The Name “Depeche Mode”
Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8:00AM
In their 30-plus years together, Depeche Mode has sold more than 100 million records and is easily one of the most influential alt-rock bands of all time. But what about that name?
Where did it come from? It certainly wasn’t their first choice. In the beginning, they considered Composition of Sound.
Then it was Peter Bonetti’s Boots (I have no idea who he was). That was followed by The Lemon Peels, The Runny Smiles and the Glow Worms. They even performed a couple of shows under the name The Scamps.
It was singer Dave Gahan that stumbled on the phrase “depeche mode” when he was browsing through a magazine stand. Depeche Mode is the name of a French fashion magazine—a name that can be translated as “fast fashion.”
That sounded good, so they took it. And the magazine never sued…
Reader Comments (2)
Peter Bonetti was a legendary Chelsea and England goalkeeper. Nicknamed the cat.
Interesting facts. How about the classic industrial group, KMFDM? There was a lot of people that thought it meant Kill Mother F&$@ing Depeche Mode! But I read on their album that it really means Keinhart Mein Fuhr Die Meinhart which means No Pity for the Majority in German. AC/DC was interpreted by some crazies in the 80s to mean, After Christ, Devil Comes! This was a time where crazy Christian groups were trying to expose the demonic influence in rock music. Interesting how band names are formed and interpreted or misinterpreted.