelin ), Ai Weiwei , Bob Dylan , Joy Division , Tom Waits , Bruce Springsteen , Prāta Vētra , Peter Hammill , Miles Davis , Kate Bush , Björk , Captain Beefheart , Kim Wilde , Marc Almond , Robert De Niro , Stephen Hawking , Elvis Costello , Siouxsie and
10164-432: The political and environmental subjects addressed on the previous album, the songs on Some Great Reward were mostly concerned with more personal themes such as sexual politics (" Master and Servant "), adulterous relationships ("Lie to Me"), and arbitrary divine justice (" Blasphemous Rumours "). Also included was the first Martin Gore ballad, " Somebody "—such songs would become a feature of all following albums. "Somebody"
10285-761: The same name ; and Life (2015), after the friendship between Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock and James Dean. Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard was born on 20 May 1955 in Strijen in the Netherlands, where his father had been appointed as parson to the Dutch Reformed Church the previous year. His father, Anton Corbijn van Willenswaard (1917–2007), took up the same position in Hoogland (1966) and Groningen (1972), moving his wife and four children with him. His mother, Marietje Groeneboer (1925–2011),
10406-477: The same year Almond took part in a music-theatre work Ten Plagues , held at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, as part of the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe , from 1 to 28 August 2011. Ten Plagues is a one-man song cycle based on Daniel Defoe 's Journal of the Plague Year (which dates back to 1722), with metaphors of AIDS and epidemics. It was written for him by Mark Ravenhill and Conor Mitchell . Ten Plagues
10527-521: The single " People Are People ". The song became a hit, reaching No. 2 in Ireland and Poland, No. 4 in the UK and Switzerland, and No. 1 in West Germany – the first time a DM single topped a country's singles chart – where it was used as the theme to West German TV's coverage of the 1984 Olympics . Beyond this European success, the song also reached No. 13 on the US charts in mid-1985, the first appearance of
10648-548: The singles " Strangelove ", " Never Let Me Down Again " and " Behind the Wheel " proved to be disappointing in the UK, they performed well in countries such as Canada, Brazil, West Germany, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland, often reaching the top 10. Record Mirror described Music for the Masses as "the most accomplished and sexy Mode album to date". The album also reached No. 35 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The Music for
10769-517: The song is, to date, the UK's 59th best-selling single of all time, selling over one million copies in the UK. Marc also became friends with JG Thirlwell and, in 1983, as Clint Ruin, Thirlwell performed with Soft Cell on the Channel 4 show The Switch. Marc travelled to New York with Thirlwell and Nick Cave , where they became part of The Immaculate Consumptive with Lydia Lunch . Almond and Thirlwell continued to work together, ultimately culminating in
10890-504: The songs of Jacques Brel through Bowie as well as Alex Harvey and Dusty Springfield . Brel became a major influence. Almond and Dave Ball formed the synthesiser-based duo Soft Cell and signed to the Some Bizzare label. Their hits included " Tainted Love " (UK No. 1), " Bedsitter " (UK No. 4), " Say Hello, Wave Goodbye " (UK No. 3), " Torch " (UK No. 2), " What! " (UK No. 3), "Soul Inside" (UK No. 16), and
11011-461: The sound of that." However, the more accurate translation of the magazine's name (and therefore the band's name) is "Fashion News" or "Fashion Update". The band made their recording debut in late 1980 for the Some Bizzare Album (released in 1981) with the song "Photographic", later re-recorded for their debut album Speak & Spell . The band made a demo tape but, instead of mailing
11132-524: The sounds on Songs of Faith and Devotion , stated to Pulse! magazine – May 1993. In 1993, Songs of Faith and Devotion , again with Flood producing, saw them experimenting with arrangements based as much on heavily distorted electric guitars and live drums (played by Alan Wilder, whose debut as a studio drummer had come on the Violator track "Clean") as on synthesizers. Live strings , uilleann pipes and female gospel vocals were other new additions to
11253-531: The soundtrack of the stage musical Hair and Benefit by Jethro Tull , and the first singles were " Green Manalishi " by Fleetwood Mac and "Witches Promise" by Jethro Tull . He later became a great fan of Marc Bolan and David Bowie , and got a part-time job as a stable boy to fund his music listening. After his parents' divorce in 1972, he moved with his mother back to Southport where he attended King George V School . He gained two O-Levels in Art and English and
11374-576: The summer of 1994, in a full nervous breakdown." After the band played at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver , Colorado , local police arrested Gore and fined him $ 50 for disturbing the peace when he held a loud party in his hotel room. Fletcher declined to participate in the second half of the Exotic Tour due to mental instability; he was replaced on stage by Daryl Bamonte , who had worked with
11495-543: The tape to record labels, they would go in and personally deliver it. They would demand the labels play it; according to Dave Gahan, "most of them would tell us to fuck off. They'd say 'leave the tape with us' and we'd say 'it's our only one'. Then we'd say goodbye and go somewhere else." According to Gahan, prior to securing their record contract, they were receiving offers from all the major labels. Phonogram offered them "money you could never have imagined and all sorts of crazy things like clothes allowances". While playing
11616-643: The tour, consisting of more North American dates, followed shortly thereafter and ran until July. As a whole, the Devotional Tour is to date the longest and most geographically diverse Depeche Mode tour, spanning fourteen months and 159 individual performances. Q magazine described the 1993 Devotional Tour as "The Most Debauched Rock 'n' Roll Tour Ever". According to The Independent , the "smack-blasted" Gahan "required cortisone shots just to perform, borderline alcoholic Gore suffered two stress-induced seizures, and Andrew Fletcher's deepening depression resulted, in
11737-486: The whole live set. That's what [he's] been doing for them since 1993." Corbijn has directed over 20 of the band's music videos, the most recent of his works being 2024's " Before We Drown ". He has also designed most of the covers for Depeche Mode's albums and singles from 1990's Violator album and onwards. Corbijn's work with U2 includes taking pictures of the band on their first US tour, taking pictures for their albums The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby , and directing
11858-576: Was a nurse and was raised in a parson's family. Photographer and director Maarten Corbijn (born 1960) is a younger brother. Grandfather Anton Johannes (Corbijn) van Willenswaard (1886–1959) was an art teacher at Christian schools in Hilversum and an active member in the local Dutch Reformed Church in Hilversum. Corbijn began his career as a music photographer when he saw the Dutch musician Herman Brood playing in
11979-576: Was accepted onto a General Art and Design course at Southport College , specialising in Performance Art. Almond applied to Leeds Polytechnic , where he was interviewed by Jeff Nuttall , also a performance artist, who accepted him on the strength of his performing skills. During his time at art college, he did a series of performance theatre pieces: Zazou , Glamour in Squalor , Twilights and Lowlifes , as well as Andy Warhol inspired mini-movies. Zazou
12100-696: Was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to arts and culture. Almond was born in Southport , Lancashire, the son of Sandra Mary Diesen and Peter John Almond, a Second Lieutenant in the King's Liverpool Regiment . He was brought up nearby at his grandparents' house in Birkdale with his younger sister, and as a child suffered from bronchitis and asthma . When he
12221-571: Was awarded a Fringe First Award. In 2012, Almond took the role of the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca in the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet's experimental rock adaptation of Poppea , based on Monteverdi 's original 17th-century opera The Coronation of Poppea . The production also featured ex- Libertines member Carl Barât , French singer-songwriter Benjamin Biolay , Swedish singer Fredrika Stahl and
12342-419: Was directed by ex- Clash drummer Peter Howard . Later that year, on 9 August 2012, Almond performed at Anohni's Meltdown Festival in London's Southbank Centre , reforming Marc and the Mambas to perform their second album Torment and Toreros live for the first time. Anohni has stated that Torment and Toreros was her favourite album throughout her teens and that it became the starting point for Anohni and
12463-404: Was four, they left their grandparents' house and moved to Starbeck, Harrogate . Two years later they returned to Southport, and then moved to Horsforth , Yorkshire. There, he attended Horsforth Featherbank Infant School. At the age of 11, Almond attended Aireborough Grammar School near Leeds . He found solace in music, listening to radio pioneer John Peel . The first albums he purchased were
12584-460: Was hired in early 1982, initially on a trial basis as a touring member. Wilder would later be called the "Musical Director" of the band, responsible for the band's sound until his departure in 1995. As producer Flood would say, "[Alan] is sort of the craftsman, Martin's the idea man and [Dave] is the attitude." In January 1982, the band released " See You ", their first single without Clarke, which managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in
12705-548: Was later re-recorded as a duet with the song's original singer Gene Pitney and released as a single. The track reached No. 1 in the UK. It also reached number one in Germany and was a major hit in countries around the world. The Stars We Are became his biggest selling solo album in the US, and the single " Tears Run Rings " became his only solo single to peak inside the US Billboard Hot 100 . Almond's other recordings in
12826-457: Was launched with advertisements placed in the personals columns of UK regional newspapers with the words "Your own personal Jesus." Later, the ads included a phone number one could dial to hear the song. The resulting furore helped propel the single to number 13 on the UK charts, becoming one of their biggest sellers to date. In the United States, it was their first gold single and their first Top 40 hit since "People Are People", eventually becoming
12947-597: Was leaving Depeche Mode. Soon afterwards, Clarke joined up with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo (or Yaz in the United States). Initial talk of Clarke's continuing to write material for Depeche Mode ultimately amounted to nothing. According to third-party sources, Clarke offered the remaining members of Depeche Mode the track " Only You ", but they declined. Clarke, however, denied in an interview that such an offer ever took place saying, "I don't know where that came from. That's not true." The song went on to become
13068-415: Was originally recorded in New York with Mike Thorne, but later after signing to Mercury, was reworked in London. Almond also recorded a session for the album with John Cale, David Johanson, and Chris Spedding; some made the final cut. Other songs were produced by Mike Hedges and Martyn Ware . Adding to the disjointed recording process was the fact that during recording Almond also spent several weeks attending
13189-503: Was pieced together from multiple takes. Gore was forced to contemplate breaking the band up and considered releasing the songs he had written as a solo album. In mid-1996, after his near-fatal overdose in which his heart stopped beating for two minutes, Gahan entered a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program to battle his addiction to cocaine and heroin. With Gahan out of rehab in 1996, Depeche Mode held recording sessions with producer Tim Simenon . Preceded by two singles, " Barrel of
13310-565: Was presented to him by longtime friend and co-Manager Vicki Wickham, and was also awarded the Icon Award from Attitude . Almond released three albums throughout 2014. First was The Tyburn Tree with composer John Harle , a concept album about dark historical London. This was followed by The Dancing Marquis album, made with a number of collaborators including Jarvis Cocker , Carl Barât and Jools Holland , featuring production from Tony Visconti on some tracks. Finally, Almond released
13431-513: Was released as a double A-side with "Blasphemous Rumours", and was the first single with Gore on lead vocal. Some Great Reward became the first Depeche Mode album to enter the US album charts, and made the Top 10 in several European countries. The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg was the band's first video release, almost an entire concert from their 1984 Some Great Reward Tour.{{cn}} In July 1985,
13552-471: Was released in 2014. The John le Carré novel of the same name, which is loosely based on the true War on Terror story of Murat Kurnaz , was set in part in Hamburg , as parts of the film were. In February 2014, he started filming his next project Life about James Dean and photographer Dennis Stock . On 23 and 25 July 2018, Corbijn filmed the last two concerts of Depeche Mode 's Global Spirit Tour at
13673-451: Was released in October 1981 and peaked at number ten on the UK album charts. Critical reviews were mixed; Melody Maker described it as a "great album … one they had to make to conquer fresh audiences and please the fans who just can't get enough", while Rolling Stone was more critical, calling the album " PG -rated fluff". Clarke began to voice his discomfort at the direction the band
13794-702: Was released that September, and the following month the band began their 1982 tour. A non-album single, " Get the Balance Right! ", was released in January 1983, the first Depeche Mode track to be recorded with Wilder, now an official member of the band. For their third album, Construction Time Again , Depeche Mode worked with producer Gareth Jones , at John Foxx 's Garden Studios and at Hansa Studios in West Berlin (where much of David Bowie 's seminal Berlin Trilogy featuring Brian Eno had been produced). The album saw
13915-410: Was reviewed by The Yorkshire Evening Post and described as "one of the most nihilistic depressing pieces that I have ever had the misfortune to see", prompting Almond to later refer to it as a "success" in his autobiography. He left art college with a 2:1 honours degree . He later credited writer and artist Molly Parkin with discovering him. It was at Leeds Polytechnic that Almond met David Ball ,
14036-531: Was still growing... they're the biggest cult band in the world. It's unbelievable." He further adds that "it's in the DNA of [Depeche Mode] to have these connection to their fans... there's something unusual about it and the fans go to great lengths", which inspired him to make the film in the style that he did. Author William Gibson refers to a fictitious portrait by Corbijn of the character Hollis Henry in his 2007 novel Spook Country . A Corbijn photograph has served as
14157-403: Was taking, saying "there was never enough time to do anything. Not with all the interviews and photo sessions". Clarke also said he was sick of touring, which Gahan said years later was "bullshit to be quite honest". Gahan went on to say he "suddenly lost interest in it and he started getting letters from fans asking what kind of socks he wore." In November 1981, Clarke publicly announced that he
14278-525: Was the 101st and final performance of the tour. On 7 September 1988, Depeche Mode performed "Strangelove" at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. In mid-1989, the band began recording in Milan with producer Flood and engineer François Kevorkian . The initial result of this session was the single " Personal Jesus ". Prior to its release, a marketing campaign
14399-497: Was the album Enchanted , which spawned the UK Top 30 hit "A Lover Spurned". A further single from the album, "Waifs and Strays", was remixed by Dave Ball who was now in the electronic dance band The Grid . In 1991, Soft Cell returned to the charts with a new remix of "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" followed by a re-release of "Tainted Love" (with a new video). The singles were issued to promote a new Soft Cell/Marc Almond compilation album, Memorabilia - The Singles , which collected some of
14520-662: Was the first time that such a project had been undertaken by a Western artist, many of the loved Soviet era songs sung in English for the first time. The album was produced by musician/arranger Andrei Samsonov. Almond performed many times at the famous, and now demolished, Rossiya Concert Hall with Lyudmila Zykina and Alla Bayanova , and with the Rossiya Folk Orchestra. In 2001, Soft Cell reunited briefly and released their first new album in 18 years, Cruelty Without Beauty . Two singles came out of this album, "Monoculture" and
14641-400: Was the first to feature two backing musicians in place of Wilder—Austrian drummer Christian Eigner and British keyboardist Peter Gordeno . Marc Almond Peter Mark " Marc " Almond OBE (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer best known from the synth-pop / new wave duo Soft Cell and for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has also had a diverse career as
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