People Are People (album)

People Are People
Compilation album by Depeche Mode
Released	2 July 1984
Recorded	1981–1984
Length	43:00
Label	Sire Mute
Producer	Depeche Mode Daniel Miller
Depeche Mode chronology
Construction Time Again (1983) People Are People (1984) Some Great Reward (1984)

People Are People is a compilation album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released only in North America by Sire Records on 2 July 1984.

Release

US record label Sire Records assembled People Are People after Depeche Mode's previous album, Construction Time Again , failed to chart in the US. ^[1] Containing (and named after) their latest single, "People Are People", the compilation album was released on 2 July 1984 ^{[2] [3]} with catalogue number 1-25124. ^[4]

The album did not initially sell well in 1984, but it re-entered the charts and sold better when the title track became a summer hit in the US in mid-1985. ^[5] The album later was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments of half a million copies. ^[6]

The release of "People Are People" and its namesake single both helped boost Depeche Mode's popularity in the US. ^[4] When they played to US audiences in March and April 1985, they were surprised by the large crowds; they had not toured the US since 1983 due to low attendance for their A Broken Frame tour that year. ^[4] Martin Gore later said "we thought that we would never be popular in America. And when we went back in 1985, we'd suddenly become this cult phenomenon. And we were playing for 15,000 people a night." ^[4]

The album, with photography by Brian Griffin, ^[7] was originally released on LP and CD with the band name and album name missing from the album cover; these names were then added to the covers for later re-releases.^{[ citation needed ]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]

AllMusic were mixed in their reception to the album, rating the album two-and-a-half stars out of five. ^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except "Work Hard", written by Gore and Alan Wilder. All vocals by Dave Gahan, except "Pipeline", sung by Gore.

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"People Are People"	Some Great Reward	3:45
2.	"Now This Is Fun"	"See You" 7-inch single	3:23
3.	"Love, in Itself"	Construction Time Again	4:21
4.	"Work Hard"	"Everything Counts" 7-inch single	4:21
5.	"Told You So"	Construction Time Again	4:27
6.	"Get the Balance Right!"	Non-album single	3:13
7.	"Leave in Silence"	A Broken Frame	4:00
8.	"Pipeline"	Construction Time Again	6:10
9.	"Everything Counts (In Larger Amounts)"	"Everything Counts" 12-inch single	7:20
Total length:			43:00

Release history

Country	Release date	Cat. no.
Canada	2 July 1984	LP: Sire 9 25124-1
United States		Cas: Sire 9 25124-4
CD (US, Can)	16 March 1987	CD: Sire 9 25124-2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [11]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "People Are People". depechemode.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
2. "People Are People". depechemode.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
3. "DEPMOD · People Are People" . Retrieved 23 June 2022.
4. Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 111.
5. "Billboard Hot 100 - August 3, 1985" . Retrieved 18 August 2017.
6. "RIAA – Searchable Database" . Retrieved 23 June 2022.
7. "Photography Album Covers: People Are People". Brian Griffin. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
8. Raggett, Ned. Depeche Mode – People Are People at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
9. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-8571-2595-8.
10. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Depeche Mode". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp.  229–230. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
11. "American album certifications – Depeche Mode – People Are People". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 21 July 2022.

Bibliography

• Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN   978-1-61775-593-4.

External links

• Album information from the official Depeche Mode website