With the departure of predominant songwriter Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode turned to Melody Maker to find a replacement. Their ad was short, simple, and to the point, "Synth / Vocals needed for electronic pop group with UK & International commitments – must be under 21". Alan Wilder, despite being 22, was given the gig, and joined the band on stage for live and television performances. However, when it was time to begin work on their sophomore album, he was not invited. The main reason, the remaining three original members wanted to prove they didn't need Clarke to survive.
Martin Gore would step up to take on writing duties, working with David Gahan on crafting the songs which would ultimately become A Broken Flame. Prior to the album's release, See You would be selected as the first single, peaking at number six on the UK charts, and becoming their biggest to date. Prior to Flames release, two additional singles, The Meaning Of Love, and Leave In Silence, were released. During this time, Depeche Mode played their first USA shows, while in general, touring to support their new release.
As I played through it, the first thing I noticed was the very different shift in sound. Gone was the lighter bubblegum pop sound of their debut. In its place was the darker toned aspects which would become the band's own sound. Overall, it feels very experimental, and the end result is fantastic.
While I think the album is relatively good from start to finish, there are tracks which stand out as better than others. For me, those were Leave In Silence, My Secret Garden, See You, and The Meaning Of Love.
On a side note, I'll also say that watching the music videos from these early years of Depeche Mode are quite comical. David Gahan has a "unique" style to his dancing. Very....white boy...Hey may give R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe a run for his money as worst dancer. Yeesh!
Anyway...
Shortly after its release, Wilder would join Depeche Mode as a full fledge member. His first official release with the band was the 1983 non-album single, Get The Balance Right. It would later be included in their first greatest hits compilation, 1984's People Are People.
However, we're now getting too far ahead of the game. We first need to stop at their 1983 released, Construction Time Again, which I'll dive into tomorrow.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS September 9, 1989 |
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