#9: Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode

City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: April 1990
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #28
YouTube: “Personal Jesus”
Lyrics: “Personal Jesus”

Depeche Mode is a band formed in Essex, UK, in 1980. Andrew “Andy” Fletcher was born in Nottingham, England, in 1961. His family moved to Basildon, Essex, when he was two-years-old. In 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In 1980, they formed the band Composition of Sound, and added Martin Gore, and later that year David Gahan. Vincent “Vince” Clarke was born in 1960 in Greater London. He learned violin and piano when he was a child. Martin Gore was born in 1961 in London. He learned to play keyboards through the 1970s. After graduating in 1979, he took a position working as a bank cashier.

David Callcott was born in 1962 in Epping, Essex. His dad left the family when David was six months old. His mother remarried Jack Gahan, and so David Callcott became David Gahan. When he was nine-years-old, Jack Gahan died. Subsequently, his mother and real father reunited and for a year “uncle Len” (as he was known to David) visited from time to time. But after David turned ten-years-old his birth father disappeared again, this time forever. In his teens, David Gahan was a juvenile delinquent, stealing, driving and setting stolen cars on fire. He got a job with North Thames Gas as a mechanic. Fletcher, Clarke and Gore heard Gahan sing “Heroes” by David Bowie and invited him to join the band and become the lead singer. Gahan saw a copy of the French fashion magazine Dépêche Mode, and suggested the name change. Martin Gore told a reporter, “It means ‘hurried fashion’ or ‘fashion dispatch’. I like the sound of that.”

In 1981, Depeche Mode released their debut album Speak and Spell which climbed to #10 on the UK Pop Album chart. From the album came the single, “New Life”, which peaked at #11 on the UK pop charts. Another release from the album, “Just Can’t Get Enough”, charted to #5 in the Netherlands, #8 in Belgium and the UK, #14 in Sweden, #16 in Ireland and #18 in Spain. After the album was released, Vince Clarke left the band. He subsequently was in a duo with Alison Moyet named Yazoo, a band called The Assembly, and Erasure. Clarke was replaced by Alan Wilder, who was born in 1959 in London. He learned piano from the age of eight, and in the years that followed added flute, guitar, drums and percussion. He was a member of several bands, including The Hitmen and The Korgis.

In 1982, the band released A Broken Frame, with the single “See You” reaching #6 in the UK, #9 in Ireland and #13 in the Netherlands. Additional singles from the album released in 1982, “The Meaning of Love” and “Leave in Silence”, made the Top 20 in Ireland, Sweden and the UK.

In 1983, Depeche Mode had a Top 20 non-album single hit with “Get The Balance Right”. That winter “Everything Counts” – from the album Construction Time Again – peaked in the UK at #6, Switzerland at #8, and #10 in the Netherlands. The single also made the Top 20 in Ireland, Italy, and Sweden. And in 1989, “Everything Counts” reached #12 in West Germany, and #20 in Spain.

In 1984, the band released Some Great Reward. The single “People Are People” reached #1 in West Germany, #2 in Ireland, #3 in Belgium, #4 in Switzerland and the UK, #6 in Austria, #8 in the Netherlands, and #10 in Norway. A second track from the album, “Master And Servant” reached #2 on the West German pop charts, #4 in Denmark, #6 in Belgium and Ireland, #7 in Sweden, #8 in Switzerland and #9 in the UK. While another track, “Blasphemous Rumours/Somebody”, was a Top Ten hit in Ireland.

In 1985, the band released several more singles. “Shake The Disease” was a Top Ten hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. While “It’s Called A Heart” reached the Top Ten in Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. And in 1986, Depeche Mode had several more hit singles that reached the Top Ten across numbers of nations: “Stripped”, “A Question Of Lust”, and “A Question Of Time”. Each of these singles were on the album Black Celebration, which was a number-one charting album in Switzerland.

In 1987, the band had a hit with “Strangelove” from Music for the Masses. It was a Top Ten hit in over half a dozen nations including Denmark, Finland, South Africa and West Germany. While “Never Let Me Down Again” topped the pop charts in Denmark, and made the Top Ten in five other European countries. And “Behind The Wheel” was also a solid seller in numbers of countries where it also cracked the Top Ten.

In 1989, Depeche Mode released their studio album titled Violator. The debut single from the album was titled “Personal Jesus”.

“Personal Jesus” is a song inspired by Priscilla Presley’s book Elvis And Me. In her memoir she described her relationship with Elvis, likening it to being a”Jesus” for him. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode said: “It’s a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It’s about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships – how everybody’s heart is like a god in some way, and that’s not a very balanced view of someone, is it?”

In the song there is a list of functions/ciircumstances the “personal Jesus” responds to for the one seeking them out for support. 1) when you’re “feeling unknown and you’re all alone,” 2) “things on your chest that you need to confess,” 3) “someone to hear your prayers,” 4) “someone who cares.” Martin Gore wrote “Personal Jesus”.

“Personal Jesus” peaked at #4 in Hamilton (ON), #2 in San Diego, #4 in Houston, #6 in Carbondale (IL), and #8 in Los Angeles. Internationally, “Personal Jesus” reached #3 in Italy and Spain, #5 in Switzerland and West Germany, #7 in Ireland and #9 in Finland. In 2011, the song climbed to #5 in Hungary.

The followup single from Violator was “Enjoy The Silence”. The song peaked at #1 in Denmark, #2 in Switzerland and West Germany, #3 in Finland and Ireland, #4 in Belgium, #5 in Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, #8 in the USA and #9 in France. In 2004, the single topped the pop charts in Spain. Additional singles from the album, “Policy Of Truth” and “World in My Eyes”, were each Top Ten hits in half a dozen nations.

Violator, the seventh studio album released by Depeche Mode, was the second album to chart to number one on a national album chart.

In 1993, Depeche Mode released Songs of Faith and Devotion. The lead single from the album, “I Feel You”, peaked at #1 in Finland, Greece and Spain, #2 in Denmark and Sweden, #3 in Italy, #4 in Germany and Switzerland, #5 in France, #6 in Ireland, and #7 in Austria. Followup singles from the album, “Walking in My Shoes”, “Condemnation” (#1 in Portugal) and “In Your Room” each cracked the Top Ten in at least a half dozen nations.

In 1995, Alan Wilder left Depeche Mode, leaving the band as a trio: Martin Gore, David Gahan and Andy Fletcher.

In 1997, Depeche Mode released Ultra. The album’s lead single was titled “Barrel of a Gun” which topped the pop charts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. It also cracked the Top Ten in eight more countries. A second track from the album, “It’s No Good”, topped the pop charts in Denmark, Italy, Spain and Sweden. It also peaked in the Top Ten in a half a dozen more countries. While a third track, “Home”, reached number-one in Italy, and the Top Ten in Spain and Sweden.

In 1998, a single titled “Only When I Lose Myself” topped the pop charts in Denmark, Hungary and Spain. It also peaked in the Top Ten in a half a dozen other countries.

In 2001, Depeche Mode released the album Exciter. The debut single reached number-one in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain. As well, it made the Top Ten in ten more nations. More singles from the album, “I Feel Loved” and “Freelove”, each cracked the Top Ten in half a dozen nations.

In 2005, the band released Playing the Angel. The debut single was “Precious” which topped the pop charts in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. It also peaked in the Top Ten in nine more nations. A second single from the album, “A Pain that I’m Used To”, reached number-one in Hungary and Spain, and four other European nations. While “Suffer Well” climbed to #1 in Denmark and Hungary, and five other European countries. A fourth single “John the Revalator/Lillian” went to #1 in Denmark and #2 in Spain in 2006. Later in 2006, “Martyr” peaked at number-one in Italy and Spain, and the Top Ten in five more nations.

The 2009 album, Sounds of the Universe, featured a number-one hit in Scotland titled “Wrong”. The single was also a Top Ten hit in nine other countries. In 2013, the album Delta Machine was released. The single “Heaven” reached #1 in Hungary and #2 in Germany. A second single, “Soothe My Soul”, also topped the pop charts in Hungary. In 2017, both “Where’s The Revolution” and “Going Backwards” from the album Spirit were Top Ten hits in Hungary.

Andy Fletcher died in May 2022 at the age of 60. In 2023, the band released their fifteenth studio album, Momento Mori, with the remaining bandmates David Gahan and Martin Gore. It is the ninth consecutive studio album to peak at number-one on the album charts in multiple countries. A single titled “Ghosts Again” was a Top Ten hit in Hungary.

As of January 2024, Depeche Mode has appeared in concert across Canada on 62 occasions.

August 5, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Depeche Mode – the real origin of the band’s name,” eightyeightynine.com.
“Depeche Mode’s Vince Clarke and Martin Gore reunite in the name of techno,” factmag.com, November 24, 2011.
Johnathan Miller, Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode, (Omnibus Press, 2004).
Kevin May and David McElroy, Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode’s Classic Album Violator, (Grosvenor House Publishing Limited, 2022).
Ian Gittens, Faith and Devotion, (Palazzo Editions, 2019).
Jeff Giles, “Goyte’s Biggest Influences: Depeche Mode, Ween + More,” defuser.fm, June 20, 2012.
“Depeche Mode – concert dates – Canada,” setlist.fm.

CKOC 1150-AM Hamilton (ON) Top Ten | April 11, 1990