"Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by English

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 ...

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 ...

. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''

Music for the Masses ''Music for the Masses'' is the sixth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 28 September 1987 by Mute Records. The album was supported by the Music for the Masses Tour, which launched their fame in the US when ...

'' (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West Germany, and the top-10 in several other European countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. The cover art features fragments of a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

map of Russia and Europe, with different fragments used for the different editions of the single.

Composition

Former member

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 ...

and the other members of the band considered the track an "obvious single" with much potential. They developed it throughout so that dramatic-type elements such as the

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

-influenced

drum patterns The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

and

Martin Gore 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 band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist an ...

's distinctive guitar riffs sound in the forefront. The lyrics of the song, starting with the strident vocals of "I'm taking a ride with my best friend", are generally regarded as reflecting drug use, with the track being labelled by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' music journalist Jane Solanas as a "masterpiece" that well conveys the feeling of "drug euphoria". The

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

of "Never Let Me Down Again" references

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

's song "

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

". The main

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

version of the track, known as the "Split Mix", came about with direct involvement from the band. The 12" maxi release stretched to exactly nine and a half minutes long. Oddly enough, despite the pleasing results from the point of view of the band, that proved to be the last time in decades that a remix came out with their direct involvement.

Live performances

The song became a favourite among fans, especially live. Notable in the '' 101'' video is when

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 ...

waves his arms in the air toward the end of the song, and the sold-out crowd of 60,000 mimics Gahan's movements. It is now customary at Depeche Mode shows for fans to wave their arms in the air during the coda section of "Never Let Me Down Again", which the German magazine ''Music Express'' has termed a "wind in a cornfield" simulation. During the 1990

World Violation Tour The World Violation Tour was a 1990 concert tour by English electronic group Depeche Mode in support of the act's seventh studio album, '' Violator'', which was released in March 1990. It was estimated that by the end of the tour, Depeche Mod ...

, the band played a different version of the song, known as the "Split Mix", including their massive live performances at the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

and

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

s, which were being broadcast live on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. On 8 November 2001, shortly after their final ''

Exciter Tour Exciter may refer to: Music * Exciter (band), a Canadian speed metal band ** ''Exciter'' (Exciter album), also known as ''O.T.T.'', a 1988 album by Exciter * ''Exciter'' (Depeche Mode album), a 2001 album by Depeche Mode * "Exciter" (song) a 19 ...

'' concert in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the band played "Never Let Me Down Again" during the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, which aired in the US on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

Remixes

The main 12" remix of "Never Let Me Down Again" is known as the "Split Mix", as stated above, and the nine-and-a-half-minute track featured direct involvement from the band during its creation. In detail, the remix features the regular song, an added intro piece, and a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

-like musical arrangement appended at the end. The arrangement was expanded to the "Aggro Mix" on the 12"

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, a piece additionally available as a bonus track on the CD and cassette tape versions of ''Music for the Masses''. The "Split Mix" appears on the album collection ''

Remixes 81–04 ''Remixes 81–04'' is a remix album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 25 October 2004. It was the band's first release since Daniel Miller's independent label Mute Records was acquired by industry major EMI in 2002. I ...

'', a release that came out in October 2004. Another remix of the track, done by the German group Digitalism, came out in 2006 as one of the 'Digital Deluxe Bonus Tracks' found in ''

The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 ''The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1'' is a greatest hits album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 8 November 2006 by Mute Records. The album consists of select Depeche Mode singles from their then-25-year career, as wel ...

'' (also being released as a limited double vinyl 12" piece). That remix appears on the band's remix compilation '' Remixes 2: 81–11'' as well.

Eric Prydz Eric Sheridan Prydz (, ; born 19 July 1976), also known by his many aliases including Pryda () and Cirez D (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer. He rose to fame with his 2004 hit single " Call on Me", and saw continued chart success with "Pro ...

also remixed the song for this album.

Music videos

There are two music videos for "Never Let Me Down Again", directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

. The long version is featured on the ''

Strange Strange may refer to: Fiction * Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics * Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers * Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero * The title char ...

'' video, and uses the "Split Mix" (minus the intro and outro) and during the later EBM portion of the song, Gahan's shoes are shown walking without anyone wearing them, before someone puts them on and wears them to dance. There is also a short video with just the single version of the song, which ends before the animated shoes. The short version appears on '' The Videos 86>98'', the DVD of ''

'' and on ''

Video Singles Collection ''Video Singles Collection'' is a 2016 three-DVD music video compilation by Depeche Mode, containing all the videos released for singles by the band between 1981 and 2013. Video Singles Collection is the first official Depeche Mode archival tit ...

''.

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 ''Songs from the Big Chair'' is the second studio album by English pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 February 1985 by Phonogram Records. The album peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in the US, becoming a multi-platinum s ...

'', 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)".

's original plan for the song sounded a lot like upbeat

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

, but

turned it into the

dark wave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

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

. 7": Mute / Bong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:20 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:52 12": Mute / 12Bong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:34 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53 12": Mute / L12Bong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again (Tsangarides Mix)" – 4:22 (Remixed by

Chris Tsangarides Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...

) #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53 (Remixed by

John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician) (died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

& Paul Kendall) #"To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33 Cassette: Mute / CBong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:34 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53 CD: Mute / CDBong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53 #"To Have and to Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53 *Originally released in Cardsleeve 987*Rereleased as 4track CD single in Slim Jewel Case in 1991. CD: Mute / CDBong14 (UK) #"Never Let Me Down Again" – 4:20 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure" – 2:52 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)" – 9:34 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Glitter Mix)" – 5:34 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" – 4:53 #"Never Let Me Down Again (Tsangarides Mix)" – 4:22 #"Pleasure, Little Treasure (Join Mix)" – 4:53 #"To Have and To Hold (Spanish Taster)" – 2:33 *The second CD is the 1992 re-release.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable cover versions

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

recorded a cover of the song and released it as a B-side on their 1994 CD single "

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

" as well as on the Depeche Mode tribute album ''

For the Masses ''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...

''. Discussing the cover, Martin Gore said he had "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.

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 2023

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''The Last of Us''. It played during the end of the first episode, " When You're Lost in the Darkness."

Craig Mazin Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for creating the five-part HBO miniseries ''Chernobyl (miniseries), Chernobyl'', based on the Chernobyl disaster, nuclear disaster of the same name in ...

, the co-creator of the series, chose the song due to its blend of upbeat sounds and dark lyrics. He felt its title referred to the relationship between Joel and Ellie, and noted it would recur later in the season in a different manner. In the wake of the song being featured on ''The Last of Us'', the amount of streams of "Never Let Me Down Again" tripled overnight.

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site
{{Authority control 1987 songs 1987 singles Black-and-white music videos Depeche Mode songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Number-one singles in Denmark Song recordings produced by Daniel Miller Songs about drugs Songs written by Martin Gore