David McElroy – författare

Recorded in England, Denmark and Italy between May and September 1989, Depeche Mode’s seventh studio album ‘Violator’ was a landmark record beloved by fans and universally regarded as the band’s creative highpoint. Eventually selling 7.5 million copies following its release in March 1990, ‘Violator’ gave the cult British band – Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher and Alan Wilder – the critical acclaim they finally deserved. The adventurous, highly experimental approach that the band took for ‘Violator’ recording sessions also yielded two of the band’s most recognisable and successful singles in ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy The Silence’. Produced by the band with the influential studio guru Flood and mixed by the legendary François Kevorkian, ‘Violator’ is viewed as a hugely groundbreaking body of work by countless musicians and DJs, such was its progressive synthesis of electronic, rock, dance and pop music. The album revealed a new maturity and sensitivity to Martin Gore’s songwriting and allowed the band’s inquisitive Alan Wilder to come to the fore as a principal architect of the band’s approach to studio production. This period in the band’s history also found them forging a deeply trusted and influential partnership with photographer and designer Anton Corbijn, often viewed as the fifth member of Depeche Mode at this time. Corbijn’s work with the Area creative agency for the ‘Violator’ project delivered iconic, integrated artwork, photography, videos and short films across the album, its singles, and tour design. Written by uber-fans Kevin May and David McElroy, with ‘Halo’ we find ourselves shadowing the band in the studio, on an intense, pivotal worldwide tour and on the sets of arty Super 8 vignettes. We watch as samples and sounds are painstakingly wrought into rhythms, as flights are missed to secure additional seconds of mix time, as label executives in boardrooms deliberate over the order of the album’s singles. We find ourselves in downtown LA at the scene of an apocryphal riot as fans clamour to get their copies of the album signed. We observe the often misunderstood but hugely important role that the late Andy Fletcher played in the band and witness the tumultuous emotional pressures on the band’s frontman, Dave Gahan. During an intense and pivotal two-and-a-half years in the life of the group, we follow Depeche Mode as they complete their metamorphosis into one of the most significant bands of a generation, and place the success and innovations of ‘Violator’ at the dead centre of the rapidly-changing late-80s, early-90s musical zeitgeist. More than an album biography, ‘Halo’ goes deep behind the scenes of the band’s ‘Violator’ period. The book takes the form of a detailed oral history from those who were there in the studio with the band, working behind the cameras, designing sleeves and appearing in the videos; support acts, tour managers, publicists and fans.The book features detailed interviews with central figures involved with the band as they transitioned their sound and image to a stadium-friendly aesthetic, as well as those whose trusted contributions were essential for the creation of ‘Violator’.With ‘Halo’, authors Kevin May and David McElroy have produced an essential guide for Depeche Mode fans and anyone inquisitive about the making of a classic, genre-defining album.

Depeche Modes großer WurfIm März 1990 veröffentlichten Depeche Mode das Album, das seitdem als ihr Meisterstück gilt: Violator war das siebte Album der Electro-Rocker, die in den Achtzigern erst Kultstatus genossen hatten und dann zu Weltruhm aufstiegen, ausverkaufte Stadien inklusive. Mit »Enjoy The Silence« und »Personal Jesus« enthielt der Longplayer auch die bis heute größten Hits der Band. Violator blieb insgesamt 48 Wochen in den deutschen Albumcharts vertreten.Wie dieses bahnbrechende Album zustande kam, dokumentieren die beiden Super-Fans Kevin May und David McElroy ganz genau. Sie sprachen dazu mit einer Vielzahl von Mitstreitern – mit der Produzentenlegende Gareth Jones, dem Remixer François Kevorkian, dem Fotografen und Band-Intimus Anton Corbijn sowie mit zahllosen Toningenieuren, Studiomusikern, Videoregisseuren oder Coverdesignern. Sie alle leisteten ihren Beitrag zu dem Gesamtwerk und konnten währenddessen einzigartige Einblicke in die Arbeitsweise von Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, Andy Fletcher und Alan Wilder gewinnen. Von der damals herrschenden Weltlage und der gesellschaftlichen Situation, in der Violator für viele zum Soundtrack ihres Lebens wurde, berichten zudem zahlreiche Fans aus den verschiedensten Ländern.Diese packend erzählte Oral History gewährt ein faszinierendes Schlaglicht auf die wohl spannendste Entwicklungsphase dieser einzigartigen Band: Sie nimmt die LeserInnen mit in die Studios, wenn an Samples und Sounds gefeilt wurde, zu Signierstunden in den USA, bei denen beinahe Unruhen ausbrachen, und sie erforscht vor allem die einzigartige Chemie zwischen den vier Bandmitgliedern. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit widmet Halo der oft unterschätzten Rolle des vor kurzem verstorbenen Andy Fletcher, aber es schildert auch den enormen emotionalen Druck, unter dem Sänger Dave Gahan damals stand.Ein Buch von Fans für Fans – passend zum neuen Album und der kommenden Tournee!