398 Hello Depeche Mode - Dreaming Of Me

Chart  entered : 4  April  1981

Chart  peak : 57

Number  of  hits : 46

From  this  pretty small  acorn  sprang  one  of  the  biggest  bands  in  the  world.

Depeche  Mode  started  to  come  together  in  1977  when  Basildon  schoolmates  Vince  Clarke
and  Andy  Fletcher  formed  a  shortlived  band  called  No  Romance  In  China.  By  1979  Vinnce  had  moved  on  to  a  band  called  The  Plan  with  his  friend  Robert  Marlow. Marlow's  next  band  The  French  Look  featured  a  young  guitarist  Martin  Gore  who  had  been  part  of  an  acoustic  duo  Norman  and  the  Worms. In  1980  Martin, Vince  and  Andy  got  together  to  form  Composition  of  Sound   and  play  electronic  music  inspired  by  Vince's  love  of  the  OMD  single  Electricity. As  none  of  them  wanted  to  sing  Vince  recruited  Dave  Gahan  after  hearing  him  sing  Bowie's  Heroes  at  a  jam  session  in  a  local  scout  hut . They  changed  their  name  to  Depeche  Mode  based  on  a  French  fashion  magazine  and  played  their  first  gig  in  May  1980  at  Martin  and  Andy's  school.

The  band  attracted  attention  in  a  remarkably  short  time  and  they  were  receiving  offers  by  the autumn. As  they  were  supporting  another electronic  pioneer  Fad  Gadget they  were  approached  by  his  producer  Daniel  Miller  who  had  put  out  records  himself  as  The  Normal  and  The  Silicon  Teens  whose  version  of  Memphis  Tennessee  had  failed  to  chart  in  1979  despite  considerable  airplay  that  summer. However  their  first  meeting  didn't  go  well  and  they  turned  to  Stevo  Pearce  who  was  setting  up  his  own  Some  Bizarre  label  and  offering  to  put  the  new  electronic  acts  on  a  sampler  album  without  them  having  to  commit  themselves  to  the  label. Pearce  wanted  Miller  involved  and  it  was  the  latter  who  suggested  "Photographic"  as  the  track  to  record.  "Photographic"  ( in  a  rawer  version  than  the  one  that  appeared  on  Speak  And  Spell  )  is  a  good  reminder  that  there  was  darkness  in  their  music  before  Martin  took  over  from  Vince  as  their  songwriter. Incidentally  Depeche  Mode  are  the  first   of  four  acts  ( out  of  twelve )  on  the  album  to  appear  here  which  is  a  credit  to  Pearce's  talent-spotting  and  a  much  better  strike  rate  than  the  vaunted  C86   a  few  years  later ( 2  from  22 ).

The  album , released  in  early 1981 , increased  the  interest  from  other  labels  with  Phonogram  making  a  big  offer  but  the  band  decided  to  record  their  first  single  with Miller's  Mute  label  and  see  how  that  went  before  signing  for  a  big  label. Thirty-four  years  later  they're  still  with  Mute  although  the  label  hasn't  been  truly  independent  since  2002.  

"Dreaming  Of  Me "  is  a  chirpy  little  synth-pop  ditty  at  medium  pace  with  a  lyric  seemingly  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  narcissistic  film  star . Dave's  blunt  nasal  vocal  is  backed  up  by  some  charmingly  raw  harmonies. It's  far  from  their  best  song  even  at  the  time  and  I  think  the  band  themselves  were  surprised  that  it  saw  some  chart  action. It's  one  of  the  few  singles  in  my  collection  ( the  others  that  spring  to  mind  are  by  The  Jam  )   where  the  B-side  is  indisputably   the   better  song,  the  sinister  "Ice  Machine " having  all  the  cold  drama  that  the  A-side  lacks  even  if   Vince's  lyric  is  impenetrable.