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Strangelove (song)

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Not to be confused with Strange Love (song).

"Strangelove"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Music for the Masses
B-side
  • "Pimpf"
  • "Agent Orange"
Released27 April 1987 (1987-04-27)[1]
Length4:55
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)
  • Depeche Mode
  • David Bascombe
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"But Not Tonight"
(1986) 		"Strangelove"
(1987) 		"Never Let Me Down Again"
(1987)
Music video
"Strangelove" on YouTube

"Strangelove" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 27 April 1987 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987).

It was an international success, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] number two in West Germany and South Africa, and the top 20 in several other countries, including Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100[3] and was the first of nine number ones on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it stayed for three weeks at the top.[4]

Background

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The original single, though successful, did not seem to fit with Music for the Masses's darker sound, so Daniel Miller remixed the track for subsequent inclusion on the album. Alan Wilder, in the Q&A section of his Recoil website, wrote that the band felt the single version was "too cluttered" and was the reason Miller's remix was commissioned. Miller expounded on this in the Music for the Masses re-master documentary DVD, stating he felt the original single version was too complicated and would benefit from being simplified.

It was remixed by production team Bomb the Bass and released again as a single in the US, known informally as "Strangelove '88", this time reaching number 50 on the Hot 100.[3]

B-sides

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There are two B-sides for "Strangelove", both instrumental. "Pimpf" is a dark instrumental that is mostly piano, named after a magazine of the Hitler Youth organisations. "Pimpf" later shows up, somewhat shortened, as the final track on Music for the Masses.

"Agent Orange"
Sample containing the Morse code referred to in the text to the left.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The second instrumental is "Agent Orange", named after the herbicide used in the Vietnam War. The end of the song contains a repeated pattern in Morse code, rumoured to mean "if anyone can hear this, please help me", is actually just gibberish, it translates to "LAXI" repeated several times. "Agent Orange" was later included on the CD and cassette versions of Music for the Masses.[5]

Note: There are 3 different versions of "Pimpf":

  1. "Pimpf" 4:33 – This version appears on the "Strangelove" single release.
  2. "Pimpf" 3:56 – This version appears on the Music for the Masses album release. If you include the hidden track "Interlude #1", which starts 23 seconds after "Pimpf" has ended, the total duration is 4:55.
  3. "Fpmip" 5:23 – This version appears on the regular "Strangelove" 12-inch single release. It adds a 48 second intro where some sounds are backwards ("Fpmip" is "Pimpf" backwards), and then plays the single version.

Music videos

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The music video for "Strangelove" was directed by Anton Corbijn and appears on the Strange video and The Videos 86>98. Shot on Super 8 and monochrome, the video sees the band in various Paris locations, hotel rooms and in a studio posing in front of a rolling backdrop. The live action is combined with short stop-frame animation sequences. The video also stars two models in underwear (one of whom was Anton Corbijn's partner), as well as passing pedestrians, featured in the closing 'out-takes' sequence of fast-edit shots. In the USA, MTV objected to some of the more revealing footage of the models and the video was edited to replace them with images of the band.

There was also a Corbijn-directed video for "Pimpf", exclusive to the Strange video, which features Dave Gahan, Andy Fletcher and Alan Wilder shouting at each other and syncing with the synthetic chanting, while Martin Gore plays the song on a piano. While Gore plays the piano in the video, it is Wilder who plays the piano on all piano-instrumentals by the band from 1987–1990 as well as "Somebody".

In 1988, another video for "Strangelove" was released for the album version. It was directed by Martyn Atkins, who did photography for earlier DM albums. It was not publicly released on any videocassettes or DVDs until the Videos 86>98+ DVD in 2002. This video is much simpler than the original, and features the band performing inside a city-scape location (Senate House, the federal headquarters of the University of London).

Other releases

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Remixes of "Strangelove" have appeared on various best-of compilations such The Singles 86–98 (1998), Remixes 81–04 (2004), The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), and Remixes 2: 81–11 (2011). Live versions appear on 101 (1989) and releases of Recording the Universe (2010).

Track listings

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All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore.

Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smith, Robin (25 April 1987). "News Digest". Record Mirror. p. 29. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. ^ a b "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Depeche Mode Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 75.
  5. ^ depe.depmode.com, © depe | 15 08 2008 www depmode com | personal site. "Depeche Mode "Strangelove" 1987". www.depmode.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 8694." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Top 3 in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 24. 20 June 1987. p. 16. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 22. 6 June 1987. p. 10. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Strangelove". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Depeche Mode" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Depeche Mode" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  17. ^ "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts D". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  18. ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Depeche Mode – Strangelove". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  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 February 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 22, 1988". Cash Box. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Strangelove" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  27. ^ "European Charts of the Year 1987 – Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 51/52. 26 December 1987. p. 34. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  28. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1987". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1987". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Dance Club Songs – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  31. ^ "1987 The Year in Music & Video – Top Dance Sales 12-Inch Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. 26 December 1987. p. Y-30. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1987" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
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