Jon Johnson 208 Report post Posted July 20, 2017 Speak & Spell is the debut studio album by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 5 October 1981 by Mute Records. The album peaked at number 10 in the UK Albums Chart. This is the band's only album with Vince Clarke and as a result, was much lighter in tone than future Depeche Mode albums. This was the only Depeche Mode album with Vince Clarke as a member of the band. Clarke wrote most of the songs for the band, before departing to form Yazoo and later Erasure. The album is significantly lighter in tone and melody than their later work, a direction which can largely be attributed to Clarke's writing. After he left, Martin Gore took over songwriting duties, writing almost all of the band's material. Later albums written by him would explore darker subjects and melodies. The album title alludes to the then-popular "Speak & Spell" electronic toy. View full album Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
