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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 22 2007, 7:35 AM EST (current) | ViolatorCelebrator | 1 word added, 6 words deleted |
| Dec 21 2007, 1:33 PM EST | LadyofStyx | 2 words added, 1 word deleted |
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Martin Gore Bio | Martin Gore Pictures
Martin Lee Gore was introduced to this world on July 23, 1961 in Basildon, Essex, England. Although little is known about his early childhood, we do know that according to Johnathan Miller's book "Stripped: Depeche Mode" (Omnibus Press, 2003, 2004 pp.318-319) that Martin's biological father was an African-American GI stationed in the UK. When asked about meeting his biological father in the American South, Martin had this to say, "It brings up family traumas and it's one of those things that I'd rather not talk about."
When he was 16, Martin left St. Nicholas's Comprehensive School and took a job as a bank teller and was involved with one of the local bands named "Norman and the Worms" on most evenings, weekends as well as any other free time that he had.
In 1980, Martin met Andrew Fletcher at a club called "The Van Gogh Club". Andrew recruited him into the band he had with Vince Clarke called "Composition of Sound". He was also a member of a second band and traded time between the two because he didn't have the heart to say no to either of them.
The following year, 1981, was an eventful one for Martin. David Gahan was recruited into the band, they changed their name to Depeche Mode and released their first album called "Speak and Spell".
Shortly after the release of their debut album, Vince Clarke left the band citing conflicts with the direction the band was taking and the pressures of fame. This left Martin to take the reins as the main songwriter. It was an extreme amount of pressure for for him but, having written two of the songs on Speak and Spell ("Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff") and that he was writing songs since he was 12, he would soon prove himself to be one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
Not only a songwriter, Martin sings one song on their debut album called "Any Second Now (voices). The songs that Martin sings solo will later be known as the "Depeche Mode Ballads" and become a recurring theme for each subsequent album. His tenor voice as backup to David's baritone is a perfect balance for each other.
They released their next album, "A Broken Frame", in 1982. The sound for this album was only slightly darker in tone than their previous effrort.
In 1983, we saw the release of "Construction Time Again". This album marked the beginning of the "Depeche Mode Sound". By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial-influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten, the latter having been published under the same label.
Similarly, Gore's lyricism was rapidly evolving, focusing increasingly on political and social issues. A good example of the new sound was on the first single from the album "Everything Counts", a commentary on the perceived greed of multinational corporations, which got to #6 in the UK, also reaching the Top 30 in Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden and West Germany.
Depeche Mode's largest transformation came in 1986, with the release of their fifteenth single "Stripped", and its accompanying album Black Celebration. Jettisoning much of the "industrial-pop" sound that had characterised their previous two LPs (although they retained their often imaginative sampling), the band introduced an ominous, highly atmospheric and textured sound, accompanied by some of Gore's bleakest, most insightful lyrics to date.
In February 1990, "Enjoy the Silence", became one of Depeche Mode's most successful singles to date, reaching #6 in the UK; a few months later in the US, it became Depeche Mode's first (and to date, only) Top 10 hit, reaching #8, and earning the band a second gold single. It won 'British single' at the 1991 Brit Awards. To promote their new album Violator, they held an in-store autograph signing at the Tower Records music store in Los Angeles, which attracted approximately 17,000 fans and caused a near-riot. Violator went on to reach Top 10 in the UK and US. It has also been certified triple platinum in America, selling over 3.5 million units there. The subsequent World Violation Tour was another notable success, with 40,000 tickets sold within eight hours for the New York Giants Stadium (in East Rutherford, New Jersey) show, and 48,000 tickets for the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium show sold within an hour of going on sale. Two more singles from the album, "Policy of Truth" and "World in My Eyes" were UK and US hits.
Songs of Faith and Devotion was released in 1993. The album debuted at #1 in both the US and UK markets. The infamous tour soon followed in which Martin suffered from seizures, David's heroin addiction had become more prevalent and Andrew Fletcher flat out refused to finish the second leg of the tour due to "mental instability".
Alan Wilder left the band soon after the tour's completion stating "Since joining in 1982, I have continually striven to give total energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the furthering of the group's success and in spite of a consistent imbalance in the distribution of the workload, willingly offered this. Unfortunately, within the group, this level of input never received the respect and acknowledgement that it warrants."
On 27 August 1994, Gore married lingerie designer Suzanne Boisvert. They have three children together: Viva Lee Gore (born 6 June 1991) and Ava Lee Gore (born July 1995) and Calo Leon Gore (born 27 July 2002).
Of all of the albums, Ultra was the hardest to get completed. Throughout 1995 and 1996, Martin tried continually to get everyone back into the studio. But with Dave in rehab, they were unable to complete as much as they had liked until he was released in 1996.
Ultra debuted at the #1 spot in the UK and was in the top 5 in the US
in 1997. In an interview with CNN, Martin stated "We made a conscious decision to return to a more electronic sound for this record even though there's quite a bit of guitar featured," said guitarist Martin Gore." featured".
After the release of Exciter in 2001, Martin began working on his second solo project Counterfeit 2 which was released on April 28, 2003. It was his follow-up to 1989's Counterfeit. Both feature only versions of material by other songwriters. The first Counterfeit featured covers of bands such as The Durutti Column, Comsat Angels and Sparks. The second contains an ecclectic barrage from David Essex to Lou Reed, John Lennon, David Bowie and even Nick Cave.
The tracks on "Counterfeit2" range from sultry 21st Century blues to achingly lovely sci-fi lullabies, sublime alt-country crooners to engrossing electronic torch songs. A glittering haul of buried treasure, their only guiding spirit being the visceral emotional attachment felt by Martin towards them. The complete review of this album is posted here.
On October 17, 2005, the band released their 11th studio album
Playing the Angel. Produced by Ben Hillier, this Top 10 hit (peaking at #1 in 17 countries) featured the hit single "Precious", peaking at #4 in the UK charts. The album was backed by the band's first in-store signing since 1990, on the day of release in New York City. This is the first Depeche Mode album to feature lyrics written by Gahan and, consequently, the first album since 1984's Some Great Reward featuring songs not written by Gore.
As of January 2006 Gore has divorced from Boisvert. 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.
Rumor has it that the band will be entering the studio at some time in 2008 to begin production on their 12th studio album. We are all looking forward to it. Keep your eye on the news.
Sources: wikipedia, CNN, mute.com, Jason Ankeny, Johnathan Miller's Book "Stripped: Depeche Mode"
Martin Lee Gore was introduced to this world on July 23, 1961 in Basildon, Essex, England. Although little is known about his early childhood, we do know that according to Johnathan Miller's book "Stripped: Depeche Mode" (Omnibus Press, 2003, 2004 pp.318-319) that Martin's biological father was an African-American GI stationed in the UK. When asked about meeting his biological father in the American South, Martin had this to say, "It brings up family traumas and it's one of those things that I'd rather not talk about."When he was 16, Martin left St. Nicholas's Comprehensive School and took a job as a bank teller and was involved with one of the local bands named "Norman and the Worms" on most evenings, weekends as well as any other free time that he had.
In 1980, Martin met Andrew Fletcher at a club called "The Van Gogh Club". Andrew recruited him into the band he had with Vince Clarke called "Composition of Sound". He was also a member of a second band and traded time between the two because he didn't have the heart to say no to either of them.
The following year, 1981, was an eventful one for Martin. David Gahan was recruited into the band, they changed their name to Depeche Mode and released their first album called "Speak and Spell".
Shortly after the release of their debut album, Vince Clarke left the band citing conflicts with the direction the band was taking and the pressures of fame. This left Martin to take the reins as the main songwriter. It was an extreme amount of pressure for for him but, having written two of the songs on Speak and Spell ("Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff") and that he was writing songs since he was 12, he would soon prove himself to be one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
Not only a songwriter, Martin sings one song on their debut album called "Any Second Now (voices). The songs that Martin sings solo will later be known as the "Depeche Mode Ballads" and become a recurring theme for each subsequent album. His tenor voice as backup to David's baritone is a perfect balance for each other.
They released their next album, "A Broken Frame", in 1982. The sound for this album was only slightly darker in tone than their previous effrort.
In 1983, we saw the release of "Construction Time Again". This album marked the beginning of the "Depeche Mode Sound". By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial-influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten, the latter having been published under the same label.
Similarly, Gore's lyricism was rapidly evolving, focusing increasingly on political and social issues. A good example of the new sound was on the first single from the album "Everything Counts", a commentary on the perceived greed of multinational corporations, which got to #6 in the UK, also reaching the Top 30 in Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden and West Germany.
Depeche Mode's largest transformation came in 1986, with the release of their fifteenth single "Stripped", and its accompanying album Black Celebration. Jettisoning much of the "industrial-pop" sound that had characterised their previous two LPs (although they retained their often imaginative sampling), the band introduced an ominous, highly atmospheric and textured sound, accompanied by some of Gore's bleakest, most insightful lyrics to date.In February 1990, "Enjoy the Silence", became one of Depeche Mode's most successful singles to date, reaching #6 in the UK; a few months later in the US, it became Depeche Mode's first (and to date, only) Top 10 hit, reaching #8, and earning the band a second gold single. It won 'British single' at the 1991 Brit Awards. To promote their new album Violator, they held an in-store autograph signing at the Tower Records music store in Los Angeles, which attracted approximately 17,000 fans and caused a near-riot. Violator went on to reach Top 10 in the UK and US. It has also been certified triple platinum in America, selling over 3.5 million units there. The subsequent World Violation Tour was another notable success, with 40,000 tickets sold within eight hours for the New York Giants Stadium (in East Rutherford, New Jersey) show, and 48,000 tickets for the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium show sold within an hour of going on sale. Two more singles from the album, "Policy of Truth" and "World in My Eyes" were UK and US hits.
Songs of Faith and Devotion was released in 1993. The album debuted at #1 in both the US and UK markets. The infamous tour soon followed in which Martin suffered from seizures, David's heroin addiction had become more prevalent and Andrew Fletcher flat out refused to finish the second leg of the tour due to "mental instability".
Alan Wilder left the band soon after the tour's completion stating "Since joining in 1982, I have continually striven to give total energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the furthering of the group's success and in spite of a consistent imbalance in the distribution of the workload, willingly offered this. Unfortunately, within the group, this level of input never received the respect and acknowledgement that it warrants."
On 27 August 1994, Gore married lingerie designer Suzanne Boisvert. They have three children together: Viva Lee Gore (born 6 June 1991) and Ava Lee Gore (born July 1995) and Calo Leon Gore (born 27 July 2002).
Of all of the albums, Ultra was the hardest to get completed. Throughout 1995 and 1996, Martin tried continually to get everyone back into the studio. But with Dave in rehab, they were unable to complete as much as they had liked until he was released in 1996.
Ultra debuted at the #1 spot in the UK and was in the top 5 in the US
in 1997. In an interview with CNN, Martin stated "We made a conscious decision to return to a more electronic sound for this record even though there's quite a bit of guitar featured," said guitarist Martin Gore." featured".After the release of Exciter in 2001, Martin began working on his second solo project Counterfeit 2 which was released on April 28, 2003. It was his follow-up to 1989's Counterfeit. Both feature only versions of material by other songwriters. The first Counterfeit featured covers of bands such as The Durutti Column, Comsat Angels and Sparks. The second contains an ecclectic barrage from David Essex to Lou Reed, John Lennon, David Bowie and even Nick Cave.
The tracks on "Counterfeit2" range from sultry 21st Century blues to achingly lovely sci-fi lullabies, sublime alt-country crooners to engrossing electronic torch songs. A glittering haul of buried treasure, their only guiding spirit being the visceral emotional attachment felt by Martin towards them. The complete review of this album is posted here.
On October 17, 2005, the band released their 11th studio album
Playing the Angel. Produced by Ben Hillier, this Top 10 hit (peaking at #1 in 17 countries) featured the hit single "Precious", peaking at #4 in the UK charts. The album was backed by the band's first in-store signing since 1990, on the day of release in New York City. This is the first Depeche Mode album to feature lyrics written by Gahan and, consequently, the first album since 1984's Some Great Reward featuring songs not written by Gore.As of January 2006 Gore has divorced from Boisvert. 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.
Rumor has it that the band will be entering the studio at some time in 2008 to begin production on their 12th studio album. We are all looking forward to it. Keep your eye on the news.
Sources: wikipedia, CNN, mute.com, Jason Ankeny, Johnathan Miller's Book "Stripped: Depeche Mode"
