Music for the Masses is the sixth studio album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 28 September 1987 by Mute Records in the United Kingdom and Sire Records in the United States. The follow-up to their successful album Black Celebration (1986), it was co-produced by Depeche Mode and David Bascombe. Recorded in Paris and London and mixed in Denmark, it was the first Depeche Mode album to see band member Alan Wilder take control of the album's production, leading to what one reviewer later described as an "epic, orchestral sound".[8]
The album marked a turning point in the band’s sound, blending dark, introspective themes with expansive production. Its release also marked a shift in visual identity, with Anton Corbijn’s involvement in music videos and promotional materials helping to redefine the band’s aesthetic. Music for the Masses was considered instrumental in helping the band achieve chart success and popularity in the US, which up until then had eluded them. It reached number 10 in the UK, number 35 in the US, and number 2 in West Germany. Certified Platinum in the US in 1991, in 2023 it was estimated that it had sold over 5,500,000 copies globally.
The album spawned four successful singles, "Strangelove", "Never Let Me Down Again", "Behind the Wheel", and "Little 15", all of which charted in the top 10 in charts in various regions around the world. It was supported by the 1987-1988 Music for the Masses Tour, which helped to further launch their fame in the United States when they performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to over 70,000 fans, captured in the live album and video documentary 101 (1989).
Background
Depeche Mode had released their album Black Celebration in early 1986,[9] followed up with a supporting tour which lasted through the middle of that year,[10] and contributed the song "But Not Tonight" to the soundtrack to the film Modern Girls (1986).[11] While the album and tour were the band's most successful to date, they were still considered outsiders to mainstream music and chart success.[12]
In their personal lives, singer Dave Gahan and his wife Jo Fox Gahan were expecting their first child, and songwriter Martin Gore had moved back to London from West Berlin after ending his relationship with his girlfriend of 4 years, Christina Friedrich.[13]
Recording
Production
After taking a short vacation following the end of their Black Celebration tour, Depeche Mode reconvened in the second half of 1986 to begin production of their new album.[12] During previous recording sessions in 1985 for the single "Shake the Disease" and early 1986 for the album Black Celebration, tensions had grown between Daniel Miller, their long-time producer and label manager, and the band.[14] Citing those tensions and his own increased workload with Mute Records, Miller stepped away from the studio, and as such was not involved in the production of a Depeche Mode album for the first time since the band's formation in 1981.[15] Similarly, Gareth Jones, who had worked with Depeche Mode as a producer on their previous two albums and was also a source of tension over the previous two years, was also not involved in production for Music for the Masses.[16] Despite Alan Wilder's growing presence as a music producer within the band, they elected to find a new outside producer to aid in recording the album, and after talking to a few candidates,[17] they offered the role to David Bascombe, who had previously worked as a recording engineer with Peter Gabriel and most recently with Tears for Fears on their breakout album Songs from the Big Chair (1985).[11]
Demos
Gore had written his demos at his London home[18] on an Akaisynthesiser.[19] Bascombe, after accepting the band's offer, met with them at Wilder's home studio around August 1986 to listen to demos that Gore had prepared,[13] which were written in Cubase and played through a Yamaha synthesiser.[20] Band member Andy Fletcher commended the quality of Gore's demos, saying "over the years Martin [Gore]'s studio at home has got progressively better and better so the demos he was producing and giving to us were very good quality. If you listen to a song, say 'Strangelove' which was a very full demo, after about 20 plays the direction in which you're going to go is pretty much fixed. We were basically re-recording Martin's demos with better sound, better production and Dave's vocals."[21] Bascombe later described the demos as "very glam", although most of the songs did not retain the glam style in their final recorded forms.[20] Some of the demos were accepted as they were, some were rejected, and some, such as "Strangelove", were discussed at length by the group.[19] The single version of "Strangelove" was programmed at Wilder's home studio using his Allen & Heath mixing desk and a Fostex 16 track recorder before the band moved on to an official recording studio.[19]
Recording
To force themselves to try new things, they decided to find a recording studio they had not yet recorded at, and chose Studio Guillame Tell just outside of Paris,[22] which they rented starting around September 1986.[12]
As they had done on their previous several albums, the band immediately set out to find and record new sounds for use as samples on the album,[13] which took three days.[19] Wilder noted that, as they had on their previous albums, the band was always looking to make the album differently from their last, and did not want to repeat a formula.[17] For Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984) and Black Celebration (1986), they had gathered most of their samples outside of the studio, so to avoid repetition, they created most of their new samples in the studio, although they did end up recording a few on the streets of Paris.[13][23] Studio Guillaume Tell was converted from an old theater, and as such there were old instruments left there that the band used to sample and record with, including a grand piano and old orchestral bass drums and timpanis.[20] In this way, the band built a library of new samples to be used on the album.[20] While Music for the Masses saw the band using heavy amounts of sampling,[24] they also decided to use more guitar in the production of their songs.[12] Despite their all-synth reputation, Depeche Mode had used guitars in their songs as early as 1982, starting with the single "Get the Balance Right!".[25] Gore's guitar style on the record was described in a retrospective review by ClassicPopMag as "never flashy", rather, "his simple, repetitive riffs just sit on a groove, adding another textural element and human grit into the mix."[8]
Bascombe, although hired as a producer, fell more into an audio engineer role in the studio.[13] Instead, Wilder was described as the person "steering the ship", as he was the one most interested in the process of recording and producing the music.[20] Wilder, as the one with the vision for how the album should sound,[26] said that "It was very important to have a focus for each track. ... Each song, let's have an idea, a theme for how we're going to try and approach this.[17] The recording process was described as 3-step: Gore would write the basic song, then Wilder would perform and arrange the songs, and then the band would record the final versions together.[27] Gore, if he was unhappy with the way an arrangement was made would work through Fletcher to avoid confrontation, as he had done since Wilder joined the band in 1982.[20]
Overall, compared to the tense production of Black Celebration, the atmosphere within the studio for these sessions were described as "relaxed",[27] although the band did work seven days a week while in the studio, usually mid-day to midnight.[23] Wilder played most of the piano parts on the grand piano that was found at the studio, with Gahan later saying "[Wilder] is a fantastic piano player, and I don't think we appreciated it at the time."[17] As a result of Bascombe's engineering influence and Wilder's production, the songs were later described as having an "epic, orchestral sound, enhancing the melodramatic, theatrical nature of the music."[8] In talking to the press around the time of the album's release, Gahan said that, in creating the album, the band were "conscious of building up atmospheres, heightening the songs to an absolutely massive feeling and then bringing them down again. We had discovered dynamics. It was our first truly arranged album",[28] calling the sound "electronic metal".[27]
In later interviews, Bascombe remembered that the band had a set of rules about what they did or didn't want to do when recording their album, which he had to figure out as they went along.[23] For example, the band had a "no chords" rule, where if they wanted to play a chord, they had to assemble one from separate monophonic parts.[23] Other rules the band followed included "no presets" and "no hi-hats", and for samples, "all samples must be original", and "no sample could be used twice".[13] Generally, they stuck to these rules, although almost every rule was broken at least once.[23] Said Bascombe, "you might think you’re giving yourself a hard time for the sake of it, it did certainly give them a unique sound and a unique approach."[23]
The front entrance of Konk Studios in London, where most of the vocals for Music for the Masses were recorded.
After six weeks at Studio Guillame Tell the band took a brief holiday[18] and shot the video for "Strangelove"[19] before moving on to Konk studio in London.[12][29] Wilder explained the break and change of venue, saying "Every time you go in the studio, the first couple of weeks are the most enthusiastic – by the end of a longish period, everyone's edgy, and you get less done. Last week in Paris, everyone was fed up and wanted to get home."[19] Wilder was also unimpressed with the facilities at Studio Guillaume Tell, saying "From the point of view of facilities it was just about adequate. But the control room was dingy."[19] Bascombe said that the vibe of recording changed after the move to London, since the band could go back to their homes at the end of the night, and noted that some of the samples used on the album were recorded in an old stairwell at Konk because it had such great acoustics.[17] Most of the album's vocals were recorded at Konk,[30] and in a contemporary interview, Fletcher said that "about half the album" was recorded there.[31] Both Gore and Gahan tended to get their vocal takes completed quickly, and neither needed much coaching for the songs.[30]
After recording was complete at Konk, they moved to Puk Recording Studios in Denmark to mix the album.[22] They moved to Puk for a change of scenery, and give them a chance to focus on the task of mixing the album; Puk was "in the middle of nowhere", so they weren't distracted by going out to clubs.[30] Miller joined the band at Puk to help with the final mix of Music for the Masses and also mixed the single for "Strangelove", which was released five months before the album.[8][28]
Equipment
Besides the instruments found at Studio Guillaume Tell, equipment used to record the album included an ARP 2600, Mini Moog, RSF Kobol, Emulator II, Synclavier, and Gore's Gretsch guitar.[30] They also used a Fairlight CMI Series 3 synthesiser[8] and an old EMS Synthi AKS, which Wilder described as "really old, and it comes in a briefcase, like a businessman's case. It looks amazing, really James Bond. It's a noise machine, really."[19] Of the Moog and ARP 2600, Wilder said "There’s an old Moog modular system that I've been after for a while. People get rid of those things after they've lost interest in them, but they can produce brilliant sounds, very unique sounds. We’ve got an old ARP sequencer that produces a sound all of its own as well. Basically, you can get anything converted to accept MIDI or CV & Gate. We've got a little MIDI to CV converter box, which brings all those analogue boxes into use as far as sending programmed parts into them goes."[19] The drums for the songs came from drum machines.[19] Said Wilder, "Drums we would nearly always do into the Synclavier, to get the high transients.[a] But there are some sounds that work well in the Emulator, as it's not quite such good quality. The old original Emulators used to bring a sort of grittiness to a sample because of their low sampling rate."[19] Overall, Music for the Masses was Depeche Mode's first album recorded entirely digitally.[19]
Songs
Themes of religion, sex, vulnerability and relationships are prevalent in the songs of Music for the Masses.[13][32][33] A later review by Slant magazine claimed that the lyrical themes explored on the album include repentance and redemption.[34] In a contemporary interview for French press, Gore defended his lyrics and content against detractors who felt that Depeche Mode's songs were depressing.[35] Gore said "other peoples' songs are falsely happy. ... Because our songs aren't like that, we're labeled 'pessimistic'. ... We're more realistic than pessimistic."[35] In a separate interview with Sounds magazine, Gore elaborated, saying "many Depeche [Mode] songs deal with communication problems. There are a lot of recurring themes in my songs. One thing that always reappears is disillusionment and lack of contentment. A lot of the songs also deal with a search for innocence."[36] Gore said although some songs he wrote have been autobiographical, he "also [imagines] situations [to write about]. I try to write things people can relate to. ... I write about love, pain, hope. Things everyone feels."[37]
Of the number of songs recorded during the Music for the Masses sessions overall, Fletcher said "we've recorded fifteen songs of which nine or ten will end up on the album."[31]Music for the Masses was released with 11 songs including one hidden track,[16] and an additional five songs were released as B-sides on singles from the album: "Agent Orange", "St. Jarna", a recording of Wilder performing Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", a cover of Bobby Troup's "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66", and "Pleasure, Little Treasure".[38]
Side 1
"Never Let Me Down Again", the album's opening track and second single, was described by Gore as a "stand-out" track that was especially effective when played live.[17] Samples used in the song include drums from their own 1986 single "Stripped" and Led Zeppelin's song "When the Levee Breaks".[20] A sample from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana was also incorporated into the track.[20] Gore's guitar part for the song was recorded at Puk Studios, filtered through their ARP 2600 synthesiser.[26] Wilder called it his favorite song on the album[39] and his second favorite Depeche Mode song of all time.[40] It has become a staple of Depeche Mode's live performances, featuring on every tour since.[41]
Experimental and classical composers Philip Glass (left, pictured in 1993) and Michael Nyman (right, pictured in 2015) both influenced the sound and arrangements of songs on the album.
The side's second song, "The Things You Said" was described in the biography Depeche Mode: Faith and Devotion as a song that "[digs] deep into the psyche to dissect fear, vulnerability, and relationships."[13]
"Strangelove", the album's first single and third track, was described as a "minor-key pop single ... [that was] still a long way off from mainstream."[32] The initial single mix for the track was described by Wilder as "cluttered",[39] so the band remixed the song for the album, using one of Miller's Puk remixes as a guide.[23]
"Sacred", the album's fourth track, is one of the album's religiously-themed songs,[13] and although religion was not a major topic of their next studio album, Violator (1990), it would feature again in 1993's Songs of Faith and Devotion.[20] An early mix of the song which Bascombe prefers did not make the album and was later released on YouTube.[30] Bascombe said that the album mix was "fine", but "it just could have been better."[30] The album version of "Sacred" was described by Bascombe as the song on the album that retained the "glam" aspect of Gore's original demo the most.[20]
The closing track to side 1, "Little 15", was one of the last songs to come together during the album's recording sessions, with Wilder struggling to determine how to structure and arrange the track.[17][8] During the sessions, the band collectively went to see the film A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), and Wilder decided to try to arrange the song based off of the film's soundtrack by Michael Nyman, saying said that once he tried Nyman's style for the song, "from there, it was easy. It just flowed."[17] Bascombe called the final version of the track "classic Wilder" in its use of orchestral samples,[8] which was quite different than the original demo.[20] Released as the fourth single from the album, its music video was one of the few not directed by Anton Corbijn from this period.[39] According to Wilder, they chose Martyn Atkins, who had designed many of their album and single covers to this point in time, to direct this video only because they thought it would be interesting to give the assignment to someone new.[39]
Side 2
"Behind the Wheel", the first song of the album's second side and third single from the album, focuses lyrically on power dynamics in relationships,[42] with one reviewer describing it as a metaphorical journey through dominance and submission.[43] The song has a sequence of four chords that keep cycling, which Wilder compared to Penrose stairs; "once you get around [to the top], you're back at the bottom again. That's kind of how the chord sequence works [in the song]."[17] This track incorporated some of Gore's guitar playing, who played his Gretsch guitar for the part.[8]
"I Want You Now", described in a retrospective review as "erotically charged",[33] incorporated the sound of an accordion being played with its keys open, resulting in an atmospheric breathing sound.[17] The band also incorporated some sounds from a pornographic video into the song, augmented with the help of some local women who they brought into the studio to do additional heavy breathing into their microphones.[17] The recordings were all sampled through what was then their state-of-the art Fairlight CMI Series 3 synthesiser.[8] "I Want You Now" was released as a promotional single in Japan.[44]
"To Have and to Hold" was released with two versions on the album.[39] The version sequenced as part of the album was Wilder's version of the song, deliberately made darker than the demo.[39] The "Spanish Taster" bonus track was closer to Gore's original demo, which he fought to be included on the album in that form.[39] According to Wilder, there was no friction within the band about having two versions; he and Gore simply had different visions for the song.[39]
"Nothing" was one of the album's religiously-themed tracks, and appeared in remixed form on the US-only "Strangelove '88" single in 1988.[45] Depeche Mode generally had a rule against the use of Hi-hats in their songs, and while "Nothing" sounded like it did, it was in fact the sound of a pneumatic door closing that made such an interesting noise that the band chose to sample and use it.[8]
The album's closing track is an instrumental called "Pimpf".[30] Originally intended as only a B-side to the single release of "Strangelove", the band liked Bascombe's mix of "Pimpf" enough to include it as the closing track of the album, which Bascombe said was his favorite mix of all the songs from the entire album.[30] For the song, Wilder said that it "starts off with one little riff that just feeds on itself. ... You've got this one thing and we just keep adding and adding and adding to it," a recurring theme for this and several other songs on the album inspired by the music of Philip Glass.[17] The name is a reference to Der Pimpf, a magazine of the Hitler Youth organizations.[46]
Title and artwork
Band members Fletcher and Gore both explained the album's title was conceived as a joke, after Gore found an old album called Music for the Millions.[47] Fletcher said, "The title's... a bit tongue-in-cheek, really. Everyone is telling us we should make more commercial music, so that's the reason we chose that title."[11] According to Gore, the title "was a joke on the uncommerciality of [the album]. It was anything but music for the masses!"[48] Miller agreed, saying that the name Music for the Masses was "about how Depeche Mode were forever destined to be a cult band who could never quite crack the mainstream,"[22] disproved by the success of Depeche Mode's subsequent tours and albums.[22] French magazine Best also suggested that the title could be a nod to socialism, reflected in the style of the artwork of earlier albums and singles, like Construction Time Again (1983) and "Get the Balance Right!" (1982), which Fletcher dismissed as more of a "wink" than a political stance.[18]
A view of Ladybower Reservoir (pictured in 2021), where Martyn Atkins took some of the album's photographs.
The megaphone and its iconic representation on the album's cover was used during the breadth of the album's release: at press events, on the covers of the album's singles, and during the tour.[17] Wilder gave credit to Martyn Atkins, who had been a longtime Depeche Mode collaborator, for the use of the megaphone, saying that "[Martyn came] up with this idea of a speaker, but, to give the kind of ironic element which the title has, to put this speaker in a setting which wasn't really to do with the masses at all. It was, in fact, the opposite. So you end up with this kind of eerie thing where you get these speakers or megaphones in the middle of a setting that doesn't suit it at all, like a desert or whatever."[11] Atkins took the megaphone, mounted it to a pole, and drove up to the Peak District in north-central England to take pictures of it.[49][17] Atkins said that the music inspired him, because the sound was so "big",[17] saying that it felt like Eastern European propaganda, and he knew the iconography of the loudspeaker could carry over to merchandise.[17] Atkins called the cover his favourite of all the Depeche Mode album covers he was involved in.[17] Similarly to how the album's title was conceived as a joke, he felt that the grand imagery of the album was, in a way, "the opposite of these four lads from Basildon."[17]
An early alternative cover was rejected for the album that was also designed by Atkins and a test pressing copy was auctioned off by Wilder in 2011.[50] It features a white-and-orange stylised design of the megaphone emitting sound waves.[51] This alternate artwork was planned to be used for a budget series of albums, but the project was scrapped, but not before a few copies were released to stores to sell.[52]
Release and promotion
Depeche Mode began a press circuit in mid-1987 to support the album and appeared on magazine covers for magazines including Smash Hits,[53]Underground,[54] French Best,[18] and Sounds.[36] Gore said in the interview with Underground that they had been offered, but turned down, opportunities to score soundtracks for films, saying they were for "some dodgy sci-fi B movie stuff, where they've asked us to drop in words like 'Venus' and 'Jupiter' here and there."[54]
"Strangelove", the album's lead single, was released on 27 April 1987.[55] The band appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops on 7 May 1987 to promote the song.[56] The band and label consider "Strangelove" to be instrumental to their success in the United States; when they started the US leg of their tour, the song was in the top 40 and they were seeing large crowds for their shows.[17] Instrumental "Pimpf" was the single's B-side.[32]
Their second single, "Never Let Me Down Again", was released on 24 August 1987,[57] with "Pleasure, Little Treasure" as its B-side.[41]
Music for the Masses was released on 28 September 1987 by Mute Records in the United Kingdom, Sire Records in the United States, and Intercord Records in West Germany.[58] In the UK, the album was assigned catalogue number STUMM47, and in West Germany, INT 146.833.[58] Initial pressings of the German album were on blue vinyl,[59] and to combat the public's interest in importing that version, Mute Records released early pressings of the UK album on transparent vinyl.[60]HMV stores made a promotional 12-inch vinyl available at the time of the album's release, which contained remixes of both "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again", although the latter's mix on the single was mis-labeled.[60] The United States Department of Defense created a special 4-track promotional vinyl release for its overseas Disc jockeys to play for its troops with its B-side containing tracks from the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P.[60][b]
The album's third single, "Behind the Wheel", was released on 28 December 1987,[61] and on 7 January 1988, Depeche Mode appeared on the "Top of the Pops" again to perform the song.[62] The B-side, "Route 66", was included because Gore "thought it would be a good idea to record a driving song" on the release.[63]
In January 1988, Wilder released his Recoil side project's second album, Hydrology (1988).[64]
"Little 15" was released as the fourth and final official single on 16/18 May 1988[c] in limited territories.[66] The single had two B-sides, the instrumental "St. Jarna" and Wilder's performance of the "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven.[65] "St. Jarna" was intended to be called "stjarna", which is Swedish for "star", but was mis-printed on the single's label.[65] Wilder performed the piano on both B-sides.[65]
On 23 August 1988, Sire Records released the US-only "Strangelove '88" due to the strength of the US leg of their Music for the Masses tour.[65] Remixes of "Nothing" were included in the release, and some remixes were provided by the music producer Tim Simenon, who goes by the professional name Bomb the Bass.[65]
On 7 September 1988, the band appeared at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards and performed "Strangelove".[67] Wilder said the performance was done at the prompting of their US label and marketing team to help improve their exposure in the US.[68]
Also in 1988, the band released their video collection Strange, which included all of their music videos directed by Anton Corbijn to date.[64]
Music for the Masses was remastered and released on a special two-disc version in 2006, with bonus tracks, a DVD documentary and a 5.1 audio mix of the original album.[69]
Public image and working with Anton Corbijn
The band found that between this and their previous album Black Celebration, their reputation with the press as a teenybopper band had faded.[27] Their image was improved by bringing in the Dutch artist Anton Corbijn to direct their music videos, with Gahan later saying that "I think Anton [Corbijn] saved us, visually", with Corbijn's use of grainy black and white video footage and, for the first time in the band's history, including women in their videos.[17][27] Corbijn himself originally wasn't sure about working with the band, as he only knew their early work and felt that electronic music was emotionless.[17] And, he had first worked with the band for their video for "A Question of Lust" (1986) the previous year, but hadn't heard from the band in the nine intervening months since making that video, leaving the director thinking the band weren't happy with his work.[70] But the members of the band had enjoyed working with Corbijn, with Gore recalling that all the video and photo sessions they'd done with him had been fun, saying "take Anton [Corbijn] out of the equation, and it's a nightmare."[17] Wilder appreciated that Corbijn was making their videos more about the members of the band themselves.[17] Corbijn would go on to direct many more of the band's videos, including for their 1990 hit "Enjoy the Silence", and design many of the band's album covers over the years.[70]
The Music for the Masses Tour was a seven-leg tour that ran from October 1987 through June 1988.[71] The first leg through Europe started in Madrid and finished mid-November in Paris.[71] On 1 December, the first of two North American legs commenced in San Francisco and culminated three weeks later in New York City.[71] In January 1988, the group played an eleven-date UK tour, which was followed by the second European leg beginning in Hamburg, West Germany in early February; the leg wrapped up in Vienna in late March.[71] The press in Germany challenged the band on their Nazi-like stage dressing, with red and black flags and lyrics which sometimes sound militaristic, to which Gore responded, "We're not political, we just like strong imagery. The flags are part of our aesthetic, not a political statement."[72] Gahan agreed, saying "We're not interested in politics. We sing about emotions, relationships, and personal experiences. If someone sees something political in that, it's their interpretation."[72] The fifth leg through eastern Europe ran for a few weeks in March before the band played four dates for the leg in Japan.[71] This was followed later in the month by the start of the second North American leg, which began in Mountain View, California.[71] The US shows had strong fan support, bolstered by the success of "Strangelove" as a single in the US.[17] The entire tour concluded mid-June with a concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where the band performed in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 80,000 people,[22] released as the live album 101 in 1988.[73]Nitzer Ebb was scheduled to be the opening act for the tour on the North American leg, but issues with immigration prevented the band from joining; Nitzer Ebb would join Depeche Mode in America two years later for the World Violation Tour.[74]
Performing behind the Iron Curtain
In July 1985, the band had played two shows behind the Iron Curtain, one in Bucharest, Hungary and one in Warsaw, Poland as part of their Some Great Reward Tour.[75] They had attempted to book dates in both Moscow, Russia and East Berlin as well, but those plans fell through due to the difficult bureaucracy at the time.[75] For the Music for the Masses tour, the band were finally able to play in East Germany, in Berlin, in a show approved by both the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and the Free German Youth (FDJ) parties.[76] Originally, the FDJ wanted Depeche Mode to tour nationwide, and also to record and broadcast their entire concert, but the band refused both requests.[77] Although the band wanted tickets to the concert to be made available to the public, that was not done and tickets were instead given to families of government officials.[76] Depeche Mode played a single show on 7 March 1988 in East Germany to a crowd of about 6,000 people.[78] Wilder later recalled that the crowd responded really well to their show, saying "I can't remember how good or bad we were, but I have really good memories of the fans' reactions."[79] Said Fletcher, "We later found out that they'd presented us at the main attraction at a party for their youth organization to score points with young kids. We found out that normal fans didn't have a chance to get tickets. We knew nothing of this at the time, we were just totally ecstatic to be allowed to play in East Berlin. Seen from today's point of view [in 2009], we shouldn't have done the concert. We let ourselves be used by the Party."[80]
Drug use
There was increased drug and alcohol use on this tour compared to previous Depeche Mode tours where the band had mostly stuck to marijuana and alcohol; for this tour they began using cocaine as well.[81] Gahan in particular, who had been relatively sober on previous tours, took advantage of the rock and roll lifestyle and started using more drugs and sleeping with groupies who would come backstage after shows.[82] This marked the start of a journey into hard drugs for Gahan, whose addiction to heroine and suicide attempt nearly led to the break-up of the band in the 1990s.[83]
Upon its release, Music for the Masses received a mix of praise and reservation from critics. AllMusic later summarized the initial reception as recognizing the album's "arena-sized" ambition, noting that it "feels huge throughout, like they taped Depeche recording at the world's largest arena show instead of in a studio", and praised the band's "musical and lyrical intimacy".[5]Q's Dave Rimmer thought it contained "plenty of good moments and much strident romance but nothing at the core to cling on to", [87] saying that "this is the sort of record it's difficult to know when or where or in what mood to play".[87] Music journalist Robert Christgau complimented the abnormal road symbolism of the lyrics, particularly on "Little 15", and believed that apart from the sadomasochistic metaphors, Depeche Mode succeeded in turning "adolescent Weltschmerz into something catchy, sexy and seemingly significant."[93]NME critic Jane Solanas felt Gore was "at his obsessive best" on Music for the Masses and specifically highlighted "Never Let Me Down Again", which she called "an intriguing masterpiece, combining homo-eroticism with drug euphoria."[94] Eleanor Levy of Record Mirror credited the band for their ability "to make the cold warm and the electronic human" on an album centred on "dissatisfaction, paranoia and vulnerability".[88] In a less enthusiastic review, Paul Mathur from Melody Maker was ambivalent towards Depeche Mode's more mature, minimalist aesthetic and said although they had departed from their simpler pop sound, the record was "seamless, fluid, and, once the lights are out, particularly dull."[95]
Retrospective reviews
In a retrospective review for Q, Dave Henderson found the narratives on Music for the Masses to be among Depeche Mode's most uncertain and contemplative, and that most of its songs were "real diamonds in the darkness... this was the point at which Depeche Mode were first taken seriously."[96] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described it as "steeped in high drama, each track spilling into the next like a pop-rock opera",[34] saying that it showed the gloomier side of the "post-punk synth-pop" scene during the 1980s and was a success with both critics and consumers.[34]Alternative Press called the record "articulate, intricate electronic music that lacked the tinny feel of DM's early synth pop".[97] Dennis Lim of Blender wrote that Music for the Masses "isn't just huge but unrelenting, muscled up with industrial guitar, Goth grit and arena ambition",[84] while in Mojo, Danny Eccleston described it as "their first rock'n'roll album, in a way", observing "more focus, starker riffs, a bigger canvas, and plenty of songs that would have worked in any sonic context."[85] The Depeche Mode biography Depeche Mode: Monument claimed that the album showcased a "darker" side of the "radio-friendly post-punk-synth-pop" movement that Depeche Mode had become associated with.[12]
Music for the Masses was listed by Slant Magazine at number 75 on their list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s".[98] It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2006)[99] as well as Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which commends Gore's lyrical maturity and the band's evolution toward more serious, introspective songwriting.[100]
Subsequent events
While on tour, Gahan's wife gave birth to their first child, Jack.[72] After the tour completed in June 1988, Gore went into the studio alone to record his first solo album.[101] The band worked together to produce their live album 101, which was released in March 1989,[102] and Gore's solo effort, Counterfeit EP, was released in June 1989.[101] The band took a break until they reconvened in Milan, Italy in the middle of 1989 to start work on their follow-up album, Violator (1990).[103]
Legacy
Music for the Masses is widely regarded as the album that propelled Depeche Mode into mainstream success in the United States.[65] Its accompanying tour culminated in a sold-out performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, attended by over 70,000 fans—a moment immortalized in the documentary and live album 101 (1989),[104] which itself both eclipsed and augmented Music for the Masses' popularity.[27]
The album marked a turning point in the band’s sound, blending dark, introspective themes with expansive production.[8] According to Classic Pop Magazine, it was "an adventurous, hedonistic drive into uncharted territory" that fused experimentalism with pop sensibility, laying the groundwork for the band’s future stadium-scale appeal.[8] Critics have noted its influence on the evolution of electronic rock: Ned Raggett of The Quietus argued that while the album is sometimes overshadowed by Black Celebration (1986) and Violator (1990), it remains "underrated" and contains "two of [Depeche Mode’s] most defining songs" - "Never Let Me Down Again" and "Behind the Wheel".[27] The album also marked a shift in visual identity, with Anton Corbijn’s involvement in music videos and promotional materials helping to redefine the band’s aesthetic.[27]
In the 2020's, "Never Let Me Down Again" was included in episodes of two HBO shows, Euphoria[107] and The Last of Us.[108] In the wake of the song being featured on The Last of Us, online music streams of "Never Let Me Down Again" tripled overnight.[109]
The album sold over 700,000 copies within 6 months of its release,[110] and was certified Platinum in the US in February 1991.[111] Since its release in 1987 through 2023, it has been estimated that globally, Music for the Masses sold over 5,500,000 copies, making it the second best-selling Depeche Mode album to date.[112]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Notes
↑ "High transients" refers to the sharp, fast attack portion of drum sounds—especially the initial hit or strike that gives percussion its punch and clarity.
↑ Only a single copy of this release was known to exist as of 2017, as the military were advised to return copies after use.[60]
↑ Sources differ on the exact release date; the Depeche Mode biography Depeche Mode: Monument lists the date as 18 May 1988,[65] but Depeche Mode's own website lists 16 May 1988.[66]
References
↑ Page, Betty, ed. (26 September 1987). "Releases". Record Mirror. Vol.34, no.39. p.2. ISSN0144-5804. Archived from the original on 31 December 2024. Depeche Mode release their sixth LP on September 28
↑ Henderson, Dave (June 1995). "Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses". Q. No.105. London. p.135. ISSN0955-4955. ...has its dark, gloomy secrets and layered soundtrack grooves to support some of the group's most self-conscious and self-questioning storylines... Most of the songs... are real diamonds in the darkness... this was the point at which Depeche Mode were first taken seriously.
↑ McNeal, Bria (20 January 2023). "The Last of Us Just Made 'Never Let Me Down Again' The Latest '80s Revival". Esquire. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023. According to Billboard, the song is on track to continue the music world's '80s takeover. "Never Let Me Down Again" reportedly tripled its streams overnight, going from 26,000 streams when The Last of Us premiered, to 83,000 the next day. Depeche Mode caught wind of the revival, aided fans' interest by adding "Heard on Episode 1 of The Last of Us," to the song's description on YouTube.
↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2022.Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Music for the Masses" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
Dimery, Robert (2006). Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. pp.620–621. ISBN9780789313706. OCLC70630624.
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