The driving creative force behind Depeche Mode, composer and keyboardist Martin Gore was born in Basildon, England in 1961. As a teen he joined French Look, a duo featuring schoolmate Vince Clarke. With the subsequent additions of keyboardist Andrew Fletcher and singer David Gahan, the group re-christened itself Composition of Sound, followed soon by Depeche Mode.
Depeche Mode's 1981 debut Speak and Spell was a major British hit, its success spurred by the smash single "Just Can't Get Enough," but following the album's release, principal songwriter Clarke abruptly exited to form Yazoo with singer Alison Moyet.
In Clarke's absence, Gore grabbed the songwriting reins, and while 1982's A Broken Frame deviated only slightly from Depeche Mode's earlier work, his ominous songs grew more assured and sophisticated. With the addition of Alan Wilder as a permanent replacement for Clark, the band released Construction Time Again in 1983.
Some Great Reward, issued the following year, was Depeche Mode's artistic and commercial breakthrough, as Gore's dark, kinky preoccupations with spiritual doubt ("Blasphemous Rumours") and psycho-sexual manipulation ("Master and Servant") came to the fore. The single "People Are People" was a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and typified the music's turn toward more industrial textures.
1986's Black Celebration continued the trend towards grim melancholy, and further established the group as a major commercial force.
1990 saw the release of Violator, which spawned the hits "Enjoy the Silence," "Policy of Truth," and "Personal Jesus," Warner Brothers' biggest selling 12" up until that point.
The band's first studio record since 2001's Exciter, Playing the Angel is due out on October 17 and will be preceded by the single, "Precious." On the new record, Dave Gahan is sharing songwriting credits with Gore for the very first time.
"As fans in America wait for news about on sale dates for Depeche Mode's upcoming six week, 25 date U.S. trek launching in late October, the news from overseas about ticket demand there is staggering. In fact, over 350,000 tickets for the iconic band's Winter 2006 European Tour have sold in little over a week, seven months before the first show commences." (filter-mag.com)
"When I write love songs, people think they're really soppy -- but I see love as a consolation for the boredom of life."
-- Martin Gore
Biography material directly quoted from: music.yahoo.com
