Depeche Mode

Released: September 13, 1993

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore

Producer: Flood Depeche Mode

[Verse 1]
Condemnation, tried
Here on the stand with the book in my hand
And truth on my side
Accusations, lies
Hand me my sentence, I'll show no repentance
I'll suffer with pride

[Chorus]
If for honesty you want apologies
I don't sympathise
If for kindness you substitute blindness
Please open your eyes

[Verse 2]
Condemnation, why?
Because my duty was always to beauty
And that was my crime
Feel elation, high
To know I can trust this fix of injustice
Time after time

[Chorus]
If you see purity as immaturity
Well, it's no surprise
If for kindness you substitute blindness
Please open your eyes

Depeche Mode are recognized as one of the most artistically influential bands of the late 20th century. Commercially, they have released 14 studio albums to date, and sold more than 100 million records. Their most recent album, Spirit, hit the streets in March 2017.

The band got their start in Basildon, Essex in 1980, and named themselves after a French fashion magazine. They rose to fame with hits that have become “Just Can’t Get Enough” (1981), “Everything Counts” (1983), and “People Are People” (1984), to name a few. One of their most famous concerts was at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1988.

Martin Gore has been the band’s primary songwriter since Vince Clarke left in the early 1980s (and went on to form Yazoo and Erasure). Alan Wilder replaced Clarke on keyboards in 1982, but left in 1995 (reinvesting his creative energy in his band, Recoil, which he had started in 1986). Since then, the band has comprised frontman Dave Gahan, multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore, and keyboardist Andy Fletcher—all of whom are original members.

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