Depeche Mode began on the futurist fringe of New Wave music in 1980, alongside bands like Human League and Soft Cell.
By 1984, with songs like Master and Servant and Blasphemous Rumours, the band's lyrical themes and musical tones turned darker.

Lead singer David Gahan, keyboardist and main songwriter Martin Gore and keyboardist Andrew Fletcher are the founding members who remain as the most long lasting, successful and influential of bands embraced by the gothic subculture.