Live supporting musicians :
Peter Gordeno – keyboards, occasional electric bass and electric guitar (1998—Present)
Christian Eigner – drums, occasional songwriting and keyboards (1997—Present)
Daryl Bamonte – keyboards (1994)
Dave Clayton – keyboards (1997)
Hildia Campbell – backing vocals (1993–1994)
Samantha Smith – backing vocals (1993–1994)
Jordan Bailey – backing vocals (1998 & 2001)
Janet Ramus – backing vocals (1998)
Georgia Lewis – backing vocals (2001)
Between 1998 and 2009, both Gordeno and Eigner have been present on four consecutive tours; with Eigner on drums (and contributing to some of the songwriting on Playing the Angel and Sounds of the Universe with Gahan and Andrew Philpott) and Gordeno on keyboards.
About Historical :
Depeche Mode's origins trace back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called "No Romance In China", with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass. In 1978, Clarke played guitar in an "Ultravox rip-off band", The Plan, with school friend Robert Marlow on vocals and Vince on guitar/keyboards. In 1979, Marlow, Gore, Clarke and another friend Paul Redmond formed a band called "The French Look", Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar, Clarke and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called "Composition of Sound", with Clarke on vocals, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. "The French Look" and "Composition of Sound" once played live together in June 1980 at St. Nicholas School Youth Club in Southend on sea, Essex. (editor’s aside – wouldn’t you kill for this footage?)
Soon after the formation of "Composition of Sound", Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesizers (it was just a matter of time), working odd jobs to buy them. Gahan joined in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout session, crooning to a rendition of David Bowie's 'Heroes', and "Depeche Mode" was born. The new name was taken from a French fashion magazine, "Dépêche mode", which translates to "Fashion Update" or "Fashion News Dispatch" (dépêche = dispatch) though it has commonly been mistranslated as "Fast Fashion", due to the confusion with the French verb "se dépécher" ("to hurry up").
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, the band was approached by Daniel Miller (an electronic musician and founder of Mute Records), who was interested in them recording a single for his burgeoning label. The result of this verbal contract was "Dreaming of Me b/w Ice Machine", which was released in February 1981, and managed to reach #57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this surprise success, the band recorded its second single "New Life", climbing to #11 in the UK charts. Three months later, the band released "Just Can't Get Enough" - their first single to enter the UK Top 10, peaking at #8. This record was in many ways a breakthrough for the band, and its success paved the way for their debut album - Speak & Spell, released in November 1981, and eventually reaching #10 on the UK album charts.
During the touring and promotion for Speak & Spell, Clarke began to privately voice his discomfort at the direction the band was taking. He later expressed his agitation that "there was never enough time to do anything".
In late 1981, Clarke publicly announced that he was leaving Depeche Mode. Soon afterwards, he joined with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo (Yaz in the US) and later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell, in 1985.
With their primary songwriter gone, Depeche Mode needed a new direction. Martin Gore, who had written "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff" for their debut album, took over as the band's new songwriter.
In January 1982, the band released "See You", their first single without Clarke, which against all expectations, managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in the UK charts, reaching #6. In the ensuing months of that year, two more singles were released ("The Meaning of Love", and "Leave in Silence"), and the band embarked on their first world tour - known as the "See You" tour. Their second album A Broken Frame was eventually brought out in September.In late 1981, the band placed an ad in Melody Maker stating "Keyboard player needed for established band - no timewasters." Alan Wilder, a 22-year old keyboardist from West London responded - and after two auditions with Daniel Miller, he was accepted as the fourth member of Depeche Mode. Despite this, Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he was not needed for the recording of the album, as the band wanted to prove that they could succeed without Vince Clarke. Wilder's first musical contribution to the band was in 1983, on the non-album single "Get the Balance Right!".
For their third LP Construction Time Again, Depeche Mode decided to work with producer Gareth Jones, at John Foxx's Garden Studios and at Hansa Studios in West Berlin, which had been used by David Bowie and Brian Eno before, and where the Berlin Wall with guarding soldiers could be seen right from the mixer, this creating an extraordinary atmosphere. The album saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to the introduction of the Synclavier and Emulator samplers, in addition to their previously-used analogue synths.
