Depeche Mode

Legendary British synth-pop band formed in Basildon in 1976, featuring Andy Fletcher (bass), Vince Clarke (keyboards, 1976-1982), Martin Gore (guitar), and Dave Gahan (vocals). Their debut "Speak & Spell" (1981) launched their career; Alan Wilder (1982-1993) shaped their signature monumental synthesizer-and-guitar sound. Operating as a trio since 1994, they released "Playing The Angel" in 2005. Depeche Mode was the most sought-after Western band in the former USSR. They first performed in Moscow at the Olympiyski complex in September 1998 to a completely sold-out 16,000-capacity crowd, with thousands of counterfeit tickets circulating. They returned in 2001 with the "Exciter" album and in 2003 when Dave Gahan performed solo material "Paper Monsters" alongside Massive Attack, displaying rock-and-roll drive absent from the band's studio work.