Music
Half-yearly charts: Depeche Mode at the top for albums
Dave Gahan with his band Depeche Mode at the Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 festival. Photo
© Ricardo Rubio/EUROPA PRESS/dpa
The most successful music album so far in Germany in 2023 comes from a band that has been active for 43 years. Nobody had more number one albums in the German charts than Depeche Mode.
No other international band has had more number one albums in the German charts than Depeche Mode, according to GfK. “Memento Mori”, released in March, is the 15th studio album and the 12th to take the top spot. It is the first work by singer Dave Gahan and songwriter Martin Gore without founding member and keyboardist Andy Fletcher, who died unexpectedly in 2022.
Depeche Mode is currently touring Germany and other countries, many of the concerts were sold out. In addition to new songs, they also play old hits like “Everything Counts” or “Enjoy The Silence”. The legendary electro band, which was founded in 1980, has a committed fan base and has sold more than 100 million records.
Depeche Mode offer fans a ‘total package’
What is the reason for the continued success? Historian and author Sascha Lange, author of several books on Depeche Mode, sees various reasons. Depeche Mode offered fans a “total package” in the 1980s, he says. “It wasn’t just distinctive, extraordinary music. The band acted like a gang. With a certain outfit that made them unmistakably recognizable in public. And that was something that a lot of fans adopted.” Similar clothes and hairstyles made you part of the group. In the 1980s, a huge “Depeche Mode gang” grew up in East and West, which has followed the group to this day.
Nostalgia plays a role too. “The band reminds you of your youth,” says Lange. “When Martin Gore, who is now 61, goes back to the edge of the stage and sings “A Question of Lust”, then the majority of the people who are there in the audience feel like they’ve been transported back to the 80s, to the school disco or whatever always. It’s such a fountain of youth to dive into.”
However, Lange emphasizes that Depeche Mode is not a purely nostalgic event. At their concerts they played many new songs. In general, they have often redefined themselves musically and have also gained new fans in the recent past. After excursions into blues and other genres, “Memento Mori” is again characterized by more pleasing pop melodies.
Aside from Depeche Mode, other music veterans dominate the top spots in the six-month album charts. Metallica took second place with “72 Seasons”, Herbert Grönemeyer was third with “Das ist los”. With Nina Chuba (“Glass”, fourth place) and Ed Sheeran (“-“, five), younger performers also made it into the top 5.