From MIAMI VICE to DEATH ON THE NILE: Depeche Mode’s Musical Journey in Films and TV shows

Depeche Mode’s Musical Journey in Films and TV shows

Never again. Is what you swore. The time before. Never again…

Depeche Mode fans will know immediately where those words come from. But they may do a double take when they hear ‘Policy of Truth’ from the band’s 1990 album Violator on a trailer of Kenneth Branagh‘s Death on the Nile. Or maybe not.

It’s been 30 years since that album was released and 40 since the inception of the band in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. But rather than calling it a day, the ever-evolving band is very much relevant in today’s music scene and continues to feature regularly on soundtracks of films and TV shows.

Depeche Mode owes its phenomenal popularity, in part, to its constant reinvention over the years. With its overall sound embracing a wide spectrum of musical genres from synth-pop to electronic rock, the band has come a long way from its debut album Speak and Spell in 1981 to Spirit, released in 2017.

And this long journey of four decades, during which the band experienced line-up changes and a certain coming of age, is characterized by Depeche Mode’s enduring presence on entertainment media like films and TV series, which are fellow signifiers of the band’s ‘spirit’, alongside its own stylish music videos.

In spite of its distinctive sound, Depeche Mode’s USP has always been its element of surprise, the ability to startle listeners with something they never expected. And do films and TV shows make use of this fact? You can bet your last Depeche Mode concert T-shirt that they do.

As far back as in the 1980s, the Depeche Mode song ‘Fly on the Windscreen’ (Catching up with Depeche Mode) featured on the NBC crime drama Miami Vice. This is no coincidence since music was supposed to be an integral part of the show and Depeche Mode, one of the ‘Fifty bands that changed the world’ (according to Q magazine), fitted right in.

But Depeche Mode’s music appears to have had a close relationship with police procedurals in general, its often dark sound and lyrics complementing shows like Bones, Cold Case and CSI. While the Fox series Bones showcased the raw, almost jarring ‘A Pain That I’m Used To’ (Playing the Angel) in 2006, CBS shows Cold Case and CSI featured the unforgettable ‘Never Let Me Down Again’ (Music for the Masses) and the trippy ‘Painkiller’ (Ultra) in 2005 and 2002 respectively. And the song, ‘Precious’, from Playing the Angel was featured on all three shows.

But then, Depeche Mode has always been known to push the limits. So it is no wonder that the band’s music was equally at home on the soundtrack of a television sitcom like Friends and a fantasy-meets-horror series like The Vampire Diaries. ‘It’s No Good’ (Ultra) was featured on a 1998 episode of Friends while The Vampire Diaries featured a cover version of ‘Enjoy the Silence’ from Violator in 2009.

In the arena of films too, Depeche Mode songs feature prominently across the whole gamut of cinematic genres and styles. While ‘John the Revelator’ (Playing the Angel) was part of the soundtrack of a Robin Williams and Christopher Walken-starring comedy like Man of the Year in 2006, ‘Dirt’ (Exciter) featured on a zombie horror franchise like Resident Evil, right next to heavyweights like Rammstein, Moby and Marilyn Manson.

One of the band’s greatest hits, ‘Personal Jesus’ (Violator), featured on a comedy like Saved! in 2004 as well as on the trailer of The Devil’s Double (2011), a chilling biopic about the body double of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday.

Coming back full circle, the song, ‘Policy of Truth’, featured in the 1995 drama, The Confessional, as well as in the 1997 biopic about queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla, Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez.

These were, by no means, the only times the band’s music was featured on some of the above-mentioned shows or, overall, the only instances when Depeche Mode dominated the background score of a film or series. The band’s vast repertoire is a worthy counterpart to its superstardom. If anything, this sampler is just the tip of the iceberg.

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