Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode's Classic Album Violator

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There is a third aspect that is often overlooked. Over the years, records have been covered with various legends. The perception of a work of art that is a piece of music changes over the years, sometimes to such an extent that we lose the original understanding of a recorded piece or other artistic work. The initial thought is lost in the darkness of the ages. 1990.06.13 Filadelfia

Corbijn has continued working with the band to the present day – he directed the 2019 documentary, Spirits in the Forest, about the “very intense” relationship Depeche Mode’s fans have with the band’s music, despite his own career taking him from photography to Hollywood. Control, his acclaimed biopic of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, began a directing career that’s included working with George Clooney on the thriller The American, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman on the John le Carré adaptation A Most Wanted Man, and Robert Pattinson on the James Dean biopic Life. It is, he concedes, a curious relationship he has with Depeche Mode: he has no contract, no job title. “It goes from one project to the next and I assume I’m involved.” More than an album biography, 'Halo' goes deep behind the scenes of the band's 'Violator' period. The book takes the form of a detailed oral history from those who were there in the studio with the band, working behind the cameras, designing sleeves and appearing in the videos; support acts, tour managers, publicists and fans. Martini: We know you as a blogger and journalist. I still remember your Violator series written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album. When I read it for the 1st time, I thought immediately that it could be a fantastic contribution to Kevin’s project at that time. What was your reaction when Kevin approached you with the offer of co-writing the book? These types of books are written for at least two reasons – to discover the undiscovered… yet and to describe unknown facts for the first time. The book itself is secondary to the discoveries. The second reason, equally important, is to collect all the diffused pieces of information, sometimes trifles, so that they are finally in one place. Such books are very necessary because allow the gathering of known knowledge in a specific moment. Then subsequent authors, who come after, can deepen their knowledge and move studies further. And yes, as other reviewers have noted, typographical errors are scattered throughout HALO. I have read the digital version, so if there is something different about that version, perhaps that explains it. Most errors and omissions are minor and will not impede your comprehension of the story, so perhaps just give two indie publishing authors a break this time around.

Eventually selling 7.5 million copies following its release in March 1990, Violator gave the cult British band – Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher and Alan Wilder – the critical acclaim they finally deserved. The adventurous, highly experimental approach that the band took for Violator recording sessions also yielded two of the band’s most recognisable and successful singles in Personal Jesus and Enjoy The Silence. David:An impossible question to answer! I genuinely don’t have one I would say I dislike more than others... Eventually selling 7.5 million copies following its release in March 1990, 'Violator' gave the cult British band - Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher and Alan Wilder - the critical acclaim they finally deserved. The adventurous, highly experimental approach that the band took for 'Violator' recording sessions also yielded two of the band's most recognisable and successful singles in 'Personal Jesus' and 'Enjoy The Silence'. The first in-depth look at the making of Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’ and its enduring legacy, by Kevin May and David McElroy. Published on 29 September 2022 by Grosvenor House Publishing. Recorded in England, Denmark and Italy between May and September 1989, Depeche Mode’s seventh studio album ‘Violator’ was a landmark record beloved by fans and universally regarded as the band’s creative highpoint.

Depeche Mode performing at Wembley Arena on the World Violation Tour, November 1990 (photo credit: Michael Rose) David & Kevin: We all know the impact the album had on the band’s fans, but it clearly had an impact on everyone involved in the project. When we read the interviews that each of us had carried out, we certainly learned a lot. There is a lot of new insight and information that we think fans will love. The doors opened at 9pm and fans started filing in, offering anything Depeche Mode related to the band for them to sign. As well as sundry Violator related items, footage of the event shows a diverse range of Depeche Mode items including the band’s least-loved single ‘It’s Called A Heart’. Ever the professionals, they even signed that. The first in-depth look at the making of Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’ and its enduring legacy, by Kevin May and David McElroyTherefore, the timing of the release of this book couldn’t be better, with all eyes are on the band again, but no new material forthcoming for a few months. It’s an account of the making of the band’s massively successful and influential album, ‘Violator’, released in March 1990. Blade first announced that he had heard from the police that fans were to “keep it mellow or the cops will close it down.” He later advised listeners that “things are pretty serious” and he sounds genuinely worried on the broadcast. In 1990 however, the American marketplace for promoting and selling records was one where it was generally still extremely difficult to do so efficiently and effectively. While the stories from the other women in this book reveal lesser-known aspects of the Depeche creative machine at this time, they also feel a bit flat and unexplored, as mere providers of services (which, I guess technically they were) to the main attraction. The exception is the personal account of Billie Ray Martin, lead singer for Electribe 101, a support band for European dates of the World Violation tour. Straddling between creative contributor to the tour, artist and music fan herself, she briefly alludes to “male behaviour” from crew and the generally male atmosphere that made this an isolating and lonely experience for her and led her to drinking. The poor treatment she and her bandmates faced from fans of Depeche Mode is an embarrassment to read as a Depeche fan yourself. Eventually selling 7.5 million copies following its release in March 1990, ‘Violator’ gave the cult British band –Dave Gahan,Martin Gore,Andy ‘Fletch’ FletcherandAlan Wilder– the critical acclaim they finally deserved. The adventurous, highly experimental approach that the band took for ‘Violator’ recording sessions also yielded two of the band’s most recognisable and successful singles in ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy The Silence’.

During an intense and pivotal two-and-a-half years in the life of the group, we follow Depeche Mode as they complete their metamorphosis into one of the most significant bands of a generation, and place the success and innovations of 'Violator' at the dead centre of the rapidly-changing late-80s, early-90s musical zeitgeist. The band had played some 40 shows in North America over two legs in late-1987 and mid-1988, culminating in the 101st show at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in June, but also taking in destinations as diverse as Austin in Texas, Salt Lake City in Utah and Iowa's Cedar Rapids. Kevin & David: We’ve not seen any firm opinions from fans saying, for example, that Violator is a bad album or something they don’t listen to. Everyone has a favourite album of course, but Violator seems to be generally thought of as a fan favourite.During an intense and pivotal two-and-a-half years in the life of the group, we follow Depeche Mode as they complete their metamorphosis into one of the most significant bands of a generation and place the success and innovations of ‘Violator’ at the dead centre of the rapidly-changing late-80s, early-90s musical zeitgeist.