Depeche Mode’s ‘Music for the Masses’ turns 39 on 28 September
Depeche Mode’s ‘Music for the Masses’ turns 39 this year. The Mute Records album was released 28 September 1987, produced with David Bascombe.
Depeche Mode’s sixth studio album, “Music for the Masses,” turns 39 this year. The English synth-pop group released the record on 28 September 1987 through Mute Records in the United Kingdom, with Sire Records handling the United States and Intercord releasing it in West Germany. The UK vinyl carried catalog number STUMM47.
“Music for the Masses” was recorded between September 1986 and July 1987 at Studio Guillaume Tell outside Paris and Konk Studios in London, then mixed at Puk Recording Studios in Denmark. Depeche Mode co-produced the album with David Bascombe, marking the first time since 1981’s “Speak & Spell” that longtime producer Daniel Miller was not directly involved in a Depeche Mode album’s production. Band member Alan Wilder took on a larger production role on this record, arranging the songs at his home studio before the group recorded final versions together.
The album runs ten tracks: “Never Let Me Down Again,” “The Things You Said,” “Strangelove,” “Sacred,” “Little 15,” “Behind the Wheel,” “I Want You Now,” “To Have and to Hold,” “Nothing” and the closing instrumental “Pimpf.” Four singles were pulled from the record: “Strangelove” (27 April 1987), “Never Let Me Down Again” (24 August 1987), “Behind the Wheel” (28 December 1987) and “Little 15” (May 1988), all reaching the top 10 in various national charts.
“Music for the Masses” reached number 10 in the UK, number 2 in West Germany and number 35 in the US. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in February 1991, and an estimated 5.5 million copies had sold worldwide as of 2023, making it the band’s second best-selling album. The record was supported by the seven-leg Music for the Masses Tour, which ran from October 1987 through June 1988 and closed with a sold-out show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, later released as the live album “101” (1989).
The album is available to stream on Spotify.
Side-Line spoke with producer Dave Bascombe about “Music for the Masses” in 2023.
About Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode formed in Basildon, Essex, England, in 1980. The original line-up consisted of Vince Clarke, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and singer Dave Gahan. Clarke wrote most of the band’s debut, “Speak & Spell,” released in 1981 on Mute Records, before leaving the group to form Yazoo and later Erasure. Gore became the band’s main songwriter, and Alan Wilder joined as keyboardist in time for the group’s second album, “A Broken Frame” (1982).
“Construction Time Again” followed in 1983, the first album to feature Wilder as a full member and the first built heavily around field-recorded samples, produced with Gareth Jones. “Some Great Reward” (1984) and “Black Celebration” (1986) continued the band’s move toward darker, more industrial-tinged electronic pop, with Wilder taking on a growing production role alongside Miller and Jones.
For “Music for the Masses” (1987), the band brought in outside producer David Bascombe while Wilder took direct control of arranging and shaping the songs, a shift that also coincided with Anton Corbijn’s arrival as the group’s principal visual director for music videos and artwork. The album’s US chart performance and the Music for the Masses Tour, capped by the Rose Bowl concert filmed for “101” (1989), established Depeche Mode’s audience in America for the first time. The band went on to release “Violator” (1990) and “Songs of Faith and Devotion” (1993) before Wilder’s 1995 departure, and has continued recording and touring since, most recently supporting the 2023 album “Memento Mori” and the concert film “M.”
Side-Line has previously covered Depeche Mode’s back catalog in this anniversary series, including “Construction Time Again” turning 43, “Some Great Reward” turning 42 and “A Broken Frame” turning 44. “Music for the Masses” turning 39 this year marks the next entry in that chronology.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
