DEPECHE MODE – Blasphemous?

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

On August 29, 1989 – exactly 36 years ago to the day – Depeche Mode released the single “Personal Jesus”. Did you already know these 5 facts?

★ According to Martin Gore, the song “Personal Jesus” is about the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla Presley. As her mentor and husband, Elvis was like a god to Priscilla. He was inspired by Priscilla’s autobiography “Elvis and Me”.

★Musically, it’s a little rougher than usual. This is mainly due to the John Lee Hooker guitar riff, which is mixed with synths reminiscent of Kraftwerk.

★ The stomping sound is the recording of several people jumping off a flight case.

★ In the newspaper ads, you could call “Your own personal Jesus…”. Anyone who actually did this heard an excerpt from the single.

★ The press photos of Depeche Mode were deliberately provocative: Dave, Martin, Alan and Andy posed with a naked woman, which was considered blasphemous in the context of the title “Personal Jesus”. In any case, Depeche Mode made a name for themselves …

★ The single reached number 13 in the UK charts and number 28 in the US Billboard Top 100: Finland (9), Ireland (5), Switzerland and Germany at number 5, and Spain and Italy at number 3!

★ The song was the first Depeche Mode single to achieve gold status overseas.

★ “Personal Jesus” is the band’s third most popular song on Spotify with over 506,760,000 plays.

★”Personal Jesus” was covered by Johnny Cash in 2002. Other well-known cover versions are by Marilyn Manson (2004), Def Leppard (2018) and Nina Hagen (2010).

★ “Personal Jesus” has been performed live 1,069 times so far. Most recently during the “Memento Mori” tour. This puts the track in third place among Depeche Mode’s most played live songs.

What will you expand your Depeche Mode collection with next?

EMP*

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Watch the clip for “Personal Jesus”: