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which between them is better. Whether it’s The Ramones vs. The Sex Pistols,
Metallica vs. Megadeth, Pearl Jam vs. Nirvana, there’s a band rivalry in just
about every genre. While these debates certainly provide for some colorful
commentary, the musical aspects of the two competing bands are strikingly
similar. This only adds to the strangeness of my love for both The Beatles
and Depeche Mode.
Of course, anyone who has any knowledge of music groups knows that
the music they produce is truly only half of the equation. The other half
comes from the relationships between the artists, something that The
Beatles and Depeche Mode have common ground on. Much like the band
structure of The Beatles, which feature Paul McCartney and John Lennon as
the lead men, with George Harrison and Ringo Starr filling in the back,
Depeche Mode features a similar design. Martin Gore (the guitarist, back up
singer, and lyric writer of the group) is accompanied by David Gahan as the
lead men of the group, with Andrew Fletcher filling in any major stuff in the
back. There is a difference here, in that Depeche Mode is a trio, however this
is because of Alan Wilder’s (the former keyboardist for the group) departure
from the band in the mid 90’s.
Here we see another similarity arise: the tightness of the bands. In The
Beatles’ ten year run from 1960-1970, they had only two changes in their
line-up, both of which occurred in the very early years of the band (Pete
Best, who was replaced by Starr in 1962, and Stuart Sutcliffe, the original
bassist of The Beatles, who passed away in 1962). Since Depeche Mode’s
formation in 1980, they have had only two changes in their line-up as well,
with Vince Clarke’s (former lead singer of the group) departure in 1981, and
Alan Wilder leaving in 1995.
This much is clear: despite the stark differences in their overall sound,
Depeche Mode’s upbringing is intertwined, and can be partially attributed to,
The Beatles. This is both directly (Gore being influenced by them), and
indirectly (incorporating the synthesizer in their final album, Abbey Road,
and therefore paving the way for extensive use of the synthesizer in popular
music to become a reality). It’s pretty remarkable, that the final efforts of a
popular band would eventually become the first efforts of another.