"Wrong" is the first single released from 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 ...
group
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 ...
's twelfth studio album, ''
Sounds of the Universe
''Sounds of the Universe'' is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 April 2009 by Mute Records. The album was supported by the 2009–2010 concert tour Tour of the Universe. Three singles were r ...
'', and their 46th UK single overall. It was released to radio in February 2009 and became available for purchase online on 24 February 2009. The single was physically released on 6 April 2009. The 12-inch version of the single was released on 11 May 2009.
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 ...
"Oh Well" (which also appears on the ''Sounds of the Universe'' deluxe box set edition) is the first writing collaboration between Martin Gore (music) and Dave Gahan (lyrics).
Commercially, the single reached number one in Scotland and entered the top 10 in nine countries worldwide, including France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. In the UK, it is Depeche Mode's most recent top-40 hit, peaking at number 24 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 ...
. It also found some chart success in North America, peaking at number 64 in Canada and number one 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 ...
''
Dance Club Songs
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 t ...
chart.
Chart performance
"Wrong" has received a positive response on United States alternative rock radio, becoming one of the 30 most-played songs in its first week of release. "Wrong" was added to the
BBC Radio 6
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
"B-List" playlist for the week starting 7 March 2009. However, a week after physical release in April 2009, it charted at number 24 (and currently remaining their last UK Top 40 hit), the lowest UK chart position for the initial single from a Depeche Mode studio album ("
Dreaming of Me
"Dreaming of Me" is the debut single by British electronic band Depeche Mode. It was recorded in December 1980 at Blackwing Studios and originally released in February 1981 in the UK via Mute Records. It was not commercially released in the Unit ...
", while charting at number 57 in 1981, was not an "official" track from the ''
Speak & Spell'' album). By contrast, ''Sounds of the Universe'' itself reached number two in the UK upon release in late April, Depeche Mode's highest album chart position there since 1997. Likewise, "Wrong" was more successful in Scotland, topping the
Scottish Singles Chart
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
to become the band's first and only number-one single in that country. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 10 in several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. In North America, the song reached number 64 in Canada and number one on the US
Dance Club Songs
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 t ...
chart.
Music video
The music video for "Wrong" was filmed in December 2008 and directed by
Patrick Daughters
Patrick Daughters (born 1976 in Berkeley, California) is an American music videomaker and commercial director currently signed to Anonymous Content.
Daughters is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. While still in colleg ...
.
It debuted on the band's MySpace page on 20 February 2009. The video depicts a
Ford Crown Victoria
The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 to 2012 model years. The Ford ...
rolling backwards down a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
downtown street, seemingly with no driver at the wheel. A shot inside the car reveals a man in a latex mask lying unconscious in the front seat, played by
Liars drummer Julian Gross.
When the car bumps another car (but keeps rolling), the man is jolted awake. As he tries in desperation to stop the car, it becomes apparent that he is bound and gagged. The car rolls past the band (watching from a sidewalk) and hits a pedestrian, trash cans, shopping carts, and traffic cones. A
police vehicle
Transportation for police forces is provided by a number of ground vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.
Ground
Motorized Four-wheels
A police car is the description for a vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and ...
begins pursuing the car. When the man finally manages to free his wrists and remove the mask, a white
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
crashes into the side of the car, bringing it to a halt.
On 3 December 2009, it was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for "Best Short Form Video." On the same day, ''Sounds of the Universe,'' the album of which the single appears on, was nominated for
Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
.
The music video was second in
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
's list of the "Five best videos of 2009" and was tenth in "the 20 best videos of 2009" according to
Spin Magazine
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012.
Histor ...
Track listings
European CD single
# "Wrong" – 3:13
# "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey remix) – 5:53
European limited-edition CD single (Remixes)
# "Wrong" (original) – 3:13
# "Wrong" (
Trentemøller
Anders Trentemøller (; born 16 October 1972) is a Danish indie/electronic music composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
History
Trentemøller started music in the late 1990s with different indie rock projects. ...
club remix) – 6:55
# "Wrong" (
Thin White Duke
The Thin White Duke was the persona and character of the English musician David Bowie during 1975 and 1976. He is primarily identified with Bowie's 1976 album '' Station to Station'' and is mentioned by name in the title track, although Bowie ...
remix) – 7:41
# "Wrong" (Magda's Scallop Funk remix) – 6:21
# "Wrong" (D.I.M. vs
Boys Noize
Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter, and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he estab ...
remix) – 5:11
European limited-edition 7-inch single
:A. "Wrong" – 3:13
:B. "Oh Well" (edit) – 4:25
European 12-inch single
:A1. "Wrong"
:A2. "Wrong" (Thin White Duke remix)
:B1. "Wrong" (Trentemøller club remix)
:B2. "Wrong" (Caspa remix)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
Single information from the official Depeche Mode web siteAllmusic review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrong (Depeche Mode Song)
2009 singles
2009 songs
Capitol Records singles
Depeche Mode songs
Mute Records singles
Number-one singles in Scotland
Song recordings produced by Ben Hillier
Songs written by Martin Gore
Virgin Records singles