Martin Gore
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Martin Lee Gore (born July 23, 1961 in Basildon, Essex, England) has been a member of the band Depeche Mode since its inception in 1980. When Vince Clarke departed the band in 1981 after their debut album Speak & Spell, Gore became the main songwriter of Depeche Mode.
Gore also sings lead vocals in several of the band's songs, mainly those that could be classified as Depeche's softer (love) ballads, his soft tenor voice providing a contrast to David Gahan's dramatic baritone.
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[edit] Career
Martin left St. Nicholas's Comprehensive School in 1977 and took a job as a bank teller. During evenings, weekends and any other spare time, he was involved with the local band Norman and the Worms.
In 1980, Martin met Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher at the Van Gogh club and he was soon recruited into his and Vince Clarke's band, Composition of Sound. Soon the band drafted David Gahan to be the lead singer after seeing him sing "Heroes" by David Bowie. Gahan is credited with the name "Depeche Mode" after seeing the phrase as a title of a French fashion magazine, which considered taking them to court, but thought it would be good publicity for the magazine to let the band have the name.
Vince Clarke was chiefly responsible for the material on Depeche Mode's first album, Speak & Spell, (1981). Gore contributed only two tracks; the instrumental "Big Muff" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!". Also, on the album is "Any Second Now (voices)", which has Martin on lead vocals, his first for the band and the only non-cover song he sings which is not written by himself. When Vince Clarke announced his departure from Depeche Mode in 1981, citing the pressures of fame as the reason, Martin took over the main songwriting and composition duties for the band. He had been writing material since the age of 12.
The songs that he provided for Depeche Mode's second outing, A Broken Frame (1982) were vastly different in sound and lyrical content from Vince Clarke's lyrically lightweight offerings on Speak & Spell. The predominant themes were unrequited love and naïvety, with a dash of everything from politics to religion. This set a precedent for the darker tones in both the lyrics and the melodies for the group.
When Alan Wilder was finally introduced as a permanent member of the band (c. 1983), Gore let all production and arrangement responsibilities rest with him. This is especially evident when comparing the harmonium performed demo of "Enjoy the Silence" with the epic synth pop masterpiece that it eventually became.
Because of their easily felt "real-world" subjects and cynical, almost borderline nihilistic takes on the human race (and prominently, love), Martin's lyrics have appealed to a wide and varied audience, despite (and maybe even because of) their relative simplicity. As a result, Depeche Mode have retained an extremely loyal fanbase for more than two decades.
Martin also contributes lead vocals to Depeche Mode songs, usually around two per album. A Broken Frame is the only one without him as an official lead singer, however "Shouldn't Have Done That" has him prominently in the track, despite Dave Gahan's officially being credited as the singer. Fans mostly enjoy his tracks but the media, especially in 2005, tend to imply that he should leave the singing to Gahan. This could be the result of his songs in Playing the Angel and Exciter, which got mixed opinions from fans. Nevertheless his higher, reedier voice makes for a pleasant contrast with Gahan's deeper, sterner vocalising.
During Depeche Mode concerts, Gore typically sings two songs in the middle of the main setlist and one at the beginning of the first encore. Depeche Mode concerts are also known for his guitar playing. During "Enjoy the Silence", he has a guitar solo towards the end of the track, where he is introduced by Gahan to glorious applause. (This can be seen in the One Night in Paris DVD recording of the Exciter Tour)
[edit] Personal life
On August 27, 1994, Martin married lingerie designer Suzanne Boisvert, and has two daughters and a son with her: Viva Lee Gore (b. 6 June 1991) and Ava Lee Gore (b. July 1995) and Calo Leon Gore (b. July 27, 2002). The family still lives together in Santa Barbara, California, just blocks from where the newest Depeche Mode Album was recorded.
As of January 2006 Martin has divorced from Suzanne. The song "Precious" from 2005's Playing the Angel was a product of the divorce, written as a response to the trauma it caused his children. [1]
[edit] Solo discography
- Counterfeit e.p. (Mute STUMM 67, 1989)
- Counterfeit² (Mute STUMM 214, 2003)
In 2003 Martin released Counterfeit², a follow up solo cover album to his 1989 Counterfeit EP. Both feature his own takes on other people's material; he has stated publicly that he considers himself not the most prolific songwriter and prefers to keep his own material for Depeche Mode albums.
The first Counterfeit featured covers of bands such as The Durutti Column, Comsat Angels and Sparks. Second one contained an eclectic barrage from David Essex to Lou Reed, John Lennon, David Bowie and even Nick Cave.
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1989 | "Compulsion" | — | #18 | — | — | Counterfeit |
| 2003 | "Stardust" | — | — | — | — | Counterfeit² |
| 2003 | "Loverman EP²" | — | — | — | — | Counterfeit² |
[edit] Depeche Mode songs with Martin on lead vocals
Depeche Mode's lead vocals are generally handled by David Gahan, but on occasion Martin will sing lead vocals. These are all the songs he sings in chronological order.
- Speak and Spell
- "Any Second Now (voices)"
- Construction Time Again
- "Pipeline"
- Some Great Reward
- "It Doesn't Matter"
- "Somebody"
- Black Celebration
- "A Question of Lust"
- "Sometimes"
- "It Doesn't Matter Two"
- "World Full of Nothing"
- "Black Day" ["Stripped" single]
- Music for the Masses
- "The Things You Said"
- "I Want You Now"
- "Route 66" (cover of a song by Nat King Cole) [B-Side of "Behind the Wheel"]
- Violator
- "Enjoy the Silence" (Harmonium version only) ["Enjoy the Silence" single]
- "Sweetest Perfection"
- "Blue Dress"
- Songs of Faith and Devotion
- "Death's Door" [Until the End of the World soundtrack]
- "Judas"
- "One Caress"
- Ultra
- "Home"
- "The Bottom Line"
- Exciter
- "Comatose"
- "Breathe"
- Playing the Angel
- "Macro"
- "Damaged People"
[edit] Duet
These are songs where Dave and Martin have around equal singing time, in chronological order. In some instances, both sing at the same time (ex: "Behind the Wheel"), and in others, Dave sings the verses while Martin sings the chorus (ex: "Everything Counts").
Note that the songs listed here are based on judgement of the Wikipedia users editing this site, and may not officially be called "duets" by the band or some other Wikipedia users.
- Shouldn't Have Done That [A Broken Frame]
- Everything Counts [Construction Time Again]
- Something to Do [Some Great Reward] (the 2004 Black Strobe remix completely loses Gahan's voice)
- People Are People [Some Great Reward]
- Shake the Disease [Catching Up with Depeche Mode]
- Here is the House [Black Celebration]
- Behind the Wheel [Music for the Masses]
- Pleasure, Little Treasure [Music for the Masses]
- Waiting for the Night [Violator]
- Insight [Ultra]
- The Sinner In Me [Playing the Angel]
- Nothing's Impossible [Playing the Angel]
- Newborn [B-side to "A Pain That I'm Used To"]
[edit] Live
These are songs that Martin has sung lead live, although the studio versions are sung by Dave, in chronological order of the song's first live performance by Martin. Includes his solo concerts in 2003.
- Little 15 (World Violation Tour)
- Here is the House (World Violation Tour)
- Condemnation (Exotic Tour, Exciter Tour, Solo)
- Waiting for the Night (Exotic Tour)
- Sister of Night (KROQ Acoustic Christmas '98, Exciter Tour)
- Dressed in Black (Exciter Tour)
- Surrender (Exciter Tour, Solo)
- Only When I Lose Myself (Solo only)
- In Your Room (Solo only)
- Walking in My Shoes (Solo only)
- The Love Thieves (Solo only)
- Enjoy the Silence (Solo only)
- Shake the Disease (Solo, Touring the Angel)
- Leave in Silence (Touring The Angel)
[edit] Trivia
- A curiously endearing parody of Depeche Mode's "Somebody", entitled "Some Valium for Fletch" was released on the internet, and features a fictional Martin Gore singing an anxiety-ridden Andrew Fletcher to sleep after the final Touring the Angel concert.
