Enjoy the silence - Depeche Mode

When 'Enjoy the silence' was written by Martin Gore, he intended it to be a slow-paced ballad in C minor; the demo featured a harmonium with Gore singing. Fellow band member Alan Wilder saw hit potential in the track, and composed an upbeat tempo and structure for the song. Despite initial resistance from songwriter Gore, who felt the spirit of the song was not suited to an upbeat track, the rest of the group liked it. After some self-described 'sulking', Gore came around and added more to the embryonic fast version together with producer Mark 'Flood' Ellis, notably the guitar riff heard throughout. Within hours of recording the track, the band was convinced they had a hit single on their hands.

When released as a single, 'Enjoy the silence' became Depeche Mode's most successful song. It reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40, number 6 in the UK singles chart and went top ten in dozens of other countries. The song was released with several remixes on several formats, most notably the 'Quad:Final mix', clocking in at 15 minutes.

My collection: 7" single no. 1168
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Enjoy the silence' / 'Memphisto'