Just Can't Get Enough: The making of Depeche Mode

by Simon Spence

In the words of singer Dave Gahan, Depeche Mode were “a new sort of band from a new sort of town”: Basildon, a radical post-war experiment in design and living; a city of the future that serves as a mirror for Depeche Mode’s stark, electronic ultra-pop. Drawing on a wealth of new interviews with friends and lovers, club runners and church elders, pluggers and producers, early bandmates and key industry executives—including fellow Basildonian Alison Moyet and industrial pioneer Genesis P. Orridge—author Simon Spence brings a fresh perspective to the lives of Dave, Martin, Vince, and Fletch, the place they grew up in, and their place in the rock’n’roll firmament.
Part musical odyssey, part cultural history, Just Can’t Get Enough traces the story of Depeche Mode from front rooms and school halls to London fetish clubs and legendary Berlin studios; from the Basildon Arts Centre to Top Of The Pops ; and from their earliest recordings to Black Celebration and the cusp of transatlantic superstardom.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2010

Reviews

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of Depeche Mode since 1989 & the owner of all the other books written on them, I wasn't expecting to read anything in here that I hadn't before. How wrong was I? This book covers all the time that Depeche were not on my musical radar and comes up with some very revealing insights. If you are a fan of the band & their music, buy and read this book immediately.

[Rūta Zaveckytė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simboliškas sutapimas - baigiau knygą skaityti prieš būsimą Depešų koncertą kitą savaitę. Knyga, supažindinusi su pačia grupės pradžia, gimtuoju grupės miestu, besikuriančiu lyg pati grupė. Grupė, ilgai laikyta keista Anglijoje, bet tapusi itin populiari Vokietijoje, Amerikoje ir net Japonijoje, radusi savo nišą muzikos istorijoje ir sulig kiekvienu albumu atnešanti kažką naujo.

[Stelu · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big DM fan i loved reading about their beginnings and how they cam about, what influenced them and gave them their unique sound. Highly recommend!

[JBP · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's no secret my love for Depeche Mode. When I came across their music in 1983 it turned my world upside down when it came to what I liked music wise. After I heard them, it was nothing but synthesizers, English bands, strange haircuts, makeup/leather/androgyny, fey lyrics, more synthesizers, cold bleak drum machines, new wave, new romantics, cold wave, post-punk and all the things that made up the early to mid 1980s for me. All because of Depeche Mode. 28 years later and I STILL love that kind of music more than anything I've heard since and seek out all the young bands pretending it's 1982 with their analogue synthesizers, angular haircuts, fashion sense and gloomy spirit. Being in an all-electronic band in the late 1970s and early 1980s was more "punk" rock than so-called punk rock [which is a really narrow, regimented, rigid genre of music when you get down to it] and is still the most futuristic and modern of movements in rock and roll history. To this day, the best of the stuff from this era STILL sounds futuristic. Punk rock from that era can sound as dated as doo-wop music from the 1950s when compared to music made by forward thinking individuals and their machines.

I've read other books about Depeche Mode, but this one by Simon Spence tries to do something a little different by going into their early years in exhaustive detail. Also, there's no quotes from the band, this is full of stories by folks who grew up with them in Basildon, ex-lovers, schoolmates, concert goers, ex-producers, ex-engineers, photographers and designers who worked on their album covers, promoters, DJs, other bands from the era. I don't think we even get to the formation of Composition of Sound [pre-Depeche Mode] until after page 100. I loved reading more about Vince Clarke and Martin Gore's earlier teenage bands to see how their range of influences melded into the choice to go completely electronic. At times a bit too repetitive but for a Depeche Mode fan like me, I loved this. But, major issue with Spence on his opinion of "Black Celebration"--it's their best album, not "A Broken Frame."

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book about the early years of Depeche Mode. The author went out and conducted his own interviews with people who knew the band member in the Basildon, UK scene from which they arose. He also researched Basildon itself, which yields a well-fleshed-out picture of the town they grew up in (a postwar planned community) and its unique music scene that led to so many talents - DM, Vince Clarke, Alison Moyet - springing up from the same circle.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best account of the early lives of the band and their coming together you will read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better understanding of the band

Being a DM geek, I've read several books on the band already but this is the one I enjoyed the most. What sets it apart from a regular biography is the exploration of the band in the context of their roots in Basildon, and how this shaped them (with Vince featuring as a major player for most of the book). The author has meticulously researched the material and what really brings it alive are the reminisces from friends, exs and associates: those who really knew the band.
I already well know the band's back catalogue and the chronology of events in their history; this book offers a deeper understanding and insight into Depeche Mode. I hope the author does go on write the sequel, as is hinted at the end.

[Reelika Kullerkan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olen suur Depeche Mode austaja ja tahtsin neist rohkem teada ja see raamat mingit tausta külla andis, kuid oli väga häiriv, et ainult läbi teiste inimeste suu. Bändi liikmed ei saanud kordagi ise sõna. Kõige suurem teadmine sellest raamatust oli, et nad olid pärit Inglismaa linnast Basildon, mis oli Inglismaa üks nö "uutest modernsetest linnadest", mis loodi nullist pärast teist maailmasõda, et anda vaesemale klassile inimväärsemad tingimused elamiseks. Raamatus tuuakse mitmel korral välja, et selle aja noori, sh ka Depeche Mode liikmeid, painas juurtetus, mida tekitab noor linn ja lokkav betoon.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers their beginnings in Basildon Essex through Black Celebration. A bit dry in parts but interesting

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on the band and a really well researched documentary on the origins of Basildon and the effect that the town's development had on the mentality of each of the individual members themselves. However, this is a book for well seasoned fans only, as it is not nearly as detailed as previous biographies have been. It's a really beautiful book, with an incredible layout and some nice old photos in the beginning set on glossy pages, giving it a sort of magazine-ish feel. There are also a couple of interesting interviews and some nice insights and anecdotes about Martin that I'd never read before.

[Tony Botta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read . A good insight into there early lives and career . Can't wait for the second book if he writes it .

[Ange Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting for any fan of Depeche Mode and their relationship with Basildon