Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

band

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist and keyboardist, and occasionally provides lead vocals. Gore possesses a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

singing voice which contrasts with

Dave Gahan Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

's dramatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

. He is also known for his flamboyant and (sometimes) androgynous

stage persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

. Gore has also released several solo albums and collaborated with former Depeche Mode member

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

as part of VCMG. Gore's songs include themes such as sex, religion and politics. He has said he feels lyrical themes that tackle issues related to solitude and loneliness are a better representation of reality, whereas he finds "happy songs" fake and unrealistic. At the same time, he asserts that the band's music contains "an element of hope". In 1999, he received the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

for "International Achievement". He was given the Moog Innovation Award "for his many contributions to the exploration of sound in popular music" in 2019, and became a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member in late 2020 with fellow active Depeche Mode members

and

Andy Fletcher Andrew Fletcher may refer to: Government * Andrew Fletcher, Lord Innerpeffer (died 1650), Scottish judge * Andrew Fletcher (patriot) (1655–1716), Scottish writer, politician and patriot * Andrew Fletcher, British Member of Parliament for Hadding ...

, as well as past members

and

Alan Wilder Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called Recoil b ...

. Following the death of Fletcher in May 2022, Gore is the longest-serving member of the band.

Early life

Martin Lee Gore was born in London, England. His biological father was an African-American

G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

stationed in Britain.Miller, pp. 318–319 Gore was raised by his stepfather David Gore and biological mother Pamela, who both worked at the

Ford of Britain Ford of Britain (officially Ford Motor Company Limited)The Ford 'companies' or corporate entities referred to in this article are: * Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, incorporated 16 June 1903 * Ford Motor Company Limited, incorporat ...

motor plant in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

. He believed his stepfather was his biological father until the age of 13, when he learned of his biological father. As an adult, Gore met his biological father in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Gore has described his upbringing as "normal" and "stable" but said he was also an introvert and preferred to spend time reading alone rather than with school peers. However, he also stated that he enjoyed his time at school and took part in foreign exchange trips. Gore taught himself to play keyboard from the 1970s, never receiving formal training. He learned to perform chart hits, figuring out their structures via the magazine ''

Disco 45 ''Disco 45'' was a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom between 1970 and 1983. It was best known for printing the lyrics of pop songs of the time. It was published by the Trevor Bolton Partnership of Rye, Sussex. History and ...

''. He attended

Nicholas Comprehensive School The James Hornsby School is a co-educational secondary school located in Laindon, in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It was formed from the merger in 1998 of the Laindon School and Nicholas Comprehensive, and occupies the site of the latt ...

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

, where he was the guitarist in a local band called Norman and the Worms. He shared a class with Andy "Fletch" Fletcher,

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her ...

and

Perry Bamonte Perry Archangelo Bamonte (born 3 September 1960) is an English musician best known as a member of the rock band The Cure from 1990 to 2005, and again since 2022. Biography Born in London, England, Bamonte became a guitar tech for The Cure in ...

. Gore left Nicholas Comprehensive after completing his

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in 1979 and took a job as a bank cashier. During evenings, weekends and any other spare time, he remained involved with Norman and the Worms. He became interested in

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

upon hearing acts such as

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

and

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...

(OMD). He borrowed a Korg 700S from a friend, before purchasing a Yamaha CS5, his first synthesizer. Gore has two younger half-sisters, Karen, born in 1967, and Jacqueline, born in 1968.

Depeche Mode

In 1980, Gore reunited with classmate Andy Fletcher at the Van Gogh club. Fletcher recruited him into his band Composition of Sound, along with

. Soon the band drafted

to be the band's lead singer after hearing him sing "

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Gore is the band's keyboardist, contributes backing vocals, and occasionally provides lead vocals. When explaining the band's choice for their name, 'Depeche Mode' (which was taken from French

fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion jour ...

''Dépêche mode''), Gore said, "It means 'hurried fashion' or 'fashion dispatch'. I like the sound of that." However, the magazine's name (and hence the band's) correctly translates to something like "Fashion News" or "Fashion Update". Gore wrote two tracks on Depeche Mode's debut album, '' Speak & Spell'': "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and the instrumental "Big Muff". "Any Second Now (voices)" features Gore's first lead vocals for the band. When Clarke announced his departure from Depeche Mode in 1981, Gore became the principal songwriter for the band. Songs Gore wrote for Depeche Mode's second album, ''

A Broken Frame ''A Broken Frame'' is the second studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 27 September 1982 by Mute Records. The album was written entirely by Martin Gore and was recorded as a trio after the departure of Vince Cl ...

'' (1982) differed musically and lyrically from Clarke's. Gore's writing became gradually darker and more political on subsequent Depeche Mode albums. He sings lead vocals on several of the band's songs, notably ballads – his

voice provides a contrast to Gahan's dramatic

. Gore sometimes plays guitar (typically his

Gretsch White Falcon The Gretsch White Falcon is an electric hollow-body guitar introduced in 1954 by Gretsch. This guitar was created as a "showpiece" to exhibit the craft of Gretsch's luthiers, sales, and demonstration representative, Jimmie Webster, who created i ...

or Gretsch Double Anniversary) on Depeche Mode songs. The first time guitar was used as the main instrument was on "

Personal Jesus "Personal Jesus" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the lead single from their seventh studio album, '' Violator'' (1990), in 1989. It reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 28 on the ''Billbo ...

", although he used small guitar parts on previous songs, such as "

Behind the Wheel "Behind the Wheel" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their sixth studio album, ''Music for the Masses'' (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's third single, reaching number 21 in the United Kingdom ...

" and "

Love, in Itself "Love, in Itself" is Depeche Mode's ninth UK single (released on 19 September 1983), and the final single from the album ''Construction Time Again''. The song peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. The "Love, in Itself" single contains t ...

". Gore's guitar playing developed even more on ''

Songs of Faith and Devotion ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'' is the eighth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was first released on 22 March 1993 in the United Kingdom by Mute Records and a day later in the United States by Sire Records and Rep ...

''. In live performances, he switches his keyboards for his guitar on some older Depeche Mode songs, such as "

Never Let Me Down Again "Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''Music for the Masses'' (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West ...

" and "

A Question of Time "A Question of Time" is Depeche Mode's seventeenth UK single, released on 11 August 1986, following the similarly titled "A Question of Lust" single. The 7" remix of "A Question of Time" runs at a slightly faster tempo and pitch than the ori ...

". In mid-1990, Gore said, "I think in a way we've been at the forefront of new music; sort of chipping away at the standard rock format stations."

Other work

Gore has released the following solo albums: ''Counterfeit'' (1989), ''Counterfeit''² (2003), '' MG'' (2015) and ''The Third Chimpanzee'' (2021).

VCMG

Former Depeche Mode colleague

collaborated with Gore for the first time since 1981 as techno duo VCMG on an instrumental minimalist electronic dance album called ''Ssss'', released on 12 March 2012. The first single, ''Spock'' was first released worldwide exclusively on Beatport on 30 November 2011. The second, ''Single Blip'' was once again first released exclusively on Beatport on 20 February 2012, and the third one, ''Aftermaths'' was released on 20 August 2012.

MG

In late February 2015, several teaser images were displayed on Gore's official Facebook page, citing a

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...

"MGxMG" which was later revealed to be a promotional tool for his new solo studio album, titled MG (named after his previous collaborative album, ''VCMG'', with Vince Clarke from 2012). In a news post on his official website and various social media on 2 March, this confirmation of his new studio album announced its release would be on 27 or 28 April and previewed a track, ''Europa Hymn'', from the new album.

Electric Ladyboy studio

Gore has a personal studio in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

with a sizeable collection of

Eurorack Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from ...

s, Moog and Erica synthesizers (among others), where he recorded his solo work and wrote music for

Awards

On 27 May 1999, Gore was presented with an award by Daniel Miller for "International Achievement" by the

at the 44th

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

. Martin received the Moog Innovation Award "for his many contributions to the exploration of sound in

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

" in 2019.

Personal life

Gore lives in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. He started dating lingerie designer and model Suzanne Boisvert after meeting in Paris in 1989. They married in August 1994, had three children and divorced in 2006. He married Kerrilee Kaski in June 2014 and they have two daughters together. He suffered from stress-induced seizures during the band's 1993 Devotional Tour and publicly acknowledged his past alcoholism. During a stop on that Devotional Tour in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, he was arrested by local police and fined $50 for holding a loud party in his hotel room. He also became a vegetarian for health and moral reasons (along with

) in 1983.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

with VCMG

*''

Ssss SSSS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *'' Ssss'', music album by duo VCMG, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, released in 2012 * ''Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad'', US TV series * '' SSSS.Gridman'', anime series * ''Stand Still, Stay Silent' ...

'' (Mute, 2012)

Other appearances

Remixes

* 1994 Spirit Feel – "Rejoice" (Mystic Span Mix) * 1995

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

– "

Queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

" ( The Most Beautiful Woman in Town Mix) * 1999 ON – "Soluble Words" (Sublingual Remix) * 2003 Señor Coconut And His Orchestra – "Smooth Operator" (In-Disguise Remix) * 2013 Diamond Version – "Get Yours" (Martin L. Gore Remix) * 2022

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

– "Brutalism Take 2"

Sources

* Malins, Steve. ''Depeche Mode : Black Celebration : The Biography.'' Andre Deutsch, 2007. * Miller, Jonathan. ''Stripped: Depeche Mode'' 2003, 2004, Omnibus Press * Tobler, John. NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd, 1992. CN 5585.

References

External links

*
Martin Gore Interview
in

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

Martin Gore's DJ Chart
from

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be used ...

Martin Gore on BBC Radio 1's Residency programme (interview and mix)
from

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, Martin 1961 births Living people English male singers English people of African-American descent English record producers English songwriters English tenors Depeche Mode members Ivor Novello Award winners People from Basildon English expatriates in the United States Mute Records artists People from Dagenham Musicians from Essex English multi-instrumentalists English rock keyboardists English new wave musicians British synth-pop new wave musicians 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians Male new wave singers