REWIND: Depeche Mode - 'Personal Jesus'

Back in the early 90s when I was a young kid, I was (shamefully) keen on the camp electro pop duo Erasure in the early 90s, and was surprised when I learned that Vince Clark was once a member of this dark, powerful and enigmatic group called Depeche Mode. Even though he was no longer part of the band, I still thought it was odd that two such differing styles of music could have a common connection. I remember seeing the video to 'I Feel You' being played a lot on The ITV Chart Show and MTV in 1993, and was intrigued further by this band when I realised that the majority of my Uncle Justin's CDs and records were Depeche Mode releases. But I was too young and distracted by other things to delve any further into their music, and a couple of years later Britpop and dance were what held my attention. Then in 1997 I was wowed by the 'Barrel Of A Gun' single and became interested once again. After my "punk rock and reggae only" years between 2003 and 2008 had ended and musical variety once again took hold of me, I picked up a few Depeche Mode albums from car boot sales and became areal fan. It was around that time that I bought the stellar 1990 album 'Violator' on CD for 50p, and a few months later found a vinyl copy for just £1. The very definition of a bargain.

And today (March 19) the magnificent 'Violator' is exactly 15 years old. The LP was their seventh studio album and is regarded by many to be their finest work. From it here is the unforgettable hit single 'Personal Jesus', a song which has also been covered by Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson (individually of course, a duet involving those two would be unimaginable). 

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