Depeche Mode, Paperback

Bursting onto the pop music scene during the British electronic pop craze at the beginning of the 80s, and enjoying success and longevity greater than any of their kindred bands, Depeche Mode continues to bring music to the masses through their albums and world tours. In Depeche Mode: A Biography, rock writer Steve Malins goes back to the beginning, when David Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andrew Fletcher were teenagers in the suburbs of London, in a time when synthesizers were gaining ground in the wake of punk rock. Their catchy compositions would heavily influence much of the electronically-driven popular music that followed-and their albums Black Celebration and Violator would ignite a storm of worldwide adulation. Malins reveals the union of three completely different personalities that forms Depeche Mode: The reckless, flamboyant Gahan, the quiet, artistic Gore, and the pragmatic, confrontational Fletcher. Since the 80s the threesome has survived frequently colliding egos, marriages, the departure of band members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder, and the bizarre vicissitudes of global fame, to create a working partnership that has lasted for decades. Depeche Mode: A Biography sheds light on the trials and tensions that the band has lived through, from the rigorous Devotional tour, during which Gahan, Fletcher, and Wilder were hospitalized at different times, to Gahan's insane adventures living in Los Angeles and his near-fatal drug overdose in 1995. Written with the band's cooperation, Depeche Mode: A Biography is a remarkable story of music, fame, and excess, a must-read for DM fans who just can't get enough.

Steve Malins has written books on Paul Weller and Radiohead. He lives in England.