Depeche Mode

Their original name was Composition Of Sound. "Depeche Mode" was the title of a French magazine (translated, it means "fast fashion") that went out of print in 2001. It was chosen because it sounded cool.

Vince Clarke was their main songwriter early on, but he left in 1981 after their first album, Speak And Spell, was released. Clarke found life in the band overwhelming and had some creative differences with his bandmates. He never returned to Depeche Mode, but left such an impression during his short time there that he was included in their 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. Clarke's post-Depeche Mode groups include Yazoo, The Assembly, and Erasure.

Clarke wrote almost all their music while he was a member - all but two songs on Speak & Spell (the band's first album) are his (Martin Gore wrote "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff"). When Clarke left, Gore filled the songwriting vacancy, becoming their primary composer. He sang on some of their tracks, but Dave Gahan took lead on most of them. Gahan eventually grew frustrated singing Gore's songs, and in 2003 released a solo album with his own compositions called Paper Monsters. On the next Depeche Mode album, Playing the Angel (2005), he wrote three songs.