Martin Gore
Martin Gore | |
---|---|
Gore in 2009 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Martin Lee Gore |
Born | (1961-07-23) 23 July 1961 |
Origin | Dagenham, Essex, England |
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) |
|
Instruments |
|
Labels |
|
Associated acts |
|
Website | www.martingore.com |
Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961)[1] is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, record producer, remixer, and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the band Depeche Mode, and has written the majority of their songs. His work spans over four decades. His best-known compositions include "See You", "Personal Jesus", "Enjoy the Silence", "Stripped", "Strangelove", "I Feel You", "People Are People", "Master and Servant", "Precious", "A Question of Time", "Policy of Truth", "Everything Counts", "Behind the Wheel", "Shake the Disease" and "Never Let Me Down Again".
In addition to composing music and writing lyrics for the majority of Depeche Mode's songs, Gore has also been the lead singer on some of them (examples include "Somebody", "A Question of Lust", "Home", and "One Caress"). He has been a backing singer on many others.
In 1999, Gore received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for "International Achievement".
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Discography
4.1 Studio albums
4.2 Extended plays
4.3 with VCMG
4.4 Singles
5 Other appearances
5.1 VCMG
5.2 MG
5.3 Other collaborations
5.4 Remixes
6 Depeche Mode songs with Gore on lead vocals
6.1 Duets
7 Sources
8 References
9 External links
Early life
Martin Lee Gore was born in Dagenham, Essex in England. Gore's biological father was a Black-American G.I. stationed in Britain.[2] Gore was raised by his stepfather and biological mother. He believed his stepfather was his biological father until age 13. When he was 13, he learnt that his biological father was an African-American serviceman and, as an adult, later met him in the American South.[2]
He left Nicholas Comprehensive, Basildon in 1977 and took a job as a bank cashier. During evenings, weekends and any other spare time, he was involved with the local band Norman and the Worms with school friend Phil Burdett who later went on to become a singer/songwriter himself.
Gore has two younger half-sisters, Karen, born in 1967, and Jacqueline, born in 1968.[3]
Career
In 1980, Gore met Andy "Fletch" Fletcher at the Van Gogh club. Fletcher recruited Gore into his band Composition of Sound along with Vince Clarke. Soon the band drafted Dave Gahan to be the lead singer after hearing him sing "Heroes" by David Bowie. Gahan is credited with the name "Depeche Mode" after seeing the phrase as a title of a French fashion magazine, which later considered taking them to court, but thought it would be good publicity for the magazine to let the band have the name.
Clarke left Depeche Mode in late 1981, shortly after the release of their debut album Speak & Spell. Clarke wrote most of the album, with Gore contributing two tracks, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the instrumental "Big Muff". "Any Second Now (voices)" features Gore's first lead vocals for the band. Gore sings lead vocals on several of the band's songs, notably ballads, his tenor voice providing a contrast to Gahan's dramatic baritone. When Clarke announced his departure from Depeche Mode in 1981, citing the pressures of fame and creative differences, Gore took over songwriting. Gore had been writing material since the age of 12.
Songs Gore wrote for Depeche Mode's second album, A Broken Frame (1982) differed musically and lyrically from Clarke's. Gore's writing became gradually darker and more political on subsequent Depeche Mode albums.
Gore sometimes plays guitars, typically his Gretsch White Falcon or Gretsch Double Anniversary on Depeche Mode songs. The first time guitar was used as the main instrument was on "Personal Jesus", although he used small guitar parts on previous songs, such as "Behind the Wheel" and "Love, in Itself". Gore's guitar playing developed even more on Songs of Faith and Devotion. However, in live performances, he switches his keyboards for his guitar on some older Depeche Mode songs, such as "Never Let Me Down Again" and "A Question of Time". In mid 1990 Gore stated –
“ | I think in a way we've been at the forefront of new music; sort of chipping away at the standard rock format stations. | ” |
NME – July 1990[4]
On 27 May 1999, Gore was presented with an award by Daniel Miller for "International Achievement", by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, at the 44th Ivor Novello Awards, at The Grosvenor House Hotel.[5][6]
Gore remains the main songwriter for Depeche Mode.
Personal life
Gore lives in Santa Barbara, California.[7] He started dating lingerie designer and model Suzanne Boisvert after meeting in Paris in 1989. They married in August 1994. He has three children with Boisvert: daughter Viva Lee Gore (born 1991), daughter Ava Lee Gore (born 1995), and son Calo Leon Gore (born 2002). Gore and Boisvert divorced in 2006.
Gore married Kerrilee Kaski in June 2014. On 19 February 2016, Kaski gave birth to a baby girl named Johnnie Lee, his fourth child.[8][better source needed] On 13 March 2017, she gave birth to their second daughter named Mazzy Lee, Martin Gore's fifth child.[citation needed]
Gore suffered from stress-induced seizures during the band's 1993 Devotion tour.[9] He has publicly acknowledged his past alcoholism.[10]
Gore became a vegetarian for health and moral reasons in 1983.[11][12]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [13] | DEN [14] | FRA [15] | GER [16] | ITA [17] | SWE [18] | SWI [19] | US Dan [20] | ||
Counterfeit² |
| 102 | 32 | 52 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 79 | 3 |
MG[21] |
| 50 | — | 90 | 7 | — | — | 28 | 1 |
Extended plays
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
UK [22] | GER [16] | US [23] | ||
Counterfeit e.p. |
| 51 | 41 | 156 |
MG remix EP |
| — | — | — |
with VCMG
Ssss (2012)
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [22] | DEN [24] | FRA [25] | GER [16] | ITA [17] | US Alt [26] | ||||
1989 | "Compulsion" | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | Counterfeit e.p. | |
2003 | "Stardust" | 44 | 16 | 92 | 29 | 28 | — | Counterfeit² | |
"Loverman" | — | — | — | 53 | — | — | |||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |
Other appearances
Year | Song | Album | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | "Coming Back To You" | Tower of Song: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen | Gore sings lead vocals on a cover version of the Leonard Cohen song. |
2004 | "Overdrive" | City | Recorded with female duo Client. Gore sings backing vocals on this track. |
2009 | "Master and Servant (feat. Martin Gore)" | 3 | Cover of the 1984 Depeche Mode hit, recorded with French band Nouvelle Vague. Lead vocal by Melanie Pain, with Gore on backing vocals.[27] |
2010 | "Once You Say" | Industrial Complex | Recorded with Nitzer Ebb. Gore sings backing vocals on this track. |
2011–12 | "Man Made Machine" | Man Made Machine | Recorded with Motor. Gore sings lead vocals on both EP version (2011), and on the album of the same name (2012). |
2012 | All tracks | Ssss | All songs co-written and performed with Vince Clarke as the duo VCMG (see below). |
2016 | "Only You & You Alone" | Another Fall from Grace | Backing vocals on the album from the English band The Mission.[28] |
VCMG
Former Depeche Mode colleague Vince Clarke collaborated with Gore for the first time since 1981 as techno duo VCMG on an instrumental minimalist electronic dance album called Ssss, released on 12 March 2012. The first EP entitled Spock was first released worldwide exclusively on Beatport on 30 November 2011.[29] The second EP Single Blip was once again first released exclusively on Beatport on 20 February 2012. Their third EP Aftermaths was released on 20 August 2012.
MG
In late February 2015, several teaser images were displayed on Martin Gore's official Facebook page,[30] citing a hashtag "MGxMG" which was later revealed to be a promotional tool for his new solo studio album, titled MG (named after his previous collaborative album, VCMG, with Vince Clarke from 2012). In a news post on his official website and various social media on 2 March, this confirmation of his new studio album announced its release would be on 27 or 28 April and previewed a track, Europa Hymn, from the new album.[31]
Other collaborations
- Gore played keyboard on two tracks by Annette & Inga Humpe (Humpe and Humpe), called "Happiness Is Hard to Take" & "Don't Know Where I Belong" from their 1985 album Humpe Humpe
- He played guitar on the Gwen Stefani song "Wonderful Life" on her 2006 album The Sweet Escape.
- Gore collaborated on the band Onetwo's track "Cloud Nine" by playing the guitar and as songwriter of the song, which can be found on their 2007 album called Instead.
- In 2010, Tim Simenon's Bomb the Bass album Back to Light was published, which contains the instrumental "Milakia", co-written by Martin Gore during the Ultra sessions. Gore also played synthesiser on the track.
Compact Space's album Nameless (2011) includes the track "The Unstoppable Collision" with Gore on guitar. Compact Space is formed by Depeche Mode's collaborators Christian Eigner, Daryl Bamonte and singer Florian Kraemmer.- Also in 2011, Gore created the sound "Siren-synth – Mutesound" on the track "Uni Rec" on the album Univrs by German glitch and minimalist techno artist Alva Noto.
Remixes
- 1994 Spirit Feel – "Rejoice" (Mystic Span Mix)
- 1995 Garbage – "Queer" (The Most Beautiful Woman in Town Mix)
- 1999 ON – "Soluble Words" (Sublingual Remix)
- 2003 Señor Coconut And His Orchestra – "Smooth Operator" (In-Disguise Remix)
- 2013 Diamond Version - "Get Yours" (Martin L. Gore Remix)
Depeche Mode songs with Gore on lead vocals
Depeche Mode's lead vocals are generally sung by Dave Gahan, but occasionally, Gore will sing lead vocals. These are all the songs he sings, in chronological order:
Speak & Spell
- "Any Second Now (voices)"
Construction Time Again
- "Pipeline"
Some Great Reward
- "It Doesn't Matter"
- "Somebody"
Black Celebration
- "A Question of Lust"
- "Sometimes"
- "It Doesn't Matter Two"
- "World Full of Nothing"
- "Black Day" ["Stripped" single]
Music for the Masses
- "The Things You Said"
- "I Want You Now"
- "Route 66" (cover of a song by Bobby Troup) [B-Side of "Behind the Wheel"]
Violator
- "Enjoy the Silence" (Harmonium version only) ["Enjoy the Silence" single]
- "Sweetest Perfection"
- "Blue Dress"
Songs of Faith and Devotion
- "Death's Door" [Until the End of the World soundtrack and "Condemnation" single]
- "Judas"
- "One Caress"
Ultra
- "Home"
- "The Bottom Line"
Exciter
- "Comatose"
- "Breathe"
Playing the Angel
- "Macro"
- "Damaged People"
Sounds of the Universe
- "Jezebel"
- "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" (bonus track)
Delta Machine
- "The Child Inside"
- "Always" (bonus track)
Spirit
- "Eternal"
- "Fail"
Duets
These are songs where Gahan and Gore have around equal singing time, in chronological order. In some instances, both sing at the same time (ex: "Behind the Wheel"), and in others, Gahan sang the verses while Gore sang the chorus (ex: "Everything Counts").
A Broken Frame
- "Shouldn't Have Done That"
Construction Time Again
- "Everything Counts"
- "Shame"
Some Great Reward
- "Something to Do"
- "People Are People"
The Singles 81→85/Catching Up with Depeche Mode
- "Shake The Disease"
- "Fly On The Windscreen"
Black Celebration
- "Here Is the House"
- "Dressed in Black"
- "Breathing in Fumes" [B-side to "Stripped"] (the transformed voice throughout the song is the one of Martin Gore)
Music for the Masses
- "Never Let Me Down Again"
- "Behind the Wheel"
- "Pleasure, Little Treasure" [B-side to "Never Let Me Down Again"]
Violator
- "Waiting for the Night"
Songs of Faith and Devotion
- "Higher Love"
Ultra
- "Insight"
- "Surrender" [B-side to "Only When I Lose Myself"], albeit only towards the end of the track.
Exciter
- "Dream On"
- "The Sweetest Condition"
- "I Feel Loved"
Playing the Angel
- "The Sinner in Me"
- "Nothing's Impossible"
- "Newborn" [B-side to "A Pain That I'm Used To"]
- "Free" [B-side to "Precious"]
Sounds of the Universe
- "Hole to Feed"
- "Wrong"
- "Little Soul"
- "Peace"
- "Corrupt"
- "Oh Well" [bonus track]
Delta Machine
- "Heaven"
- "My Little Universe"
- "Soft Touch/Raw Nerve"
- "Alone"
- "Soothe My Soul"
- "Goodbye"
- "All That's Mine [B-side to "Heaven"]
Spirit
- "Where's the Revolution"
- "So Much Love"
- "Poorman"
Sources
- Malins, Steve. Depeche Mode : Black Celebration : The Biography. Andre Deutsch, 2007. .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
ISBN 978-0-233-00178-4
- Miller, Jonathan. Stripped: Depeche Mode 2003, 2004, Omnibus Press
ISBN 1-84449-415-2
- Tobler, John. NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd, 1992. CN 5585.
ISBN 0-600-57602-7
References
^ Malins, p. 1
^ ab Miller, pp. 318–319
^ Lilian R. Franke. "Depeche Mode Biography Martin Lee Gore". Depechemodebiographie.de. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
^ Tobler, p. 472
^ Pride, Dominic: "Cher, Hynde among Ivors' U.S winners Billboard, 12 June 1999. (p. 40). Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ Video of Martin Gore receiving the Ivor Novello award depechemode.com. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
^ Dorian Lynskey (28 March 2013). "Depeche Mode: 'We're dysfunctional. Maybe that's what makes us tick'". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
^ "Kerrilee Gore". Facebook. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
^ https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music-a-la-mode-1259205.html
^ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/mar/28/depeche-mode-interview-delta-machine-dysfunctional
^ "Depeche Mode (1980 - )". International Vegetarian Union.
^ "Famous Vegetarian Musicians". Veganwolf.com. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
^ "Chart Log UK: Gina G – GZA". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "danishcharts.com – Danish charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "lescharts.com – French charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ abc "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Discographie von Martin L. Gore". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ ab "italiancharts.com – Italian charts portal - Martin L. Gore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "The Official Swiss and Music Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "Martin L. Gore Album & Song Chart History – Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "Martin Gore Official Website news". Martin Gore Official Website. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
^ ab "Official Charts Company - Martin L. Gore". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ "Martin L. Gore Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "danishcharts.com – Danish charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "lescharts.com – French charts portal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "Martin L. Gore Album & Song Chart History – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
^ "Official homepage of Nouvelle Vague". Nouvellesvagues.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
^ Ultra Depeche 🚩🚩🚩 [@Ultra_Depeche] (21 August 2016). "Martin Gore featuring on "Only You & You Alone" from The Mission's new album "Another Fall From Grace" #DepecheMode" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ [1] Archived 7 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Facebook - Martin Gore #MGxMG first promotion image". Facebook. Facebook. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
^ "Martin Gore Official Website News". Martin Gore Official Website. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martin Gore. |
Martin Gore Interview in SPIN
Martin Gore's DJ Chart from Beatport
Martin Gore on BBC Radio 1's Residency programme (interview and mix) from BBC Radio 1