Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell
Written by: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 5.10.1981 UK / 29.10.1981 International
Sometimes a single song, and its chance yet powerful bond to a time and a place, can turn a great band into a genuine frenzy far from home. This is, of course, the uncompromising love story between "Depeche Mode", whose debut album "Speak & Spell" was released on October 5, 1981 in the UK and on October 29, 1981 in the rest of the world, and a small country in the Middle East: Israel.
"Just Can't Get Enough" was the third and final single from the band's debut album. A club song, rhythmic, fiery and sweaty, about young love in the middle of the dance floor.
In the UK the song became their first Top 10 hit (peaking at No. 8), but what happened with it in Israel went beyond the bounds of reason and into territory best left unspoken.
Without going into too much detail: among the local crowd dancing in clubs like Liquid and Shiroko to new wave and synth-pop tunes, a phrase took root that combined the song's repetitive chorus with a few of our body parts (in the mouth, in the butt).
Legend has it that a legendary DJ and a local party animal with plenty of nerve and flair, whose hormones were working overtime, came up with the add-on that stuck. It stuck so well that it was still going strong more than 30 years after the song's release, when the band came to perform in Israel in 2013.
The song's writer, keyboardist Vince Clarke, who left the band at the end of 1981, shortly after the album's release, noted that the song was influenced by the wonderful hit "To Cut a Long Story Short" by "Spandau Ballet", which was also their debut single.
Until that point, Clarke had shown no interest in dance music, but that wonderful hit changed his approach. "It was the first time I was truly impressed by a rhythm that sounded like 'boom-thwack'," Clarke said in an interview.
"It was the first time I discovered dance music for myself, and writing a song around that rhythm was a real revelation for me. 'Just Can't Get Enough' came out of that."
Clarke was only 20 when he wrote this song, which turned out to be the last one he wrote for "Depeche Mode". He left the band after the release of the album "Speak & Spell".
Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher teamed up to form a band called "Composition of Sound". They watched Martin Gore play a Moog Prodigy synthesizer at a local pub gig, and the three joined forces, turning "Composition of Sound" into a band built entirely on synthesizers, a shift driven partly by their low cost and the convenience of using them.
Clarke noted: "It was an instrument that didn't need its own amp, you could simply plug it into the PA system." At local gigs, the band members would often carry their keyboards under their arms on the way to the venue, and these were the only equipment they needed. Together they played their first live show on May 30, 1980, in Basildon.
At that first show Clarke served as the band's vocalist, but he felt the band needed a frontman to make the show more interesting, since Clarke tended to stand behind his keyboard throughout.
The band auditioned several candidates for the role of singer and eventually chose Dave Gahan. The band's next show, on June 14, 1980, was the first at which all four members performed.
Gore said of Gahan's joining: "It's not that he was a complete stranger. In fact, we all knew each other from our school days. And that made things easier for all of us. You can't really get along on the same level with new people who turn up through ads in the music press."
By August they already had a regular gig at the nightclub "Croc's", located in the market town of Rayleigh in Essex.
The club also opened its doors to bands such as "Spandau Ballet", and hosted the debut performance of an unknown outfit called "Culture Club".
Later, on September 24, 1980, the band changed its name to "Depeche Mode" at the request of Dave Gahan, who had come across a French fashion magazine of that name. The foursome kept performing across Britain until the end of the year, up to the New Year's show on January 3, 1981.
Because of the day jobs of Gore and Fletcher, and Gahan's academic commitments, the band sometimes had to pass up opportunities for live shows when their daily schedules clashed.
The band's early live shows mixed original songs, such as "Photographic" and "Ice Machine", with cover versions of songs by "The Beach Boys", "Lieutenant Pigeon", "The Everly Brothers" and "Gerry and the Pacemakers".
An offer to take part in the compilation album "Some Bizzare Album", which featured synth-pop, led the band to record a demo tape with three songs: "Ice Machine", "Photographic" and "Radio News".
In the end it was "Photographic" that made it onto the compilation, becoming the first song they ever recorded in a studio. The first official single from "Depeche Mode", "Dreaming of Me", came out on February 20, 1981.
The band toured for several months before returning to the studio in May 1981 to record its second single, "New Life".
The song opened a window onto the brighter side of synth-pop at the height of the genre's golden age. Gary Numan-style "electro-noir" met light optimism and bouncy sounds.
The song spent 15 weeks on the chart and peaked at No. 11. It was a rebirth of electronic music, a leap from the gloomy, industrial 1970s toward a glittering, pop-tinged tomorrow.
Vince Clarke wrote the song, which was recorded at Blackwing Studios. Singer Dave Gahan said of it: "We learned a lot from 'Dreaming of Me'. We came here and simply did a better job." The song features a four-part vocal harmony, similar to the one in "Twist and Shout" by "The Beatles". The harmony was sung by all four members of the band.
Following its chart success, the band performed the song on the BBC's "Top of the Pops" on June 25, 1981. It was their debut on the show.
After the performance, the band began recording the rest of the songs for "Speak & Spell" at Blackwing Studios in London. Earlier, while looking for a record label, they had been turned down again and again, until they were pointed to Daniel Miller, who had founded his own label, "Mute Records".
Recalling the first time he heard "Depeche Mode" play live, Miller said: "Fad Gadget had just finished their soundcheck, and I would usually go off with them, but for some reason I stayed behind and watched this band that looked like a dodgy 'New Romantic' act. I hated the New Romantic scene, but what was coming out of the speakers was amazing. I thought to myself: 'Well, everyone plays one good song at the start, but this just kept getting better.'"
Dave Gahan later said that the band signed to "Mute" after being offered a 50/50 deal, meaning they had to pay half of all their expenses and receive half of the profits in return.
However, Martin Gore clarified in 1989 that the band actually received 75% of the profits in Europe, thanks to licensing agreements. All this while the band was weighing offers from other labels at the same time, such as "CBS Records", "Island" and "Phonogram", but fortunately turned them down after realizing, in Gahan's words, that these companies "weren't really interested in our songs, they just wanted to add our name to their roster."
In 1987 the band looked back on its decision to choose "Mute" over a major label. Gore said: "It was quite tempting to join one of the big companies. Looking back, I can't understand why we didn't go with them. It was simply great luck that we didn't. I mean, imagine four 18-year-old boys, penniless, being offered sums like £200,000? But it was the best decision we ever made. Working with 'Mute' gave us the freedom to do whatever we want. They didn't push us in any particular direction, and Daniel Miller didn't act like a record company boss. He would come to the studio and help us out."
Most of the album's songs were written by Vince Clarke, while Martin Gore contributed two tracks. Gahan recalled that although the music was based entirely on synthesizers, they used them traditionally, with a lead melodic part, a bass part and a rhythm part.
Clarke was the only band member without a job at the time, so he and Miller worked on the album during the day, while the others arrived later, after finishing work.
Miller brought an ARP 2600 analog synthesizer and a sequencer into the studio for the recordings. Since the studio had only an 8-track recording system, the album was effectively recorded "live", with very few overdubs.
Miller said: "I tried, as best I could, to capture the atmosphere and feel of the songs as I saw them at live shows. I just wanted to get a good electronic-pop sound that wasn't a copy of something else."
Clarke was the only band member who took an interest in the production side of the recordings. Miller remembered that Gore and Fletcher tended to mess around in the studio while Clarke and Miller worked on building the songs.
This suited Clarke, who was not free of "control freak" tendencies, and it may be that this very trait eventually led him out of the band's embrace.
Fletcher said: "Clarke always wanted to do a lot in the studio, and the rest of us felt restricted," adding that they often felt uncomfortable disagreeing with Clarke in the studio.
When it came to lyrics, Clarke attached no importance to the meaning of his songs. He said: "There were no special messages in the songs. I like the sound of words and the way they fit together and rhyme."
From a living doll to Roxy's "dream home": "Puppets" offers pop full of mannequin fantasies. Sensual and sinister, "Puppets" is made up of parts of both. A taste of the dark, kinky pop they would make after Clarke's departure.
The song "Boys Say Go!" is high on energy, with repetitive lyrics written by Vince Clarke. Although many listeners read the song as a tribute to youth culture and queer camaraderie, band members have noted that the words were written first and foremost for their rhythmic and phonetic value, not to convey any deep narrative meaning.
One of the band's favorites to play live, "Tora! Tora! Tora!", takes its name from a Japanese military code meaning "complete surprise" (it is also the title of the film about the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor).
Gore's fondness for the early "The Human League" shows here, with beats in the style of "Being Boiled" and deep, ominous synthesizer tones.
Gahan is present here mostly as a ghostly figure, conveying, much like the chilling sound of the theremin, the macabre imagery of the lyrics: war, death, nightmares and skeletons. It is a first glimpse into the imaginative, Gothic world of Martin Gore, who would go on to leave his powerful mark on all of "Depeche Mode".
The dreamy electro ballad "Any Second Now (Voices)", written by Vince Clarke and performed by Martin Gore, is woven from the same delicate, airy synthetic fabric that characterizes "Neon Lights" by "Kraftwerk".
Miller suggested the album's title, inspired by the "Speak & Spell" toy that had just started selling in the UK at the time. The name was meant to symbolize "a band taking its first steps", a nod to the toy's target audience: children.
The album cover features an "enigmatic" photo of a swan wrapped in plastic. It was designed by Brian Griffin, who received an outrageous fee of £1,000 for it.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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