In a 2003 interview, Gahan shared that "During the making of Exciter, sometimes I felt a bit frustrated that there was a lack of experimentation." This led him, in 2004, to tell his bandmates that he wanted to write half of the songs on their next album, and there was "no way" he could be involved in the band without contributing as a songwriter. Four of the band's singles have reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart: " Enjoy the Silence" (1990), " Policy of Truth" (1990), "I Feel You" (1993), and " Walking in My Shoes" (1993). The band has achieved global sales in excess of 100 million records. A new wave/synthpop pioneer of the early 1980s, Depeche Mode have released 14 studio albums, four greatest hits compilations and two remix albums. The same year, Gahan joined the band after Clarke heard him perform David Bowie's "Heroes." The band was soon renamed Depeche Mode, a name suggested by Gahan after he had come across a fashion magazine called Dépêche-mode. Clarke and Fletcher soon switched to synthesizers. In March 1980, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke formed the band Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals and guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. I don’t know what it is I believe in, but I know that I feel a sense of some kind of higher power, for lack of better words."Ĭareer Career in Depeche Mode (1980–present) In a 2008 interview, he explains his religious faith in the following words: "When it comes to religion, it’s very confusing and always has been for thousands of years and probably will be for thousands of years more. Gahan is a convert to the Greek Orthodox Church. Gahan's marriage to his second wife, Teresa Conroy, a former Depeche Mode publicist, lasted four years.
Gahan also has a biological son named Jack from his first marriage to Joanne Fox. He lives with his third wife, Jennifer Sklias Gahan their daughter, Stella Rose Gahan and Jennifer’s son from a previous relationship, James Rogers-Gahan, whom Gahan officially adopted in 2010. Gahan has lived in New York City since 1997. I was told very clearly that my next thing was detention centre. It was every weekend, so you were deprived of your weekend and it seemed like forever. I remember doing boxing, stuff like that. His punishment was spending Saturdays for a number of weeks at an attendance centre in Romford for one year. He was told by his probation officer to be honest with the interviewer, and as a result, he admitted his criminal record but claimed he was a "reformed character." As a result, he did not get the job which, he claimed, led to him trashing his probation officer's office. In his final year at school, he applied for a job as an apprentice fitter with North Thames Gas. Hiding behind the wall with your heart beating gives you a real kick – 'will they get you?'".
I loved the excitement of nicking a motor, screeching off and being chased by the police. Gahan tells of the time: "I was pretty wild. He enjoyed the thrill of stealing cars, driving them around, and setting them alight. While attending Barstable School on Timberlog Close in Basildon, Gahan started playing truant, got into trouble with the police, was suspended from school and ended up in juvenile court three times for offences ranging from joyriding and graffiti to criminal damage and theft. How was I supposed to know who that man was? From that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again, forever this time."
I remember I said, that was impossible because my father was dead. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad. When I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mum's house. His father showed up again when he was 10. When Gahan was 9 years old, his stepfather died. Dave and Sue were raised under the impression that their mother's second husband, Jack, was their natural father. The Gahan family continued to grow with the birth of two more half-brothers Peter (born 1966) and Phil (born 1968). Sylvia and Len divorced two years later and his mother moved Dave and sister Sue (born 1960) to Basildon, Essex, after Sylvia met and married her second husband Jack Gahan (an administrator with Shell Oil).
Gahan was born as David Callcott into a working-class family, to parents Len Callcott (a bus driver of Malaysian British ancestry) and his wife Sylvia (a conductress or "clippy" on London buses), Dave was only six months old when his father left the family. 2.2 Solo albums and collaborations (1997–present).
2.1 Career in Depeche Mode (1980–present).