"Suffer Well" 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 ...

from their eleventh studio album, ''

Playing the Angel ''Playing the Angel'' is the eleventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was first released on 17 October 2005 by Mute Records in the UK, and a day later by Sire Records and Reprise Records in the United States. I ...

'' (2005). It was released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2006 as the album's third single.

Background

"Suffer Well" is the first Depeche Mode single written by lead singer

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 ...

and their first single not written by

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 a ...

since " Just Can't Get Enough" in 1981, which was written by

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 ...

. It is also the first Depeche Mode single that was co-written with non-Depeche Mode members (

Christian Eigner 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 Andrew Phillpott wrote the music). The song is based on an experience that

had where he was told by a friend of his to suffer well while he was discussing about his life and his issues. The line had stuck to him, which inspired the idea of the song. He explained on M6's TV show 'Focus Rock'. "The song is about, in, what you believe to be suffering, is where you grow and learn about yourself." In the same interview he also states that originally the song was much slower in pace, but it was decided to go on to a more pop oriented route. The B-sides for the single are called "Better Days", a short song with an industrial-punk feel to it, and "The Darkest Star", which entered the national singles charts in Finland for one week, at number 16. The song "Suffer Well" was nominated in the category of "

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

" at the 2007 Grammy Awards but lost to

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

's "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQ ...

". The single version of the song adds a drum track to the song and is shorter.

Chart performance

"Suffer Well" reached number 38 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. It reached number one on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart, the band's seventh song to top this chart. "Suffer Well" was added to the playlist of

Xfm London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative rock, alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global Media & Entertainment, Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed Lon ...

on 27 February 2006. However, it failed to make the playlist of any

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

station. Despite this, it entered the UK charts at number 12.

Music video

The video was filmed 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"' ...

and was his first music video for the band, excluding tour projections and promo videos, since " Useless" in 1997. The video features a cameo appearance by Gahan's wife, Jennifer, once as the angel and once as herself. Another cameo is by the band's manager, Jonathan Kessler, who plays Gahan's limo driver. Other highlights include Gore as a bride and Fletcher as a groom. It also features the disco ball seen in the cover art of "Suffer Well".

Track listings

UK limited-edition 7-inch picture disc :A. "Suffer Well" (

Metope In classical architecture, a metope (μετόπη) is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a bu ...

vocal remix) :B. "The Darkest Star" (Monolake remix) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Suffer Well" ( Tiga remix) – 6:28 :A2. "Suffer Well" (Tiga dub) – 5:29 :B1. "Suffer Well" (

Narcotic Thrust Narcotic Thrust are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of producers Stuart Crichton and Andy Morris. The name Narcotic Thrust is an anagram of "Stuart Crichton". Their song "Safe from Harm" hit No. 1 on the US Hot Dance Club P ...

vocal dub) – 6:44 UK limited-edition 12-inch single :A1. "Suffer Well" (Metope remix) – 6:53 :A2. "Suffer Well" (Metope vocal remix) – 6:28 :B1. "Suffer Well" ( M83 remix) – 4:31 :B2. "Better Days" (Basteroid 'Dance Is Gone' vocal mix) – 7:09 UK extra limited-edition 12-inch single :A. "The Darkest Star" (

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

remix) – 7:47 :AA. "The Darkest Star" (Holden dub) – 7:56 UK and European CD single # "Suffer Well" – 3:50 # "Better Days" – 2:28 UK limited-edition CD single and US digital download # "Suffer Well" (Tiga remix) – 6:30 # "Suffer Well" (Narcotic Thrust vocal dub) – 6:42 # "Suffer Well" (Alter Ego remix) – 6:09 # "Suffer Well" (M83 remix) – 4:34 # "Suffer Well" (Metope vocal remix) – 6:28 # "Suffer Well" (Metope remix) – 6:52 UK DVD single # "Suffer Well" (video) – 3:50 # "Suffer Well" (Alter Ego dub) (audio) – 8:53 # "Better Days" (Basteroid 'Dance Is Gone' vocal mix) (audio) – 7:09

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

Mute.com:Depeche Mode – Suffer Well

External links

Allmusic review
* {{Authority control Depeche Mode songs 2006 singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Hungary Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Song recordings produced by Ben Hillier Songs written by Dave Gahan