Depeche Mode - Legacy and Influence

Legacy and Influence

Depeche Mode became "The most popular electronic band the world has ever known" according to Q magazine, "One of the greatest British pop groups of all time" according to the Sunday Telegraph, and "The quintessential Eighties techno-pop band" according to Rolling Stone magazine and MTV.

One of the most influential groups over the last 30 years, Depeche Mode have inspired generations of new musicians while consolidating their considerable reputation. In the process they have sold over 100 million records and played to audiences in excess of 30 million.

Depeche Mode influenced many of today's popular recording artists, in part due to their recording techniques and innovative use of sampling. For example, Pet Shop Boys cited Violator (and "Enjoy the Silence" in particular) as one of the main sources of inspiration during recording of their critically acclaimed album Behaviour. Neil Tennant says, "We were listening to Violator by Depeche Mode, which was a very good album and we were deeply jealous of it". Bandmate Chris Lowe agrees, "They had raised the stakes".

Techno pioneers Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins regularly cited Depeche Mode as an influence on the development of techno music during the Detroit Techno explosion in the mid 1980s. Appreciation of Depeche Mode within today's electronic music scene is shown by the numerous Depeche Mode remixes by contemporary DJs such as Ricardo Villalobos' remix of "The Sinner in Me" or Kruder & Dorfmeister's remix of "Useless".

Brandon Flowers, the vocalist of The Killers, claimed, "Before I even thought of myself as a musician, I was affected by Depeche Mode as a person. I think about Some Great Reward or Songs of Faith and Devotion and they shaped me as an individual before I even wrote a song." According to Matt Smith, the former music director of the modern-rock radio station KROQ, "The Killers, The Bravery, Franz Ferdinand — that whole wave of music owes a tremendous amount to Depeche Mode."

In an accompanying interview for his piece in The New Yorker evaluating the impact of British acts on the US market, Sasha Frere-Jones claims that "probably the last serious English influence was Depeche Mode, who seem more and more significant as time passes."

Chester Bennington, vocalist of Linkin Park, cites the band as an inspiration. Another Linkin Park member Mike Shinoda has said, "Depeche Mode are one of the most influential groups of our time. Their music is an inspiration to me..." Shinoda remixed the band's song "Enjoy the Silence" in 2004.

Chino Moreno from the band Deftones has cited Depeche Mode's lyrics influencing his own. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter has expressed an admiration for them as well, with his own quieter guitar playing in White Pony being inspired by Depeche Mode.

Ken Jordan, member of the LA electronic duo The Crystal Method has said that Depeche Mode are one of their main influences in music. Roger Rose, lead singer of Christian rock band Mad at the World, has also cited the band as an influence on his music.

Raymond Herrera, the drummer of the heavy metal band Fear Factory, says, "A lot of different music influenced the way I play now. Like the band Depeche Mode. If I could sound like Depeche Mode, but be fast like Slayer, I think I might be onto something". According to Darren Smith, the guitarist of the post-hardcore band Funeral for a Friend, "dark, moodier stuff" in his band's music was "Depeche Mode-influenced."

Colombian singer Shakira is also highly influenced by Depeche Mode. Ximena Diego, the author of the book Shakira – Woman Full of Grace wrote in this book: "At thirteen Shakira especially liked Depeche Mode, an electronic rock band from Great Britain. One day she was listening to the band's song, "Enjoy the Silence". She noticed that she was not only hearing the music but also feeling the music in her body. She said to her mother, "Every time I hear that guitar riff I feel this weird thing in my stomach"." Shakira also stated that the best concert she ever saw was a Depeche Mode one, and called Dave Gahan "the best live singer I've ever heard".

In August 2008, Coldplay released an alternative music video for their single "Viva la Vida" which was inspired by the "Enjoy the Silence" video. On their website the band are quoted as saying, "This is our attempt at a video cover version, made out of love for Depeche Mode and the genius of Anton Corbijn...". The video shows Chris Martin dressed as a king walking through The Hague.

German heavy metal band Rammstein, who covered "Stripped" in 1997, have cited Depeche Mode as one of their biggest inspirations. Richard Kruspe, the lead guitarist of Rammstein, said that growing up his influence was "heavy metal on the one side and pop on the other. (...) I was afraid to tell my friends I was listening to Depeche Mode. I loved the band. I loved their melodies. That’s why in Rammstein, you can hear a lot of melodies in our music."

"I feel more connected to Depeche Mode" (compared to other acts of the 1980s) claimed Magne Furuholmen, the guitarist/keyboardist of a-ha. In July 2009, a-ha performed a cover of "A Question of Lust" during a live performance for BBC Radio 2 – The Dermot O'Leary Show.

In 2010, while promoting their latest album The Suburbs, Win Butler of Arcade Fire cited Depeche Mode as an influence, "I grew up listening to bands like Depeche Mode and New Order and bands that used a lot of sequences and synth stuff..." and went on to say, "there are songs to me on this new record that sound like Depeche Mode mixed with Neil Young".

In March 2012 issue of Mojo magazine, Gary Numan cited Songs of Faith and Devotion as the album that saved his career noting, "(after listening to this album) (my) music changed dramatically. It became much darker. At School I was excused from religious instruction because I had no faith and Songs of Faith and Devotion suddenly gave me something to write about and something to be bothered about. (...) I love Depeche Mode, always will."