1982 was a heady time for radio in Los Angeles. KROQ had risen to #1 in the market and their eclectic mix of new wave programming would set the stage for much of what MTV would adopt as their core music focus. KROQ always provided a blend of bands breaking out of LA and the rest of the US, along with a healthy dose of emerging artists from England.
Out of this musical stew, we were introduced to a new English band called Depeche Mode, with spins of their first single “Just Can’t Get Enough.” While the track was hugely popular in Southern California, their debut LP “Speak and Spell” went largely unnoticed in the rest of the US. And there were problems in Depeche Mode-land.
{sidebar id=159}Even before the US release of the album, songwriter Vince Clarke (who composed all the songs on “Speak and Sell”) announced he was leaving Depeche Mode to form a duo Yazoo (released as Yaz in the US since there was already a Yazoo here) with his then girlfriend Allison Moyet. Yaz of course had huge hits with “Situation” and “Don’t Go” before personal problems caused the duo to split. Allison went on to have a number of solo hits, while Vince partnered with Andy Bell to form the hugely successful Erasure.
But where did the departure of song writer Vince Clarke leave Depeche Mode? It literally temporarily broke up the band. On encouragement from Sire Records President Seymour Stein, Martin Gore accepted the challenge to write for Depeche Mode, and the rest is history, as they went on to become stars that could fill stadiums.
Later Martin Gore-penned songs such as “Never Let Me Down Again” “Your Own Personal Jesus” “Strange Love” “People Are People” have become radio and concert staples. But these early Vince Clarke songs pointed the way for what would emerge as Erasure and the many hits they enjoyed. “Speak and Spell” contains an uncut 6:41 lengthy remix of “Just Can’t Get Enough,” that current djs sample even today. “Boys Say Go!” also became something of an underground club hit at the time, particularly in the gay clubs with lines like “boys meet boys, get together” cementing a large gay following that has been with them ever since.
But there are other gems on this under-appreciated album: the tongue-in-cheek qualities of “nodisco,” the slinky electro groove of “Puppets” and the hyperkinetic feel of “Dreaming Of Me.” For true fans of Depeche Mode “Speak and Spell” is an undiscovered diamond-in-the-rough of their genesis—check it out.
