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

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This oral history is for fans and general music lovers who are curious about how a masterpiece was created. It’s an opportunity to learn first-hand from many of those involved in the making of Violator , in their own words, how this seminal album was made, marketed, toured and the impact it had on music and fans. I realised how good their music and my visuals went together’ … Martin Gore on route to LA, 1988. Photograph: 2020 Anton Corbijn

During 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. 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.Until Violator, much of Depeche's exposure to US audiences had come from its commitment to playing shows across the country and plugging those appearances close to the date of each performance.

The band’s US label Sire came up with a plan. They and Mute joined up with the Los Angeles radio station K-ROQ, long-time Depeche Mode supporters, and announced a Violator signing session at the record shop The Wherehouse which was based at 3rd and La Cienega in Los Angeles.David: ‘Enjoy The Silence’. The song changed my life as it properly introduced DEPECHE MODE to me. Without hearing that song, I wouldn’t have had all the experiences I’ve had in my life since then including co-authoring ‘Halo’ and of course talking to you just now! 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.

This period in the band’s history also found them forging a deeply trusted and influential partnership with photographer and designer Anton Corbijn, often viewed as the fifth member of Depeche Mode at this time. Corbijn’s work with the Area creative agency for the Violator project delivered iconic, integrated artwork, photography, videos and short films across the album, its singles, and tour design. David: My reaction was to say yes straight away! Kevin and I had of course gotten to know each other by the time he asked me, and I was aware of the Halo project. I was very surprised to be asked to join in with Halo, but I was hugely enthusiastic, to say the least. Kevin had written something for Almost Predictable Almost’s Violator month so he knew the album was a favourite of mine. The rhythmic vocal rhythm audible in the opening moments of "Halo" is confirmed by Violator engineer Roberto Baldi as having been sampled from a pornographic film. The film is likely to have released on VHS or Betamax cassette and would have been in circulation by May 1989.DURAN DURAN - Announce the release of their new studio album “Danse Macabre” just in time for Halloween

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.” David:An impossible question to answer! I genuinely don’t have one I would say I dislike more than others... 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 Kevin: The band has never worked with a biographer, so we knew - and was later told officially - that sadly there would be no involvement from Dave, Martin and Andy in the project. Alan is also very removed from the world of DEPECHE MODE these days. Undeterred, we knew that there were many people who were involved in various aspects of the ‘Violator’ era, so we tried to talk to as many as possible! Those we interviewed were very happy to recollect their experiences of that period (although some had fairly hazy memories when it came to the exact instruments or technology that was used!), which was terrific for us as we wanted to get as many angles to the story as possible. I particularly enjoyed meeting with engineer Steve Lyon at his studio in West London and Bruce Kirkland in Los Angeles.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. This period in the band’s history also found them working with now long-time collaborator Anton Corbijn to create iconic artwork, photography and videos for the album and its associated singles. The band were even at the centre of a riot in Los Angeles when tens of thousands of fans arrived for an album-signing session. Each of the book’s eight chapters includes a first-hand account of the era from fans (“Devotees”, as they came to be known), exclusive photographs and a detailed timeline of an extraordinary period in the British band’s history. Prior to the signing, Martin was interviewed by telephone on the show Request Video. The host Jim ‘The Poorman’ Trenton asked Gore if he was aware that it had been predicted that a crowd of ten thousand people would attend the event. Halo: The Story Behind Depeche Mode's Classic Album Violator by Kevin May, David McElroy, Kevin May, David McElroy