The new 80s star is Depeche Mode.

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up was Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81).

Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (lead keyboards) who was a band member from 1982 to 1995. Following Wilder's departure, Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have continued as a trio.

Depeche Mode are one of the longest-lived, most successful and influential bands to have emerged from the New Romantic and New Wave era. They have had forty-five songs in the UK Singles Chart, as well as one US and two UK number one albums. According to their record company Mute Records, Depeche Mode have sold over 72 million records worldwide.

Depeche Mode's origins can be traced back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals/guitar and Fletcher on bass. In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an "Ultravox rip-off band", The Plan, with school friends Robert Marlow (vocals) and Paul Langwith (drums).

In 1978–79, Gore played in an acoustic duo, Norman and The Worms, with school friend Philip Burdett on vocals and Gore on guitar. In 1979, Marlow, Gore, Clarke and friend Paul Redmond formed a band called The French Look, Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar, Clarke and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. The French Look and Composition of Sound once played live together in June 1980 at St. Nicholas School Youth Club in Southend-on-sea, Essex.

Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesizers, working odd jobs, including carpentry, to buy them, or borrowing them from friends. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout-hut jam session, crooning to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes", and Depeche Mode were born. When explaining the choice for the new name (taken from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode) Martin Gore has said, "It means hurried fashion or fashion dispatch. I like the sound of that".

While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, the band was approached by Daniel Miller (an electronic musician and founder of Mute Records), who was interested in them recording a single for his burgeoning label. The result of this verbal contract was the single "Dreaming of Me", which was released in February 1981, and managed to reach number 57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this surprise success, the band recorded its second single "New Life", climbing to number 11 in the UK charts.

Three months later, the band released "Just Can't Get Enough" - their first single to enter the UK Top 10, peaking at number eight. This record was in many ways a breakthrough for the band, and its success paved the way for their debut album - Speak & Spell, released in November 1981, and eventually reaching number ten on the UK album charts. Critical reviews were mixed - Melody Maker described it as a "great album... one they had to make to conquer fresh audiences and please the fans who just can’t get enough", while Rolling Stone was more critical, calling the album "PG-rated fluff".

In November 1981, Clarke publicly announced that he was leaving Depeche Mode.[10] Soon afterwards, he joined with blues singer Alison Moyet to form Yazoo (Yaz in the US) and later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell. After initial talk of Clarke continuing to write material for the group ultimately amounted to nothing, Gore, who had written "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Big Muff" for Speak & Spell, was forced to become the band's new songwriter. In January 1982, the band released "See You", their first single without Clarke, which against all expectations, managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in the UK charts, reaching number six. In the ensuing months of that year, two more singles were released ("The Meaning of Love", and "Leave in Silence"), and the band embarked on their first world tour - known as the "See You" tour.

In late 1981, the band placed an anonymous ad in Melody Maker looking for another musician. Alan Wilder, a 22-year old keyboardist from West London, responded and after two auditions, he was hired initially on a trial basis as a touring member. Depeche Mode began work on their second album in July 1982. Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he was not needed for the recording of the album, as the band wanted to prove that they could succeed without Vince Clarke. Their second album A Broken Frame was released that September. Wilder's first musical contribution to the band was in 1983, on the non-album single "Get the Balance Right!".

In their early years, Depeche Mode had only really attained success in the UK, Europe, and Australia - however, this changed in March 1984, when they released the single "People Are People". The song climbed to #2 in Ireland and #4 on the UK and Swiss charts - and gave them their first #1 (in Germany). However, it belatedly reached #13 on the US charts in mid-1985. Sire, the band's North American record label, released a compilation of the same name. In September 1984, Some Great Reward was released.