Never Let Me Down Again

"Never Let Me Down Again"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Music for the Masses
B-side	"Pleasure, Little Treasure"
Released	August 24, 1987
Format	Vinyl record (7" and 12"), CD (1992 box set)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Synthpop, Synthrock
Length	4:47 (Album Version) 4:18 (7"/Single Version) 9:34 (12" Version)
Label	Mute Records
Writer(s)	Martin Gore
Producer	Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, and David Bascombe
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Strangelove" (1987) "Never Let Me Down Again" (1987) "Behind the Wheel" (1987)

"Never Let Me Down Again" is Depeche Mode's nineteenth UK single, released on August 24, 1987, and the second single for the then upcoming album Music for the Masses. A relatively moderate hit in the UK, at #22, it was a smash in West Germany, where it hit #2, and a Top 10 success in several other European countries (Sweden, Switzerland, etc.). The cover art features fragments of a Soviet map of Russia and Europe, with different fragments used for the different editions of the single.

Live performances

The song became a favourite among fans, especially live. Shows during Depeche Mode's 1988 tour were often closed with this song. Notable in the 101 video is when Dave Gahan waves his arms in the air during the end of the song, and the sold out crowd of 60,000 mimicked Gahan's movements. It is now a tradition at Depeche Mode shows for fans to wave their arms in the air during the end of "Never Let Me Down Again."

On November 8, 2001, shortly after their final Exciter Tour concert in Mannheim, Germany, the band played "Never Let Me Down Again" during the MTV Europe Music Awards in Frankfurt, which aired in the US on MTV2. It can be viewed at the official Depeche Mode website.

Remixes

The main 12" remix of "Never Let Me Down Again" is the "Split Mix", a nine minute track which features the regular song, an added intro plus a techno arrangement appended at the end. The arrangement was expanded to the "Aggro Mix" on the 12" B-side, also available as a bonus track on the CD/Cassette version of Music for the Masses. The "Split Mix" appears on Remixes 81 - 04.

Another remix of the track, by German group Digitalism was released in 2006 as one of the Digital Deluxe Bonus Tracks of The Best Of, Volume 1 (also released as a limited double vinyl 12").

Eric Prydz remixed the song for the band's remix compilation album Remixes 2: 81–11

Music videos

There are two music videos for "Never Let Me Down Again". The original version, from Strange uses the "Split Mix", minus the intro and outro, and during the EBM portion, Gahan's pair of dancing shoes are shown walking without anyone wearing them, before someone puts them on and wears them to dance. There is also a shortened one with just the Single version of the song, without the dancing shoes. It appears on The Videos 86>98. They are directed by Anton Corbijn.

B-sides

There are two b-sides. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" is a short dance track. An extended version called the "Glitter Mix" ends with fragments of vocal recordings that have been reversed and treated with delay effects. Notably, some of these sounds can be heard in the track "Mothers Talk" from the 1985 Tears for Fears album Songs from the Big Chair, which was engineered by Dave Bascombe. The "Glitter Mix" showed up as a bonus track on the CD/Cassette versions of Music for the Masses and in remastered form on the 2006 CD/DVD release.

The rarer b-side is "To Have and To Hold (Spanish Taster)". Martin Gore's original plan for the song sounded a lot like this upbeat electropop, but Alan Wilder turned it into the dark wave track it eventually became. While Alan's version was always set to be the final version, Martin wanted his version to be recorded as well. However, not all of the lyrics are sung in the song. It shows up as one of the bonus tracks on the CD/Cassette version of Music for the Masses and is on the CD versions of "Never Let Me Down Again". The regular version of "To Have and To Hold" is one of the main tracks on the Music for the Masses LP.

Track listings

All songs written by Martin L. Gore.

7": Mute / 7Bong14 (UK)

1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:20
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:52

12": Mute / 12Bong14 (UK)

1. "Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:34
3. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53

12": Mute / L12Bong14 (UK)

1. "Never Let Me Down Again (Tsangarides Mix)" – 4:22 (Remixed by Chris Tsangarides)
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53 (Remixed by John Fryer & Paul Kendall)
3. "To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33

CD: Mute / CDBong14 (UK)

1. "Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53
3. "To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33
4. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53

• Originally released in Cardsleeve [1987]
• Rereleased as 4track CD Single in Slim Jewel Case in 1991.

CD: Mute / CDBong14 (UK)

1. "Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:20
2. "Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:52
3. "Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34
4. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:34
5. "Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53
6. "Never Let Me Down Again (Tsangarides Mix)" – 4:22
7. "Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53
8. "To Have and To Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33

• The second CD is the 1992 re-release.

Notable covers

• The Smashing Pumpkins recorded a cover of the song and released it as a b-side on their rare 1994 CD single "Rocket". Billy Corgan is a longtime fan of Depeche Mode. In 1998, Depeche Mode invited Corgan, their opening act, onstage to perform the song together. This version of the song is also featured on the soundtrack for Not Another Teen Movie (in the soundtrack of the movie, another cover of a Depeche Mode song appears: But Not Tonight, this one covered by Stone Temple Pilots's Scott Weiland). When discussing the tribute album For the Masses, which the Pumpkins cover appears on, Martin Gore said he'd "always liked" the Pumpkins cover, while Dave Gahan said he "particularly liked it", and even thought it was "a lot better" than the Depeche Mode original.^[1]
• Farmer boys, featuring Anneke van Giersbergen (Ex-The Gathering) (Countrified, 1996)
• Berlin (4Play, 2005)
• Tre Lux (A Strange Gathering, 2006)
• The Mission have recorded a cover version of this song which is available on a compilation album Aural Delight.
• Avagami recorded a cover of this song which was released on their debut album, Metagami.
• Sylvain Chauveau covered the song for 'Down to the Bone - An Acoustic Tribute to Depeche Mode' with Ensemble Nocturne.

References

1. ^ "Depeche Mode on Smashing Pumpkins". AMSP. 2001-01-10.

External links

• Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site