DEPECHE MODE - THE SINGLES 1981 TO 2021. PART 3: JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH

 

"Who's that band you like again?"

"Depeche Mode?"

"Oh yeah. I remember them. (sings) I Just Can't Get Enough. That was a great song. What happened to them?

"They're still going."

"Really? I thought they'd stopped years ago. (sings again ffs) I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough. I love 80's music like that"

*punching sound*

Ok, an extreme reaction perhaps and not one we should end this all too frequent discussion with, but Just Can't Get Enough (note non DM fans - there is no I  there) is, like it or not, one of the band's most famous songs. It's barely representative of the Depeche Mode we've come to love but, let's face it, it's a bloody good song and yet more evidence of Vince Clarke's pop song writing superpowers. It was also a massive hit in 1981 as we shall see.

JUST LIKE A RAINBOW - JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH

The single

The brief press release - picture courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

Just Can't Get Enough was released on 7th September 1981, creeping into the charts at number 44 twelve days later. It started to climb the following week, reaching number 24 before a Top Of The Pops appearance on 23rd September saw the song rocket to number 12. Could they breach the Top 10? Not immediately no, as the following week the single equalled New Life by reaching number 11. On October 7th however, Depeche breached the Top 10 for the first time with Just Can't Get Enough landing at number 8. The 23rd September Top Of The Pops appearance was then repeated on the show on 8th October. Surely the single would climb higher? Top 5 maybe? No, it dropped to 12, before sliding out of the charts via 17, 22, 33 and 46.

The single's reviews weren't all that great. Smash Hits said that it was a "less memorable but sound follow up to New Life," adding that it was "good for dancing."  The magazine featured the lyrics to allow you to sing along with this good dance music:

Record Mirror gave the song Single Of The Week, proclaiming it "hugely enjoyable, bouncy and boppy and very close to irritating."

NME said that the single had "some lovely textures" adding "It's a slight but memorable song" which seems harsh, while Melody Maker stated, in its smartarse way, "I can, you will."  

 

As we can see from the 23rd September Top Of The Pops, the public must have been initially charmed by this bunch of oddly, or in Martin's case barely, dressed individuals all armed with toy trumpets. Dave looks like he's just finished a shift at a local Italian restaurant, Fletch was clearly off out afterwards, Vince looks as if he dressed for the radio rather than the TV and Martin, well, Martin has somehow found the time to select a hat but not a shirt. We should have known that Mr Gore was going to be an interesting dresser from this point. The public quickly tired of Martin and co's looks, as the repeat TOTP performance saw the song drop out of the Top 10. Never mind. Just Can't Get Enough was a bona fide smash hit and deservedly so.

If you want an example of pure, unadulterated pop genius, Just Can't Get Enough is it. As with the previous two singles, there is a lot more going on here than first meets the eye. Behind the seemingly simple lyrics and melody is a lot of syntheszied cleverness and it's that attention to detail that makes this song and plenty of the other Speak & Spell era tracks stand out from their peers. Ultimately though, I can say as much as I want about Vince, Daniel and Eric Radcliffe's huge synth brains but the main point is this - Just Can't Get Enough is one of if not the best synthpop song of its era. 

Despite moving on to bigger and darker things, Depeche Mode have never managed to outrun the song. They played it live on every tour from Speak & Spell to Music For The Masses and it only dropped out of the running during World Violation and the Devotional/Exotic/USA94 tours, returning for The Singles Tour in 1998. Think of 101 without it? It wouldn't be the same. The shot of D A Pennebaker being taken up the ramp by Dave to see the crowd first hand is one of the film's iconic moments. The song would certainly have sounded out of place in 1994, or at least sounded absolutely mental with whatever distorted guitar part Martin came up with for it, but, like it or not Just Can't Get Enough is a big hit at Depeche gigs. The fact it's been played live 613 times speaks to that.

It last turned up at the last gig of the Global Spirit Tour in 2018 and everyone, me included, lapped it up. Ultimately, a good song is a good song no matter how much you think Rush or Blasphemous Rumours etc etc should be there in its place.

The b-side is Any Second Now a quite wonderful instrumental full of those marvellous synth sounds that instrumentals then contained. The song of course would go on to feature on Speak & Spell as Any Second Now (Voices) so called because it had vocals. Clever stuff.

The Video

This is a new section as this was the first time Depeche Mode had ever filmed a video. It's an odd thing really, somehow moving between a bizarre leather clad "live" section complete with dancing girls, and a cocktail drinking section where the band dress quite appallingly and treat the dancers to a selection of terrifying looking drinks. Everyone finds time to tool around on some steps blowing plastic trumpets before an awkward ending where everyone mouths along to the lyrics pretending that they are actually saying "Just Can't Get Enough" to each other like four spies desperately saying a codeword over and over again in the hope the SAWT team finally break in and free them.

It's a video - it does what it needs to do. Is it any good? No, obviously not. Depeche Mode didn't do good videos until Shake The Disease as we'll see, but you'd rather have a bad video and a good song as opposed to a nonsensical video and a quite hideous and mid-bendingly overrated one wouldn't you? I mean Rio by Duran Duran there specifically or, if you like, any Duran Duran "song" ever.

The Formats

The UK 7" single sleeve features at the top of this blog and the back of the 7" single is above. As you'll see, it says that Any Second Now features on the b-side. The a-side label looks like this:

and the b-side label, perhaps unsurprisingly, like this:

Depmod.com tells me that there are seven different variants of that record. I have no reason to doubt that. 

There was a 12" too. As you can see from the picture above, the cover is different from the 7". Gone is the large white cat to be replaced by a man tied up and blindfolded. Lovely stuff. The 12" version of Just Can't Get Enough is the mighty Schizo Mix, a Depeche Mode do Kraftwerk reconstruction of the track that doesn't as much remix it as re-write it. It is marvellous and something everyone must hear. 

The b-side of the 12" is a remix of the 7" b-side. Any Second Now (Altered) is very much an altered version of Any Second Now and it it just as enjoyable as its standard version. The 12" sleeve mirrors the 7" in that Just Can't Get Enough and Any Second Now have a side of the sleeve to themselves with the remix names added on the 12". As you can see, the cat reappears on the b-side of the 12" no doubt delighted to be far away from whatever the hell is going on with the bloke on the other side of the sleeve.

The 1991 UK CD single brought all four tracks together.

As ever, there were releases all over the world and some of these have gone on to become highly sought after with one of them being one of those seemingly insanely rare releases that drive collectors nuts. Firstly, we have an American release. This lovely 12" promo features the Schizo Mix and New Life (Remix):

There is also a US 7". There are not one but two German coloured vinyl versions of the record. As you can see, Just Can't Get Enough was once again proclaimed a Top Hit Aus England (and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....) and the sleeve uses the 7" art rather than the UK 12" art. There are black vinyl 7" and 12" releases of course and the more common of the two coloured vinyl versions on white vinyl:

There is then also this - the grey vinyl version. It took me years to get hold of and to date it rarely appears for sale. If you want to buy one just now, it'll cost you £1,300 on Discogs. £1,300! That's nearly two Anton art books.

As ever, there is the lovely German CD single with the blue stripe:

The French CD single is a nice thing too:

There are of course other versions of the single available, including a lovely Japanese 7". 

The cover is a work of art in itself. The Speak & Spell swan is there, regal and covered in what looks like clingfilm and Martin, Dave and Andy appear too, all cuddled up in a phone booth. We wouldn't actually see that phone booth until the next single so why is it on this sleeve? Well this single wasn't released in Japan until 26 June 1982 by which time Depeche were down to a trio.

On the B-Side, we get Just can't Get Enough (Schizo Mix) which is marvellous. We also get the lyrics in Japanese and English.

By the time Just Can't Get Enough dropped out of the charts, Depeche Mode were a confirmed Top 10 band and undertaking a successful UK tour. Suddenly though, everything changed when Vince's departure from the band was announced on 30th November. The genius behind their first three singles and most of the debut album was off. That would surely mean the end of Depeche Mode?

No, no it wouldn't. A new songwriter, previously only known for his topless, trumpet holding Top Of The Pops triumph would appear and Depeche Mode would become a very different band.

We'll talk about that next time. See You then. Ouch.

NEW SOUNDS ALL AROUND - THE DEPECHE MODE 12" SINGLES BOXSETS

My 12" boxsets

Last Friday, Depeche Mode released the first two of what will be a series of boxsets of 12" singles. As you might expect, the first two contained the Speak & Spell and A Broken Frame 12" singles with the Speak & Spell boxset containing a couple of nice surprises.

Each boxset is a numbered limited edition housed in a cardboard outer box featuring a reinterpretation of the album cover, or at least a key element of the album cover. The Speak & Spell cover is nice, but the A Broken Frame is a bit bland. Recreating that album's iconic cover would no doubt be tricky but, had I been asked, I'd have suggested that the inner sleeve of the album featuring the cover of the boxset plus a sickle, would be been better. I wasn't asked though so who cares? The covers of the 12" singles are reproductions of the originals which, at least in terms of New Life, keen eyed fans have noticed apparent differences in colour between the old and the new. I've not done this so I can't tell you what differences I see between the singles I have. 

The cost of the boxsets comes in anywhere from £40 to £50 or so depending on where you shop. That's a lot of money obviously and, the odd surprise aside both here and in future boxsets, given that everything on here is available in the 12" format already, are these essential purchases? On balance probably not, but if you're a collector like I am, they are very nice additions to the seemingly never ending pile of Depeche Mode records filling every space in your house.

Sound wise, a large amount of work has gone into these releases by depechemode.com webmaster Daniel Barassi and the results are excellent. He has taken a lot of time getting the balance right (lol etc) on the sonic side of things as you can see from the hints that he has dropped on his Fishure Price Instagram account. The 12" singles are reproduced from the original master tapes and are designed to sound identical to the original vinyl. Again, that might not seem like a selling point to some and that's perfectly understandable given the cost of the boxes.

The Speak & Spell 12" boxset

The Speak & Spell boxset is noteworthy because it contains Dreaming Of Me on 12" for the first time ever. It's nice to have that particular gap filled and any release that contains the majestic Ice Machine is impossible not to love. The New Life and Just Can't Get Enough 12" singles contain, the same tracks the original 12" singles : New Life (remix) (decent), Shout! (Rio Mix) (not only a quality piece of punnery but also a titanic remix), Just Can't Get Enough (Schizo Mix) (A glorious homage to Kraftwerk remix) and Any Second Now (Altered) (one of those really odd instrumentals the band did in the old days that you can't help but enjoy). 

There are two bonus items. Firstly, we have a reproduction of a promotional poster from the era which is fine as posters go. Secondly, and rather superbly, we also have a reproduction of the Flexipop magazine flexidisc which was originally released in September 1981. That flexidisc features two tracks: the superb King Of The Flies by the superb Fad Gadget and Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead by Depeche, a differently named and different take on the Speak & Spell album track I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead. Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead is an excellent version of the song, slightly improving on what is already on of the great early Depeche Mode tracks. Finally on the flexidisc point, because I am the sort of person that does this sort of thing, I've compared the reissue to the original and can confirm that the reissue is slightly heavier. Not in tone or sound but in weight. I have no idea why I felt I needed to share that with you.

Here's the cover of the original magazine featuring a young Dave, no doubt in the coffin because the photographer thought that was an amusing thing given the song on the flexidisc.

Picture courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

As with all the other boxsets to come, this one and the A Broken Frame one come with digital downloads. You get a card inside the box that, in the U.K. at least, gives you a code to use on wearevinyl.com. With the Speak & Spell boxset, you get a digital version of Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead  which is rather nice as that's not been available before. The Fad Gadget track is not available with the downloads however. 

Finally on the Speak & Spell side of things, Sony asked 5 fans to get involved with the release by making their own unboxing videos. Along with Dicken Schrader, Michael Russell, Cristian Guttierez and Sylwia Gorajek, I was asked to take part which was naturally something I was really pleased to do. Too pleased almost as you can tell from the rather childlike was I react to things in the video.

The A Broken Frame 12" boxset

Like the Speak & Spell boxset, this one contains three 12" singles with an identical track listing to their original issues. First up we have the pure pop of See You in its Extended Version which is not that extended at all really. It has Now, This Is Fun on the b-side, again as the Extended Version. I do enjoy that track and the band played it live 79 times in 1982 and 1983 so they must have loved it too. As you can see from the photo of the master tape the band's Facebook page shared the other day, it originally had a different name - Reason For Fun

In fact, in the January 21st 1982 edition of U.K. pop magazine Smash Hits, Fletch said the b-side was called something else:

"After ‘New Life’," Andy takes over, "a lot of people thought Depeche Mode were ‘sweet’ and ‘cute’ and everything, and we wanted to show them we could be a lot of other things as well. On the new B-side, "Reason To Be", we tried to …" pause while they all burst out laughing again … "we tried to sound … really…mean! Didn’t work though," he admits.

Not that "mean" really.

Talking of mean, harsh sounding, Nine Inch Nails influencing industrial goth pop, the next 12" we find is The Meaning Of Love.  The band's weakest single of that and any other era until Hole To Feed came out (I will never let that go), the 12" features the Fairly Odd Mix of the track which lives up to its name. It's backed with a genuine titan of the Depeche b-side catalogue however with the Bowie Low era like electronic genius of Oberkorn (It's A Small Town) (Development Mix). An unmissable gem in the band's early releases that was recorded before it even had a name as another picture from the band's Facebook page recently showed us.

On the music side, the final piece of the A Broken Frame jigsaw is of course BONG1 itself, Leave In Silence with the 12" reproduced in its original textured sleeve form which is a nice touch. Leave In Silence  is a masterpiece of a song and I will not hear anything to the contrary from anyone. The Longer version we find on track one of the 12" only confirms that I am right and the Quieter version on Track 3 doesn't alter that at all. Sandwiched in between we find Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden which is fine if you like that sort of thing. Oh, and did you know that Leave In Silence was originally called The Big Drop? Depeche Mode's Facebook page again pleasing people who are pleased by this sort of thing (you and me basically) by producing yet another master tape picture:

I bet even the Duff Mix was glorious.

Finally, there's a reproduction of a See You promo poster inside the box.

There was an unboxing video too and one of the five participants was friend of this blog, all round good guy, Mr Breathing In Fumes himself, Glen Hammarstrom. See Glen and his wall of vinyl below:

Reached Our Natural Conclusion

That then is a run through of the Depeche Mode 12" boxsets. These first two give a taste of what is to come and it will be interesting to see how future releases appear. The Violator era one for example has 9 12" singles to look at. Will the L12BONG20 appear in a gel sleeve? Will we get the Hazchemix Edit of Dangerous which appeared on the gatefold 7" of Personal Jesus? Will the Songs Of Faith And Devotion 12" boxset finally see the prices of the original 12" singles drop to something less than the price of a small car? Will we get vinyl releases of any of the American only mixes such as the Black & Blue Mix of Master & Servant?

Who knows? Well Sony probably, but I don't. I am intrigued to see how these issues are dealt with and what the price of future boxsets will be given the content they surely have to have as a minimum i.e. all the 12" singles from that album. We can judge them as we get to them. What the series will show, especially as we get up to the end of the Music For The Masses era is just how influential Depeche Mode were on the 12" single remix and that is something that should rightly be celebrated.  These two boxes are a fine way to start that off. 

SPEAK & SPELL, LIVE ELECTRIC CIRCUS EDINBURGH 27 AUGUST 2016

This Saturday, the brilliant Depeche Mode tribute Speak & Spell return to Scotland for an eagerly anticipated gig at Electric Circus, Edinburgh. The band have rightly gained a reputation for outstanding live shows, giving Depeche fans the chance to hear songs that the band themselves have long since forgotten or ignored. The gig this Saturday promises to be a really special one and such is demand for it, you'll need to move quickly to get tickets. You can find a link below.

I caught up with Keith Trigwell from the band to ask him a few questions:

APA: A Saturday night in Edinburgh is bound to mean a good, enthusiastic crowd. Are you looking forward to it?

KT: Oh yes. The Scots DM fans are extremely good fun all the time anyway and are always a great crowd. So many are mates of ours as well that it's just a riot.

APA: What can we expect from the show?

KT: We always try to deliver a show which is as close to how DM did things between 82-93 era. So for people who saw DM in those times, maybe a few little reminders of those gigs.

APA: Any surprises in store for us?

KT: Well hopefully yes, slight changes to artists and tracks, a very different gig to the one we did there last year.

APA: Finally, what's next for Speak & Spell?

KT: Last year had significant changes 'on' and 'off' stage. A LOT of work to get through bringing it together but a real team effort has paid off. We are now moving on with some new show ideas and new technical equipment is constantly being introduced so we fully expect better and more visual shows which are also easier to run. As well as that our new manager and her team has helped enormously. A few more tracks will be introduced soon which we are all looking forward to

Thanks very much to Keith for giving up his time for this piece. I know that his answers will have whet your appetite. Get yourself along to the Electric Circus on Saturday and get ready for two hours of premium Depeche Mode presented brilliantly by Speak & Spell.

Speak and Spell play Electric Circus in Edinburgh on 27 August and will be on stage from 8 until 10. Tickets are available at £10 each from here http://www.theelectriccircus.biz/live-music/events/27-aug-16-speak--spell-tribute-to-depeche-mode-electric-circus/

Event Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/307614526250823/

AN INTERVIEW WITH SPEAK & SPELL

Speak & Spell are one of the foremost Depeche Mode tribute acts. They regularly play live all over Europe, satisfying the desires of an ever growing audience to hear Depeche Mode classics played live in an era where the band themselves shy away from most things pre-1990. On March 12 at the O2 Academy in Islington, the band are playing a special Black Celebration gig, paying tribute to the album and also throwing in a few greatest hits. If you're able to get there, get there as it promises to be a superb night. To get your tickets, head to:

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/YDH1203?brand=o2academyislington&camefrom=AMG_ISLINGTON_spkspll30

Ahead of the gig, I caught up with Keith Trigwell from the band to have a chat about Speak & Spell and, of course, Black Celebration.

APA: Tell us a bit about Speak & Spell? Who does what in the band, when did you form and so on

KT: The band formed in 07-08 in Brighton. I joined about 18 months later.  We've moved on a long way since then but we've always focussed on being for real fans and sounding as close as possible to the original works, which we manage in a variety of surprising ways.

We've never fancied doing the whole 'who pretends to be who' thing except our frontman Paul (Woody) Wood having to 'Dave up!' 

Who does what wise, Joe and Paul took the brunt of the live delivery having to do vocals and Joe on guitar.  I've been doing the production and programming since 2009 and most of the technical live delivery plus live keyboard parts.

Sadly Joe's moved on now, and, after a suitable period of mourning, we got in 2 new guys to join us on stage for the first time in Manchester on the 27th Feb.  

Tony Clare is our new Martin (if you like) and Paul Boddy is joining us on keys. Both are very experienced, talented and their dedication has renewed us.

APA: Your Black Celebration show on March 12 at the O2 Academy in Islington, London is coming up. Tell us a bit about that.

KT: We have some nice appearances coming up this year that we are waiting to announce. The Black Celebration gig is our 3rd "Boutique album show", having done both the Speak and Spell and Violator albums in 2014/15

Black Celebration for me is the most 'Depeche' Depeche album. Dark, dynamic, textured and a real mix. Sampling and programming at its best.  I've always wanted to do this having seen the tour aged 18 in Brighton.  

We are going all out to take people on a real journey that night.  Its designed with people who were there first time around in mind and to try to give a flavour of that era DM to those who missed it. Again, like the Violator show, it will include a 2nd set of hits.

APA: Depeche themselves have never played Sometimes live and only played full versions of Here is The House twice. Are you looking forward to playing those songs?

KT: Yes very much.  We've played Sometimes about 4 times (as per the album). This time we're thickening it up a bit.

Here is the House was a tricky one to get right.  Our other new guy has helped enormously on some of the tracks and this is one he helped pull together.  

We hope to pull them off well.

APA: What's your favourite Black Celebration track?

KT: Ahhgg!!  Different bits off different tracks. I can't choose, but, if I have to it's New Dress.  A statement on British celebrity culture and media distraction/manipulation that is truer today than it was when Martin Gore wrote it.

The thing is, there isn't a lesser track from anywhere in those sessions, including B-Sides. My only gripe with Black Celebration was there being no live VHS.

APA: How important an album do you think Black Celebration is for Depeche Mode?

KT: For Depeche Mode, massively.  In my view it marked the point when they went from an electronic act with a metal banging, found sounds thing to a point of maturity where that became a very accomplished process.  It was the bridge between large European act to stadium band.

Also the texture of it - the first 2 minutes are incredible. Then with tracks like It Doesn't Matter Two and their positioning in the running order, it gets me every time. Always has.

APA;  Black Celebration aside, what are your plans for the rest of the year?

KT: We are keen to push a little wider out as the team expands, push forward with a more ambitious elements that we can comfortably deliver.

Woody and I have now been joined by 4 new people in total. Two new guys joining us on stage, Tony and another Paul, Claire Whatley our new manager and a  new media / social media guy Paul Swindell.  This has relieved the workload enormously.

We've also had to get in a new 4 way in-ear radio monitoring systems and guitar transmission and mic. New set up, flight cases etc.  We'll soon be running on all new macs as well and nearly all new keyboards plus an extra Gretsch (Double Anniversary) to go with our Gretsch Baby Falcon. 

But the big thing has been getting the Black Celebration album ready while simultaneously bringing in the two new guys.  They had to learn their parts for our full set, (assigning new ones) and for the BC album.  I have to say now, Paul and Tony have worked extremely hard and professionally.

Thanks very much to Keith for sparing the time to have a chat about the case. Make sure you check out Speak & Spell's site below and get along to the O2 for the Black Celebration gig if you can. Keep an eye on their site too for all future gigs.

Speak & Spell http://www.depechemodetribute.co.uk/

Black Celebration gig page http://www.depechemodetribute.co.uk/are-you-ready-for-a-black-celebration/

Speak & Spell Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Depechemode.uk/?fref=ts

SALLY DIGE - HARD TO PLEASE

Continuing their theme of releasing nothing but outstanding records, Glasgow's Night School Records have just released Hard To Please, the debut album by Sally Dige, a Berlin based Canadian musician. The album is a collection of first class electropop and is quickly becoming one of my albums of the year.

Opener and title track Hard To Please sets the standard quickly with an A Broken Frame era Depeche Mode feel, especially with its Leave In Silence like baseline. Diego's vocals are captivating, both on this track and throughout and they match the music perfectly. Immaculate Deception follows and whilst I realise this is both (1) and obvious and (2) a tedious comparison, Depeche Mode spring to mind again with the track having a distinct Speak & Spell vibe, albeit one with Siouxsie on vocals if you can imagine such a thing. Trust me, it's a very good thing indeed. So Far Away has a harder sound with Pretty Hate Machine style beats and harder, less obviously poppy synths, before the superb Doppleganger finishes off Side 1 beautifully with a wonderful piece of cold wave synthpop. I say Side 1 because I managed to get my hands on one of the limited edition clear vinyl releases as you can see below

Side 2 continues where Side 1 left off with the Yazoo like Losing You. Don't let the comparisons to the early synth genius Depeche and Yazoo make you think this album is a retro sounding 80's thing by the way; that's just not the case. It takes influence from that era no doubt, but it retains a modern feel throughout. Your Girl and A Certain Beauty follow, the former following a Cocteau Twins path, the latter a more gothic one and both are a joy to the ears. The album closes with the dark Dance Of Delusion which reminds me of The Cure in the Faith and Pornography days and that can only be a positive.

Hard To Please is an album that is bound to appeal not only to fans of synthpop but also to anyone who enjoys artists who manage to combine a feel of experimentation with electronic pop which is never an easy balance to strike. Given that this is her debut album, and given that she strikes that balance so impressively, Sally Dige is an artist that I know I'm going to be keeping a close eye on. You should too.

Sally Dige Hard To Please is released on Night School Records and is available on vinyl and cd. GO to http://nightschoolrecords.com to find out more

DEPECHE MODE'S SPEAK & SPELL - A DEFENCE

It's easy to write off Speak & Spell as a poor album and to view Depeche Mode as only really coming into being with Construction Time Again. The band do so why shouldn't the fans? To many it's viewed as an anomaly; a throwaway synthpop album with lightweight tunes featuring pretty boys, boys saying go and no discos. To those people I say listen again - there is far far much more to Speak & Spell than that

Look at the musical landscape of 1981 when Speak & Spell came out. We had people dressed like Revolutionary France nobleman, Dandy Highwayman or sporting in crap suits and poorly applied make-up Much, much worse, we had tartan clad buffoons like Spandau Ballet. Ok, nobody is going to suggest that Depeche Mode weren't dressed poorly. Anyone with eyes can see that Dave needed a different hairdresser in 1981, and the suits/trilby combo from the Just Can't Get Enough video really is a something we all want to forget about. As the "live" section of the video shows, Depeche stood apart from their peers with their leather and military style clothing, despite how incongruous that seemed when you consider the poppy song they were miming to. Anyway, my point is that in comparison to the clothes horse bands knocking out substandard rubbish, Depeche get wrongly lumped in with, Depeche stood out. They were different to these other bands. That's point number one.

The next and most important thing to consider is the music. From the very off, Depeche Mode offered something different,  a point entirely emphasised by the Some Bizarre version of Photographic which released before Speak & Spell itself. They mixed pop sensibilities with an electronic sound far harder than any of their contemporaries, drawing much influence from Kraftwerk, The Normal and so on, but retaining an ear catching melody. Whilst other "synth classics" of the time offer some promise (for example the opening 8 bars of To Cut A Long Story Short which is the only 8 bars of worthwhile music Spandau Ballet produced) they are very few, if any albums from that era that are firstly purely electronic and, secondly have stood the test of time. Speak & Spell satisfies both those criteria.

Let's start with the opening track New Life. By the the album was released, New Life was already well known. The song having charted high as a single, leading to the band's first Top of The Pops performance. As with the majority of Vince's lyrics there's not a lot of sense to be had bar the odd line, but that really doesn't matter with a song of such undeniable quality. It could almost be termed dance music given the speed it flies along at, and it ends beautifully on a Beatles-esque 4 part harmony. It's a perfect start to the album. I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead (early signs of the fun Vince was having in the band perhaps) pops up next and again mixes electronics, a fairly hefty bass line and beautiful harmonies ( "Never say goodbye........but I don't know why") to fantastic effect. Track 3 is Puppets which could easily have been another top ten single, and was in fact performed on UK television at the time (below), so perhaps that was the intention. Again for an album that is on the face of it a synthpop album this is fairly dark stuff, both musically and lyrically with Vince's lyrics influenced by his or a friend's drug experiences. Puppets is a perfect example of why this album should not be idly written off as, even though the band grew and developed in many different ways over the next few years, Puppets is template for early Depeche Mode work up to 1986.





Boys Say Go! is the next track. Ostensibly a song about going out with the lads for a few drinks, it is a fairly rowdy track and there's nothing wrong with that. The band kept it in the set until the Black Celebration tour, which says a lot for how well it went down live. I know of people now (or perhaps a person - hi Niggels) who'd love to see it return to the set and why not? You know you'd jump around to it - you do. The next two songs are for me the album's weakest tracks. Nodisco is interesting musically, but the lyrics let it down. As with the whole album, it is impeccably produced by the band and Daniel Miller with the able assistance of John Fryer and Eric Radcliffe. The sounds that were sculpted and created in the studio are majestic, and, bar a few, do not sound dated at all.

The album's most controversial moment for Depeche Mode fans comes next with What's Your Name. For a blog defending the album and indeed begging you to give it another go, I've got to say that this is a bad track. Compared to the moody almost experimental music we find elsewhere, this is a slice of generic synthpop that sits alongside the other rubbish of the time. The album would not miss this track if it wasn't there put it that way. Saving us spectacularly is track 7, Photographic. The song's first appearance was on the Some Bizarre album, and, there, it was a driving electronic track which was pretty much perfect. The album version is different however, as it is longer and darker, but it is still something very special. It certainly fits with the futurist tag of the time and, lyrically, it almost sounds like it's written from say the 1930's imagining an electronic world of the future. That said, you could also argue that it's written from the perspective of a stalker talking illicit pictures, but I prefer the former version. It's a stunning song and again ensures that Depeche stand well above their peers.

Not to be outdone by Vince, Martin contributes the next two tracks. Tora! Tora! Tora! is a slab of electro goodness far spikier than any of Vince's tracks, with lyrics about skeletons and Americans, all creating a unique track which sounds like nothing else mainstream at the time. Big Muff follows, an instrumental and a belter of a track. The promo sheets issued by Sire, the band's US record company at the time, talked of Big Muff as being a "Eurodisco" track . That  isn't quite how I'd describe it but, fair enough, it was all new to them at the time. Try and track down some early bootlegs to hear how good Big Muff sounds live - it's raw and fantastic. Vince reclaims the song-writing pen for Any Second Now (Voices), but Martin takes over the vocals. This is a beautiful beautiful song which puts one in mind of standing on lonely European railway station platforms surrounded by smoke mourning the end of a cherished relationship. Something like that anyway. The music perfectly suits the lyrics and melody and it all just works perfectly. If you don't like this song then you really aren't trying hard enough.



We end, of course, on Just Can't Get Enough which is where Depeche Mode said "Ok we'll do a synthpop song but it's going to be far better than anything you'll do" and they weren't wrong. It's VERY easy to dislike this song only because every time you tell someone you're a Depeche fan they either say "Oh yeah...Tainted Love right?" or "The 80's band? I remember them -  'And I just don't seem to get enough of DO DO DO DO DO DO DO DO" etc". Ignore that feeling. Swallow it deep down. Just Can't Get Enough is synthpop at its finest. That is all you should ever need to know.

The criticism of Speak & Spell is genuinely baffling. Ok, it's not Violator, Songs of Faith And Devotion or Black Celebration,  but it's the sound of a band trying something new whilst trying to be different and you have to appreciate the sheer quality of what they produce. So many people are rightly quick to praise Dreaming of Me and Ice Machine but they then disregard Speak & Spell. They are all part of the same thing and, together, they all show why Depeche Mode were by far and away the finest band from that era.

Remember this - without Speak & Spell we wouldn't have the Depeche Mode we do now.

And that really wouldn't do would it?