"Strangelove" is a song by English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 27 April 1987 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987).
It was an international success, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] number two in West Germany and South Africa, and the top 20 in several other countries, including Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100[6] and was the first of nine number ones on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it stayed for three weeks at the top.[7] The band considered the song instrumental in helping them break into chart success and broad popularity in the American market, which they had struggled with for most of their career to that point.
Background
Depeche Mode had released their album Black Celebration in early 1986,[8] followed up with a supporting tour which lasted through the middle of that year,[9] and contributed the song "But Not Tonight" to the soundtrack to the film Modern Girls (1986).[10]
Recording
Initial version
In late 1986, Martin Gore played demos of the songs he'd been developing to the rest of the band at Alan Wilder's home studio.[11] The demo was written in Cubase and played via a Yamaha synthesizer.[12]Daniel Miller, citing growing tension in the studio during the recording of Black Celebration, had stepped away from producing Depeche Mode's music for this album,[13] and instead they worked with David Bascombe, who had just completed working as a recording engineer with Tears for Fears on their album Songs from the Big Chair (1985).[10]Alan Wilder was described by Miller as the person who had the vision for how the album should sound and "steered the ship" in the studio for the album including "Strangelove", and as such Bascombe, although officially a producer for the record, instead acted more as a sound engineer.[12] Recording for the initial version of "Strangelove" took place at Wilder's home studio.[14] The initial single was mixed before the rest of the album's recording was completed,[12] and released five months before the album.[15] That initial single version was the band's first mix of the song, which they put out so they could move on with the rest of the album.[16]
One B-side to "Strangelove" is an instrumental called "Pimpf".[17] As Studio Guillaume Tell was converted from an old cinema, there were some old instruments left about that the band used to record the track, including old orchestral bass drums and timpanis.[12] Originally intended as only a B-side, 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.[17] The name is a reference to Der Pimpf, a magazine of the Hitler Youth organizations.[18]
A second instrumental B-side, "Agent Orange", is named after the herbicide used in the Vietnam War. "Agent Orange" was included on the CD and cassette versions of Music for the Masses.[19]
Album version
The band felt that, while the initial version of the song was "upbeat",[12] it was too "cluttered"[20] and didn't fit in with the darker feeling of the rest of the album, so it was remixed again based off of Miller's "Blind" remix of the song,[12] which resulted in a kind of "hybrid" remix for the album.[16] Bascombe remembered that Gore and Wilder couldn't agree on which bass line to use for the song:[12] Gore thought a faster bass line was better, while Wilder proposed a slower one.[12] A compromise was reached when Bascombe suggested that they use both, which is how the song appeared on the album.[12] Bascombe said that he and Wilder, along with occasional input from singer Dave Gahan, were responsible for the final album mix.[12]
Release
"Strangelove" was released on 27 April 1987[1] by Mute Records in the UK, Intercord Records in West Germany, Sire Records in the US, and Alfa Records in Japan.[21] In the UK, the release saw a 7" release (catalogue number 7BONG13), a 7" promo (RBONG13), a 12" release (12BONG13), a limited edition 12" release (L12BONG13), and 3 promotional 12" releases (SBONG13, CLUBBONG13 and DANCEBONG13), the latter of which saw a small number of blue vinyl pressings.[22] In West Germany, Intercord Records released the 7" on red vinyl (catalogue number INT 111.848).[18] Sire Records released a promotional 7" in Canada (92 83667), and in the US, as promotional 12" (PRO-A-2780). In Japan, a 7" release was released with custom artwork (ALI-765).[18]
Due to the success of the US leg of the "Music for the Masses" tour in early 1988, Sire Records re-released "Strangelove" with new mixes as "Strangelove '88" on 23 August 1988.[25] Remixed by Tim Simenon of Bomb the Bass,[25] it reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6]
Music videos
The music video for "Strangelove" was directed by Anton Corbijn.[18] A music video for "Strangelove '88" was shot separately by Martin Atkyns.[25] Corbijn's video, shot in black and white in Paris, was described as using "a visual language related to Italian neorealism."[26] Corbijn's video appears on the Strange (1988) video, and both are included on The Videos 86>98 (2002) and Video Singles Collection (2016).
In 2006, the band said that the single release of "Strangelove", as well as the subsequent release of the album Music for the Masses and its supporting tour were important for the band because it finally got them success in America, which they had struggled with over their career to that point.[27]Slant Magazine, in a retrospective review in 2002, said "Strangelove" was "home to classic Martin Gore lyrics and Dave Gahan's timeless vocal" and rated it 3.5 stars out of 5.[28] In 2017, Billboard magazine called "Strangelove" the "the cooler, older sister" to their previous BDSM-themed song, "Master and Servant" (1985), including "Strangelove" on their list of Top 20 Depeche Mode songs at number 8.[29]
"Nothing (Zip Hop Mix)"– 7:06 (remixed by Justin Strauss)
"Nothing (Dub Mix)"– 6:40 (remixed by Justin Strauss)
US promotional CD single (PRO-CD-3213)
"Strangelove" (Remix Edit)– 3:46
"Strangelove" (Album Version 7" Edit)– 3:44
"Strangelove" (Blind Mix 7" Edit)– 3:57
"Strangelove" (Highjack Mix)– 6:30
The "Zip Hop Mix" of Nothing (titled "Justin Strauss Mix") was also released as one of thirteen (digital download) "Rare Tracks" accompanying Depeche Mode's remix compilation, Remixes 81–04 (2004).
Charts
Weekly charts
1987–1988 weekly chart performance for "Strangelove"
↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1sted.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022.Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Depeche Mode" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
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