Anyone aware of the origins of Depeche Mode will realise that these fresh-faced electropop Essex boys have come a long way since their 1981 debut. You would have been forgiven back then for expecting their oeuvre to consist of nothing more than frothy, frivolous and forgettable songs unerringly engineered for spotty teenage lovers to dance the Eighties nights away. But by the end of that decade, Depeche Mode had grown up. Songwriter Vince Clarke had moved on to form Yazoo and his duties were thereafter principally filled by Martin Gore, whose agenda was somewhat different: Depeche Mode's music had taken on a darker, more anthemic and at times confessional complexion with songs like 'Enjoy the Silence' and 'Personal Jesus'.
In 2017, the erstwhile teen idols are now brooding rock legends and apparently we've let them down because they were expecting a revolution and we've failed to deliver it. This is one of those times when you might find yourself bristling because a millionaire pampered pop star is telling you how to live your life.
But it's hard not to forgive them, because this is a leviathan of a rebel-rousing track and Martin Gore's lyrics are strong stuff and difficult to contradict: "You've been pissed on for too long," sings Gore's sultry mouthpiece Dave Gahan. "Your rights abused, your views refused... Where's the revolution? Come on, people,, you're letting me down".
You can learn more about Depeche Mode here:
About the Curator
After graduating from the University of Keele in England with a degree in Politics and American Studies, Jon worked as editor of a music and entertainment magazine before spending several years as a freelance writer and, with the advent of the internet, a website designer, developer and consultant. He lives in Reading, home to one of the world's most famous and long-running music festivals, which he has attended every year since 1992.
