It's Called a Heart

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"It's Called a Heart"
Depeche Mode - It's Called a Heart.png
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album The Singles 81→85
B-side "Fly on the Windscreen"
Released16 September 1985
RecordedJune 1985
Studio Genetic (Streatley, England)
Genre Synth-pop
Length3:48
Label Mute
Songwriter Martin L. Gore
Producers
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Shake the Disease"
(1985)		"It's Called a Heart"
(1985)		"Stripped"
(1986)
Music video
"It's Called a Heart" on YouTube

"It's Called a Heart" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as a single on 16 September 1985. It reached number 8 in West Germany and 18 in the UK.

Contents

"It's Called a Heart", alongside their previous single "Shake the Disease", were both included on the 1985 compilation albums The Singles 81→85 (UK) and Catching Up with Depeche Mode (US).

Background

Depeche Mode had commitments to perform live in the first half of 1985, but had no plans to release a new album, instead choosing to focus on releasing their first-ever singles collections in the UK and US. [1] Under pressure from their label to produce another single after "Shake the Disease", the band went into Genetic Studios in Streatley, Berkshire in June 1985 to record "It's Called a Heart". [2]

Release and promotion

When it came time to release the song, member Alan Wilder disagreed with releasing "It's Called a Heart", instead suggesting that the song "Fly on the Windscreen" would be a superior choice. [2] Said Wilder, "I felt it ["It's Called a Heart"] was really going backwards, it was so poppy and trite." [2] However, the rest of the band outvoted Wilder, and "Fly on the Windscreen" was released as the single's B-side. [2] A year later, singer Dave Gahan admitted that "It's Called a Heart" was a poor choice, [3] and the band remixed and added "Fly on the Windscreen" to their follow-up album, Black Celebration . [4] In a 1998 interview, songwriter Martin Gore called the song "one of the worst things we've ever released." [5]

Both songs were produced by Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode. [6] The Slow Mix of "It's Called a Heart" and the Death Mix of "Fly on the Windscreen" were both produced by Gareth Jones at Hansa Studios. [6]

"It's Called a Heart", backed with "Fly on the Windscreen", was released as a single on 16 September 1985. [2] In the UK, Mute Records released the single on 7", 12" and "Double" 12" vinyl releases with catalogue numbers 7BONG9, 12BONG9 and D12BONG9, respectively. [7] Breaking with Depeche Mode's recent single tradition, there was no limited / L12BONG release of this record, instead a double / D12BONG release, which contained two 12" records released together. [8] Initial pressings of the 7" in the UK came with a fold-out poster. [6] In addition, a promotional 12" was released with a whitelabel to DJs with catalogue number BONG9. [8] In Germany, Intercord Records released the 7" and 12" vinyl singles with catalogue numbers INT 111.831 and INT 126.832, respectively. [2] Initial pressings of the German 7" were on red vinyl, and the 12" initial pressings were made on blue vinyl. [8] In addition, in Germany, "It's Called a Heart" was included on a promotional-only cassette release titled Hitaktiv 85/86. [8]

Cover design of the singles was done by Martyn Atkins and T+CP Associates with illustrations by English artist Tamara Capellaro. [6]

The song reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. [9]

Music video

Depeche Mode's official music video for "It's Called A Heart".

A video was created for "It's Called a Heart", directed by Peter Care. [10] After leaving Depeche Mode in 1995, Wilder suggested that one of his few regrets during his time in the band was participating in the shoot for the video. [11]

The video was included on Some Great Videos (1985) and Video Singles Collection (2016).

Later releases

"It's Called a Heart" was included as one of two new tracks on the compilation The Singles 81→85 in the UK the same year, along with "Shake the Disease". [12] [13] In the US, it was released on the compilation album Catching Up with Depeche Mode , also includes the B-side, "Fly on the Windscreen", which reappeared in a slightly different mix on the band's 1986 album Black Celebration . [2]

"It's Called a Heart" later appeared on the compilations album Greatest Hits (1987).

A remix of "Fly on the Windscreen" appeared on the compilation album Remixes 2: 81–11 (2011).

Live versions

A live version of "It's Called a Heart" has not been officially released. Live versions of "Fly on the Windscreen" were released on Devotional (1993), Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2010), and some versions of Recording the Universe (2009–2010).

Track listings

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore.

Charts

Chart performance for "It's Called a Heart"
Chart (1985)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14] 31
Denmark (IFPI) [15] 2
Europe (European Top 100 Singles) [16] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [17] 11
France (SNEP) [18] 29
Ireland (IRMA) [19] 5
Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [20] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) [21] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [22] 47
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [23] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] 7
UK Singles (OCC) [25] 18
UK Indie (OCC) [26] 1
West Germany (GfK) [27] 8

References

  1. ↑ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 115, 422.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 120.
  3. ↑ "Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Wham". Number One Magazine. 22 February 1986. pp. 8–11. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Depeche Mode: 1986: The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio (DVD). Mute Records. 2006.
  5. ↑ Olexova, Michaela (September 1998). "The Singles 86>98 by Martin Gore". Bong 37. No. 37. pp. 18–19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 121.
  7. ↑ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 120–121.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 123.
  9. ↑ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1999). Rock Stars Encyclopedia. DK Pub. p. 288. ISBN   978-0-7894-4613-8 . Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 129.
  11. ↑ "SHUNT : The Official Recoil Website : Q&A : Depeche Mode : Life in DM" . Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Bernhardt, Tonia (21 November 2007). Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult. GRIN Verlag. p. 4. ISBN   978-3-638-76757-6 . Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96. ISBN   978-1-4930-5400-8.
  14. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Top 3 in Europe". Eurotipsheet . Vol. 2, no. 43. 28 October 1985. p. 16. OCLC   29800226.
  16. ↑ "European Top 100 Singles". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 41. 14 October 1985. p. 12. OCLC   29800226.
  17. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Depeche Mode". Sisältää hitin – Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 61. ISBN   978-952-7460-01-6.
  18. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  19. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It's Called a Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  20. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022.Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "It's Called a Heart" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  21. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  24. ↑ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  25. ↑ "Depeche Mode Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN   0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  27. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
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