Emerging from the unlikely locale of Basildon at the dawn of the
Eighties, the unassuming Depeche Mode became pioneers of British
electro-pop. Surviving the abrupt early departure of band founder and
chief songwriter Vince Clarke, they quickly gathered a fervent cult
following before powering into the mainstream. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore,
Andrew Fletcher and Alan Wilder took their dark, venal songs of sex,
religion, obsession and death to the world's arenas and stadiums. Over
four decades, Depeche Mode have seduced millions from Moscow to
Montevideo. Yet it has never been an easy ride. Along the way there have
been crippling bouts of self-doubt, depression, intra-band fighting,
alcohol abuse . . . and the catastrophic heroin addiction that almost
killed the charismatic yet vulnerable Gahan. From the band's earliest
stirrings in Essex to the eve of their 40th anniversary, Depeche Mode:
Faith and Devotion is a tale of triumph from adversity: the
extraordinary history of a unique global synth-rock phenomenon.