The Singles 81→85
1985 greatest hits album by Depeche Mode
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The Singles 81→85 is a greatest hits album by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 14 October 1985 by Mute Records. The compilation was not originally released in North America, where it was replaced by its counterpart Catching Up with Depeche Mode.
- Blackwing, The Garden and Music Works (London)
- Hansa Mischraum (Berlin)
- Genetic (Streatley, England)
| The Singles 81→85 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 14 October 1985 | |||
| Recorded | December 1980 – July 1985 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Synth-pop[1][2] | |||
| Length | 51:56 | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Depeche Mode chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 1998 reissue cover | ||||
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| Singles from The Singles 81→85 | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
In 1998, to coincide with the release of The Singles 86>98, the album was reissued and remastered under the title The Singles 81>85, featuring new cover art and two additional tracks.
Background
Depeche Mode had released their last studio album, Some Great Reward in September 1984[6] and supported it with a world tour that lasted into 1985.[7] By the end of 1984, they already knew that they would not record a new album in 1985, and instead focus on a singles collection to be released instead.[8] News of the collection started rumours that the band was going to break up which the band had to refute in the press.[8] 1984 had been Depeche Mode's most commercially successful to date, and the band wanted to capitalize on the newfound fans they had acquired and give them a way to become familiar with their earlier work.[8] They went into the studio twice in 1985 to record new singles to be included in the collection; once in February to record "Shake the Disease" and again in June to record "It's Called a Heart".[9] Both were released as singles prior to the release of their supporting Singles album.[10]
Artwork
The band had not appeared on the cover of their previous studio albums.[8][a] The cover image was taken by photographer by Eric Watson, and was included in promotional posters for the single "It's Called a Heart",[11] on the cover of the US version of the release called Catching Up with Depeche Mode,[12] and on the cover of the band's first video compilation, Some Great Videos (1985). [13] It was also later displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.[14] The inner sleeve included private photographs of the band, as well as their history to date.[12]
Releases
Original 1985 release
The Singles 81→85 was released in the UK by Mute Records on 15 October 1985 with catalogue number MUTEL1.[12][b][15][16] It was the first retrospective released for the band in the UK.[12] All of the band's singles except "The Meaning of Love" and "Somebody" were included.[12][c] A promotional pressing of the album in the UK was printed on blue vinyl and is considered one of the rarest collector's items from the band.[12] In Germany, Intercord Records released the album with catalogue number INT 146.817.[12]
In the US, the release was given a different track listing and a different name (Catching Up with Depeche Mode), as the US had seen the compilation album People Are People released the previous year and US label Sire Records did not want to release another compilation album with the same tracks.[12]
1998 re-release
To coincide with the release of Depeche Mode's compilation album The Singles 86>98, the Singles 81→85 album was reissued and remastered under the title The Singles 81>85, featuring new cover art and two additional tracks. One of the additional tracks, the "Some Bizarre" version of "Photographic", was the first track the band had ever recorded in the studio,[18] and that original version had not been available to fans since it was included on the Some Bizzare Album album in 1981.[19]
Reception
The initial release sold well, reaching number 6 in the UK, number 7 in France, number 9 in West Germany, 14 in Switzerland and 18 in Sweden.[20] Music magazine NME rated the release well, saying "It was only when you heard their career in this way ... that the truth hit you. Depeche Mode are one of the great exponents of the pop single on the planet."[21]
As of April 2006, the 1998 reissue had sold 283,000 copies in the United States.[22]
Track listing
All tracks written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted. All tracks produced by Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode, except where noted
Original 1985 releases
LP
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dreaming of Me" | Vince Clarke | Non-album single | 3:46 |
| 2. | "New Life" | Clarke | Speak & Spell | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Just Can't Get Enough" | Clarke | Speak & Spell | 3:44 |
| 4. | "See You" | A Broken Frame | 3:57 | |
| 5. | "Leave in Silence" | A Broken Frame | 4:02 | |
| 6. | "Get the Balance Right!" | Non-album single | 3:15 | |
| 7. | "Everything Counts" | Construction Time Again | 3:59 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Love, in Itself" | Construction Time Again | 4:00 |
| 9. | "People Are People" | Some Great Reward | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Master and Servant" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Gareth Jones) | Some Great Reward | 3:47 |
| 11. | "Blasphemous Rumours" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Some Great Reward | 5:09 |
| 12. | "Shake the Disease" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Previously unreleased | 4:49 |
| 13. | "It's Called a Heart" | Previously unreleased | 3:51 |
| Total length: | 51:56 | ||
CD
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dreaming of Me" | Clarke | Non-album single | 3:46 |
| 2. | "New Life" | Clarke | Speak & Spell | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Just Can't Get Enough" | Clarke | Speak & Spell | 3:44 |
| 4. | "See You" | A Broken Frame | 3:57 | |
| 5. | "The Meaning of Love" | A Broken Frame | 3:05 | |
| 6. | "Leave in Silence" | A Broken Frame | 4:02 | |
| 7. | "Get the Balance Right!" | Non-album single | 3:15 | |
| 8. | "Everything Counts" | Construction Time Again | 3:59 | |
| 9. | "Love, in Itself" | Construction Time Again | 4:00 | |
| 10. | "People Are People" | Some Great Reward | 3:46 | |
| 11. | "Master and Servant" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Some Great Reward | 3:47 | |
| 12. | "Blasphemous Rumours" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Some Great Reward | 5:09 | |
| 13. | "Somebody" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Some Great Reward | 4:22 | |
| 14. | "Shake the Disease" (producers: Miller, Depeche Mode, Jones) | Previously unreleased | 4:49 | |
| 15. | "It's Called a Heart" | Previously unreleased | 3:51 | |
| Total length: | 59:17 | |||
Notes
- Original 1985 cassette release: side A (tracks 1–8), side B (tracks 9–15).
Remastered 1998 release
CD
Tracks 1–15 on the remastered edition are the same as on the original 1985 CD; additional tracks listed as tracks 16 and 17.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Photographic" (Some Bizzare version) | Clarke | Some Bizzare Album | 3:13 |
| 17. | "Just Can't Get Enough" (Schizo mix) | Clarke | "Just Can't Get Enough" (single) | 6:46 |
| Total length: | 69:24 | |||
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[40] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Notes
- A picture of the band was on the cover of the US compilation album People Are People, released the year before.
- Burmeister & Lange's Monument discography incorrectly attributes the date to 1995 instead of 1985.