When I was a teenager in the ’80s, there were three main “music clubs” at school: one for The Cure fans, another for U2, and the last one for Depeche Mode.
Back then, we didn’t really have access to many records, only the mainstream ones. So we completely missed out on The Cure’s early trilogy “Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography”, as well as most of Depeche Mode’s early albums. U2 seemed more accessible in that regard, especially with “War” and later “The Joshua Tree”, which even resonated with us from a “punk goth” perspective. But everything changed in 1989 with “Disintegration”. That album hit us hard. We instantly became hardcore fans of The Cure, while U2 took a different path, leaning increasingly into pop sounds.
Depeche Mode made a strong return in 1990 with “Violator”, but it didn’t quite click with us at the time. It wasn’t punk, nor fully goth—it leaned too heavily on synths. And we were rock fans, a bit goth, into guitars. Sure, “Music for the Masses” in 1987 had already impressed us, especially with darker tracks like “Never Let Me Down Again” and maybe “Strangelove.” But Violator? It felt too smooth, too electronic.
Funny thing though—like a fine wine, “Violator” aged incredibly well. It grew in stature over the years, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed synth-pop albums ever, and arguably Depeche Mode’s best. It didn’t hurt that artists like Marilyn Manson and Johnny Cash gave new life to “Personal Jesus” with their iconic covers. But even without that, Violator slowly but surely won over even the indie rock crowd.
As the decade progressed, our tastes shifted even more decisively back toward guitar-driven music—first with shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine), then grunge (Nirvana), and eventually Britpop (Blur). I still remember seeing Blur play to just 200 people during their “Leisure” days. They were pure punk energy back then! So, there wasn’t much room for synth-pop in our lives at that time, aside from the Madchester scene (like Happy Mondays), which had a whole different vibe.
Looking back, “Violator” may have featured artwork by Anton Corbijn, the same visual genius behind U2’s Joshua Tree, but that wasn’t enough to win us over back then. It was a hit, sure, but mostly with people more into electronic music. We stayed loyal to rock.
But here’s the twist, recently, I revisited what many consider the holy trinity of Depeche Mode: “Black Celebration”, “Music for the Masses”, and “Violator”. And now? “Black Celebration” speaks to me the most. It’s raw, dark, almost gothic in tone, closer to rock than many remember. Even deep cuts like “Dressed in Black” feel like forgotten masterpieces.
Truth is, maybe we were just too young in 1986 when “Black Celebration” came out, along with its surrounding singles: “A Question of Time,” “Shake the Disease,” and the title track. We danced to those at teen clubs and parties, alongside tracks like “Close to Me” by The Cure, “Life’s What You Make It” by Talk Talk, Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” and even, yes, Michael Jackson or Madonna. And of course, U2.
Today, listening to those three albums back-to-back, I find “Black Celebration” to be the real jewel. If “Violator” is a synth-pop summit, “Black Celebration” is a dark rock cathedral.
Argh, another vinyl to buy.
