"Walking in My Shoes" is a song by British

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 on 26 April 1993 as the second single from their eighth studio album, ''

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 ...

'' (1993). The song reached number 14 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and matched the success of the previous single "

I Feel You "I Feel You" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 15 February 1993 as their 27th UK single and the first single from their eighth studio album, ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'' (1993). The song peaked at number ei ...

" 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, where it reached one. The

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 ...

is "My Joy", the only exclusive B-side from the ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'' album, and is a rock track in the vein of "I Feel You". The 7-inch version of "Walking in My Shoes" is not the same as the one on ''Songs of Faith and Devotion''. The sound has been made more noisy and dirty, especially the drums in the verse, and the intro has been shortened. When performed live, elements of the "Grungy Gonads" mix are used in an extended intro and throughout the song. The song was cited by then-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 ...

to be his favourite song from the album together with " In Your Room".

Release and commercial reception

"Walking in My Shoes" was released on 26 April 1993 in the United Kingdom. The single failed to enter list of the UK top 10 and the American top 40; nevertheless, the song became a top ten hit in some countries of Continental Europe, and became a recurring song during the live performances of the band since 1993. The song peaked number 14 on the

and number 69 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On the ''Billboard''

chart, it peaked number one for a week. U2 lead singer

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

listed the song on his "60 Songs That Saved My Life" playlist.

Critical reception

Leesa Daniels from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' gave the song three out of five, writing, "The great thing about the 'Mode is their songs always have a chorus that's easy to sing along to. That's the case here, although for a change it does take a few listens to get the hang of it. The song is very atmospheric in a black-and-white-grainy-film for the video kind of way. Lovely."

Music video

The music video for "Walking in My Shoes" was 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"' ...

. At the beginning of the second verse, there is a shot of

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 ...

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 Haddin ...

, and Alan Wilder with naked women on their laps. This was removed in the

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 ...

version in the US and replaced with footage of the three members standing still, alone, from earlier in the video. The uncut version is on ''

The Videos 86-98 ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', '' Devotional'', '' The Best Of, Volume 1'' and ''

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 ti ...

'' DVDs.

Track listings

All songs were written by Martin Gore. CD: Mute / CD BONG 22 (UK) # "Walking in My Shoes" (seven inch mix) – 4:59 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Grungy Gonads mix) – 6:24 # "My Joy" (seven inch mix) – 3:57 # "My Joy" (Slow Slide mix) – 5:11 Limited-edition CD and 12-inch: Mute / LCD BONG 22, L12 BONG 22 (UK) # "Walking in My Shoes" (extended twelve inch mix) – 6:54 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Random Carpet mix) – 6:35 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Anandamidic mix) – 6:11 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Ambient Whale mix) – 4:54 12-inch: Mute / 12 BONG 22 (UK) :A1. "Walking in My Shoes" (Grungy Gonads mix) – 6:24 :A2. "Walking in My Shoes" (seven inch mix) – 4:59 :B1. "My Joy" (seven inch mix) – 3:57 :B2. "My Joy" (Slow Slide mix) – 5:11 Cassette: Mute / C BONG 22 (UK) # "Walking in My Shoes" – 4:59 # "My Joy" – 3:57 12-inch and maxi-cassette: Sire, Reprise / 9 40852-0, 9 40852-4 (US) :A1. "Walking in My Shoes" (extended twelve inch mix) – 6:53 :A2. "Walking in My Shoes" (Random Carpet mix) – 6:10 :A3. "Walking in My Shoes" (Grungy Gonads mix) – 6:24 :B1. "Walking in My Shoes" (Anandamidic mix) – 6:11 :B2. "Walking in My Shoes" (Ambient Whale mix) – 4:54 :B3. "My Joy" (Slow Slide mix) – 5:12 Maxi-CD: Sire, Reprise / 9 40852-2 (US) # "Walking in My Shoes" (seven inch mix) – 4:59 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Grungy Gonads mix) – 6:24 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Random Carpet mix) – 6:10 # "My Joy" (Slow Slide mix) – 5:12 # "Walking in My Shoes" (extended twelve inch mix) – 6:53 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Anandamidic mix) – 6:11 # "My Joy" – 3:58 # "Walking in My Shoes" (Ambient Whale mix) – 4:54

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode web site

Allmusic review
{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Depeche Mode songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Reprise Records singles Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Martin Gore