![[Depeche Mode group photo]](images/dm.jpg)
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| Martin Gore | Dave Gahan | Andy Fletcher |
Depeche Mode was started in the late 1970's by Vince Clarke. He and Andy Fletcher had known each other from their church's choir, so together with the addition of Martin Gore they decided to try their musical talents under the name Composition of Sound. Despite their good vocal abilities, the group lacked support from the music scene because of their name and their inexperience. They quickly found Dave Gahan, a new addition (and lead vocalist) to the band, which allowed Andy and Vince to focus more on keyboarding. One of the band members was looking at a French fashion magazine and saw the phrase 'Depeche Mode' written on it. Thus, the band dropped their old name, and Depeche Mode was born.
After the release and tour of Depeche Mode's first album, Speak and Spell (1981), Vince Clarke decided to leave the band because it had not achieved the success for which he had hoped. Vince Clarke moved on to pursue other music interests - namely Yaz, The Assembly, and Erasure. Martin Gore quickly assumed his role as song writer and has done a great job since. In 1982, Alan Wilder answered an ad in the publication Melody Maker and joined the band as a keyboardist.
The band's music library and talent grew for the next several years. But their musical style also gradually changed. The band's early songs were a combination of pop music and the noticeable use of synthesizers and drum machines - synthpop. Throughout the years, this band has transformed synthpop into kind of a lighter industrial sound, but still keeping good vocal lyrics. Some people prefer the older sound of Depeche Mode to the newer one. I myself enjoy both faces of the group.
In the early-to-mid 1990's, Dave (the lead vocalist) began getting heavily involved in drug use. As a result, Alan Wilder resigned from the group in 1995. Dave battled against drugs for a couple of years in rehabilitation facilities, and has managed to remain 'clean' since then.
Today, Dave Gahan still sings the lead vocals, while Martin Gore writes the majority of the music. Andy Fletcher still sings vocals, but he devotes most of his time to managing the band and setting up tours and performances.
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