Depeche Mode is one of the most popular bands in the world and became famous in the 1980s with the New Romantic wave and the emerging boom in synthesizer music. Songs such as "Enjoy the Silence" are classics today and "Personal Jesus" was voted one of the 500 best songs of all time. Anton Corbijn was often referred to as the fifth member of the band - the photographer not only created iconic images of Depeche Mode, he also translated the band's music into a visual identity that contributed significantly to their fame. Now a comprehensive illustrated book with over 500, partly unpublished images from Corbijn's archive has been published.
In November 2020, Depeche Mode was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On accepting the honor, frontman David Gahan said: "I'd like to thank Anton Corbijn, who thankfully joined us at the right time and actually made us look cool."
Anton Corbijn, the photographer from the Netherlands, was no stranger to the 80s and had been working for various other bands and music magazines for some time. His work was characterized by compositions of light and shadow that expressed a mood that today would be described as "edgy". Corbijn took his first pictures of Depeche Mode rather by chance when the band performed as a support act for Fad Gadget in 1981, and some time later he portrayed them for a music magazine. Corbijn initially found the music far too poppy, but this changed and from 1986 the photographer became the band's creative director and not only documented their performances in gripping photos, but was also responsible for video productions and Depeche Mode's image.
What made Anton Corbijn's pictures so impressive and so special, especially during his time with Depeche Mode, was his credo that mistakes and irregularities are closer to real life than perfection. Nonetheless, he staged the band with great skill and certainly contributed significantly to their fame.
At the end of last year, Taschen Verlag published a limited edition photo book signed by Corbijn, which sold out very quickly and became one of the fastest-selling collector's editions in the publisher's history. Now Taschen is following suit and "Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn" is now also available for fans who are not quite so quick. The new edition is slightly smaller in format and not quite as opulently equipped, but offers at least as much interesting information to discover on 512 pages. Over 500 photographs, many of them unpublished, plus Anton Corbijn's personal notes, which provide a glimpse behind the scenes of this great band and this incredibly versatile visual artist.
Sketches and designs for stage sets and album covers, handwritten notes by Corbijn and, of course, countless great shots from concerts, for promotions and lots of behind-the-scenes material. Together, this adds up to almost four kilos of information, inspiration and time travel. You almost wish there was another lockdown so you could bury yourself in this thick tome in peace. Well, only almost.
But taking time for beautiful books is always a good idea and in the case of "Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn" it is a particular pleasure. Even Anton Corbijn comes to the conclusion in an extremely unagitated unboxing video: "I love it".
Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn, Reuel Golden
Hardcover, 24.3 x 34 cm, 3.67 kg, 512 pages, text in German, English, French
€ 100
ISBN 978-3-8365-8670-2
