New Life (song)

"New Life"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Speak & Spell
B-side"Shout!"
Released13 June 1981[1]
RecordedMay 1981
StudioBlackwing (London)
GenreSynth-pop[2][3]
Length
  • 3:43 (album version)
  • 3:58 (12″ remix)
LabelMute
SongwriterVince Clarke
Producers
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Dreaming of Me"
(1981)		 "New Life"
(1981)		 "Just Can't Get Enough"
(1981)
Alternative cover
The cover of the 12" single (12MUTE014)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[4]

"New Life" is the second single by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their debut studio album Speak & Spell, originally released on 13 June 1981.[1][a] It was the first Depeche Mode single to feature remixes, and was released only in Europe.

Background and recording

Vince Clarke wrote the song,[6] which was recorded at Blackwing Studios.[7] Said singer Dave Gahan, "We learned a lot from 'Dreaming [of Me]', came in here and just did a better job on '[New Life]'."[8] The song includes a four-part harmony similar to The Beatles' "Twist and Shout" that was sung by all four members of the band and witnessed by a journalist from The Face, who reported that non-musical member Andrew Fletcher struggled with the part.[9]

Release

One of several album tracks written before the band officially went into the studio to record the album, "New Life" was the first Depeche Mode single released in the 12" format; the previous single, "Dreaming of Me", was originally only released on 7" vinyl.[10] It was the first single by the band to feature remixes, a staple of all later Depeche Mode single releases.[11] Both "New Life" and "Shout!"'s 12" mixes were done by the band themselves.[12] Said Clarke,

We recorded the 7", and [producer] Daniel Miller made them into 12". 12" in those days weren't about joining tape together - extended mixes weren't even in our vocabulary at that point; 12" were about making the record louder, because on a [7"] single you could only cut the groove so deep. But the deeper the groove is, the louder the record is, so we made 12" to be played at clubs. What we used to do was mix stuff in and out-drop the bass drum out for a couple of bars, or whatever.[13]

The 7" single cover, which featured a person unzipping themselves out of an egg, was designed by Clarke's younger brother Rodney Clarke, who was at the time a student at Southend College of Technology.[14] The cover of the UK 12" sleeve was based on a photo used in the scientific magazine Mind Alive in 1968; the same photo was the basis for the cover of the Black Sabbath album Born Again (1983).[11] In the UK, the single was given the catalogue number 7MUTE014 for the 7" single, 12MUTE014 for the 12" single, and in Germany the catalogue number was INT 111.800 (7") and INT 126.800 (12").[15]

The song's b-side was "Shout!", and its 12" remix was given the name "Rio Mix" only on the English release.[15]

Release

The single became Depeche Mode's breakthrough hit in the UK, peaking at #11,[16][17] although the band was still disappointed.[8] Gahan said in an interview in June 1981, "We had a sad day ... we expected 'New Life' to go up a bit more."[8] On 25 June 1981, the band performed "New Life" during their debut on the BBC's Top of the Pops,[7] and by 1 August 1981, the single was reported to have sold 200,000 copies.[18]

Track listing

All tracks written by Vince Clarke

7″: Mute / 7Mute14 (UK)

  1. "New Life" – 3:43
  2. "Shout!" – 3:44

12″: Mute / 12Mute14 (UK)

  1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
  2. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31
  • Re-released in 2018 as a part of the Speak & Spell: The 12″ Singles box set

CD: Mute / Intercord / CDMute14 / INT 826.800 (West Germany) – released in 1988

  1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
  2. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31
  3. "New Life" (7″ version) – 3:43

CD: Mute / CDMute14 (UK) – released in 1991

  1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
  2. "Shout!" – 3:44
  3. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31

CD: Sire / 40290-2 (US) – released in 1991

  1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
  2. "Shout!" – 3:44
  3. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "New Life"
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[19]22
UK Singles (Official Charts)[20]11
UK Indie (MRIB)[21] 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[22]
with "Shout!"		29

Notes

  1. ↑ One source suggests it was released earlier, around 5 June 1981.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 22–26.
  2. ↑ Freeman, John (4 March 2011). "A Question of Lust: Depeche Mode's Black Celebration Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Bradley, Larry (4 November 2014). "The 1980s: Depeche Mode - "New Life". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-84403-789-6.
  4. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "New Life – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Music week" (PDF). p. 22.
  6. ↑ Music, BBC Radio 6 (13 October 2014). BBC Radio 6 Music's Alternative Jukebox: 500 Extraordinary Tracks That Tell the Story of Alternative Music. Octopus. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-84403-814-5. Retrieved 29 May 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 22.
  8. 1 2 3 Page, Betty (27 June 1981). "Depeche Guevara". Sounds (magazine). p. 22.
  9. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 104.
  10. ↑ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 21–24.
  11. 1 2 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 24.
  12. ↑ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 350.
  13. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 108.
  14. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 105.
  15. 1 2 Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 26.
  16. ↑ Bernhardt, Tonia (21 November 2007). Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult. GRIN Verlag. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-638-76757-6. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Nicholls, Mike (1 August 1981). "Angels with Shining Faces". Record Mirror.
  19. ↑ "Depeche Mode | IRMA". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Depeche Mode Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  21. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

Works cited

  • Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-593-4.
  • Miller, Jonathan (2003). Stripped: The True Story of Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-415-2.
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