Depeche Mode (IPA: [dəˈpɛʃ], də-PESH) are an English electronic band who formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980-81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, production) with Gore taking over songwriting. Wilder left the band in 1995 and since then Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have continued as a trio.

Depeche Mode are one of the most successful, influential, longest-lived bands that have emerged from the early 1980s. They have had forty-five songs in the UK Singles Chart and #1 albums in UK, US and throughout Europe. According to EMI, Depeche Mode have sold over 75 million albums worldwide[1], as part of total worldwide record sales (including singles) in excess of 100 million.

Formation (1977-1980)
Depeche Mode's origins can be traced back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass.[4] In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an "Ultravox rip-off band", The Plan, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith.[5] In 1978-79, Gore played in an acoustic duo, Norman and The Worms, with school friend Philip Burdett on vocals and Gore on guitar.[6] In 1979, Marlow, Gore, Clarke and friend Paul Redmond formed a band called The French Look, Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. On 31 May 1980, The French Look and Composition of Sound played together at St. Nicholas School Youth Club, Basildon, Essex.

Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesizers, working odd jobs including carpentry to buy or borrow them from friends. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout-hut jam session, crooning to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes", and Depeche Mode was born. When explaining the choice for the new name (taken from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode) Martin Gore has said, "It means hurried fashion or fashion dispatch. I like the sound of that."[7] The band made their recording debut on the Some Bizzare Album, with the song "Photographic", later re-recorded for their debut album, Speak & Spell.