10 Greatest Ever Depeche Mode Songs

When chief songwriter Vince Clarke departed Depeche Mode in 1981 to form Yazoo, the long term durability of the band was thrown into turmoil. With Yazoo experiencing superior chart success throughout the year, Depeche Mode prevailing critical sentiment predicted that the band would fall by the wayside following a directionless beginning to life without their creative virtuoso.

However, Martin Gore’s promotion to chief songwriter would prove to be the turning point few could have expected, and came to fruition for the first time with Everything Counts. No longer were they leaning on the stock clichés of pop storytelling. Released at the height of Thatcherism, Everything Counts is a biting critique of big business and corporate greed, where ‘The grabbing hands / Grab all they can / All for themselves / After all.’

The song is littered with contrasts. The song incorporates Eastern influences, a melodic relief from the otherwise dark industrial undercurrents that give the track an unsettling edge. The vocals are also placed at odds with each other, with Gahan’s ever deepening vocal delivery in the verses juxtaposed against the chorus, where Gore’s sweet, high-pitched tones take centre stage for the first time.

From this point onwards, Depeche Mode became a band who matured at a rapid rate, delving deeper into the darker recesses of Gore’s imagination and morphing into worldwide stadium acts in the process. In retrospect, this is the band’s first truly great song of what would become a lengthy and extraordinary repertoire.