Depeche Mode

English electronic music band formed March 1980 in Basildon, Essex, and named after a popular French fashion magazine. 

The early musical endeavours of Clarke, Fletcher and Gore were inspired by punk rock, the post-punk bands Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure, and the electronic groups Kraftwerk, the Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark; this confluence of sounds translated into Depeche Mode. OMD became a pivotal influence, with Clarke in particular being inspired by their fusion of electronics and emotion. Gore had similar aspirations for Depeche Mode's sound, stating, "My dream was to combine the emotion of Neil Young or John Lennon transmitted by Kraftwerk's synthesizers. Soul music played by electronic instruments."