Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke (* 3. July 1960 in South Woodford , London , as Vincent John Martin ) is an English pop musician . He founded the bands Depeche Mode , Yazoo , The Assembly and is a member of the duos Erasure and VCMG .
biography
Beginnings and personal life
Clarke grew up in Basildon , southeast England, and learned to play the violin and piano as a teenager . In the late 1970s, Clarke performed with his school friend Andrew Fletcher under the band name No Romance in China . In 1979 he founded the band French Look with Fletcher and Martin Gore , which they renamed Composition of Sound shortly afterwards . Vince Clarke appeared as the singer of the band.
Clarke has been married to the American Tracy Hurley, sister of the independent filmmaker Tonya Hurley, since 2004. In 2005 a son was born. The three have lived in Brooklyn , New York, USA, since 2012 .
Bands and collaborations
In 1980 Dave Gahan joined Composition of Sound and took over the vocal part. Shortly thereafter, the group changed its name to Depeche Mode . Before the debut single Dreaming of Me was released in early 1981, Vince took the stage name Clarke. After the other singles New Life and Just Can't Get Enough , which brought the band's breakthrough in England, the first album Speak & Spell was released. Clarke wrote most of the songs. But a short time later, in December 1981, he left the band.
After leaving Depeche Mode, Clarke teamed up with his school friend Alison Moyet as a singer for the duo Yazoo . The two released two albums and achieved a number of hits including Don't Go and Only You . Yazoo separated in 1983, Moyet pursued a solo career. In 2009 there was a reunion with all hits for a concert tour. In 2010 the album Reconnected Live was released . After Yazoo broke up, Clarke formed The Assembly with Eric Radcliffe (vocals: Feargal Sharkey ). The first and only single Never Never was released in 1983 and reached number 4 in the UK charts. With Paul Quinn he released the song One Day in 1985 .
In 1985, Clarke placed an ad in the Melody Maker magazine looking for a singer. From thousands of applications he chose Andy Bell , with whom he has since performed as Duo Erasure . By 2005, the duo made it into the top ten of the UK singles charts 17 times. Five albums reached the top position. In October 2011 the fourteenth studio album Tomorrow's World was released . In 2020, Vince Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Depeche Mode .
Other Projects
- In 1982 Clarke founded the record label Reset Records with the Yazoo producer and later partner in The Assembly Eric Radcliffe. By 1987 eight singles, some of which he produced himself, had been released, including by Robert Marlow .
- Together with Martyn Ware he founded the Illustrious Company. The two released the albums Pretentious (1999) and Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (2001).
- In 1998 he recorded the album Nice! Together with Phil Creswick (ex- Big Fun ) and Jason Creasy under the name Family Fantastic . which was released in the US in 2000. In 2001 another album called Wonderful was recorded.
- In 2001 the limited single Knock on Your Door was released in England . Phil Creswick, Nigel Lewis and K. van Green were involved in the project.
- In 1997, Clarke wrote the music for the film A Dirty Little Business . The film, in which Erasure partner Andy Bell played a supporting role, was released on DVD in England in 2001. In 2000 he composed the music for the films Blood and Bullfighter . The films have been available on DVD in the US since 2003 and 2005. During this time he also wrote the music for several short films by Tonya Hurley, his wife's sister.
- Since 1988 he has been making remixes at irregular intervals for other musicians, including Alison Moyet , Andy Bell , Betty Boo , Franz Ferdinand , Happy Mondays , Nitzer Ebb , Polly Scattergood , Rammstein , Rosenstolz , Simple Minds , the Sparks , Goldfrapp and Depeche Fashion.
- In 2011 he founded the minimal techno project VCMG together with his former bandmate Martin Gore from Depeche Mode . The first album, entitled Ssss , was released in March 2012.
- In 2015 he worked with Jean-Michel Jarre on two pieces for his album Electronica.
Discography
For the complete discographies of the individual bands see
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1981 |
Speak & Spell Depeche Mode |
DE49
gold
(8 weeks)DE |
- | - |
UK10
gold
(33 weeks)UK |
US193US |
First published: October 5, 1981
|
1982 | Upstairs at Eric’s Yazoo |
DE14 (23 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK2 (63 weeks) UK |
US92 (32 weeks) US |
First published
in the US as Yaz
: August 23, 1982 |
1983 | You and Me Both Yazoo |
DE15 (18 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK1 (20 weeks) UK |
US69 (13 weeks) US |
First published
in the US as Yaz
: July 4th, 1983 |
1986 | Wonderland Erasure |
DE20 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK71 (7 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: June 2, 1986
|
1987 | The Circus Erasure |
DE16 (14 weeks) DE |
- |
CH9 (6 weeks) CH |
UK6th
platinum
(107 weeks)UK |
US190 (3 weeks) US |
First published: March 30, 1987
300,000 copies sold |
1988 | The Innocents Erasure |
DE8 (20 weeks) DE |
- |
CH15 (8 weeks) CH |
UK1 × 2
(78 weeks)UK |
US49
platinum
(48 weeks)US |
First published: April 18, 1988
1,600,000 copies sold |
1989 | Wild! Erasure |
DE16 (15 weeks) DE |
- |
CH24 (3 weeks) CH |
UK1 × 2
(48 weeks)UK |
US57 (23 weeks) US |
First published: October 16, 1989
600,000 copies sold |
1991 | Chorus Erasure |
DE15 (35 weeks) DE |
AT5 (23 weeks) AT |
CH21 (3 weeks) CH |
UK1
platinum
(25 weeks)UK |
US29 (17 weeks) US |
First published: October 14, 1991
300,000 copies sold |
1994 | I Say I Say I Say Erasure |
DE6 (20 weeks) DE |
AT2 (15 weeks) AT |
CH17 (11 weeks) CH |
UK1
gold
(15 weeks)UK |
US18 (17 weeks) US |
First published: May 17, 1994
100,000 copies sold |
1995 | Erasure Erasure |
DE87 (5 weeks) DE |
AT33 (2 weeks) AT |
- |
UK14 (5 weeks) UK |
US82 (3 weeks) US |
First published: October 24, 1995
|
1997 | Cowboy Erasure |
DE34 (5 weeks) DE |
AT27 (3 weeks) AT |
- |
UK10 (4 weeks) UK |
US43 (8 weeks) US |
First published: March 31, 1997
|
1999 | Pretentious 1 The Clarke & Ware Experiment |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | - | USn. v.US | |
2000 | Nice! 2 Family Fantastic |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | UKn. v.UK | - | |
Loveboat Erasure |
DE48 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK45 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: October 23, 2000
|
|
2001 | Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle 1 Vincent Clarke & Martyn Ware |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | - | USn. v.US | |
2003 | Other People's Songs Erasure |
DE17 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK17 (2 weeks) UK |
US138 (1 week) US |
First published: January 27, 2003
|
2005 | Nightbird Erasure |
DE22 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK27 (2 weeks) UK |
US154 (1 week) US |
First published: January 25, 2005
|
2006 | Union Street Erasure |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: April 3, 2006
|
2007 | Light at the End of the World Erasure |
DE42 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
UK29 (1 week) UK |
US127 (1 week) US |
First published: May 21, 2007
|
Wonderful 3 Family Fantastic |
- | - | - | - | - | ||
2011 | Tomorrow's World Erasure |
DE35 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
UK29 (2 weeks) UK |
US61 (1 week) US |
First published: October 3, 2011
|
2012 | Ssss VCMG |
DE21 (2 weeks) DE |
AT47 (1 week) AT |
CH48 (1 week) CH |
UK81 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: March 23, 2012
|
2013 | Snow Globe Erasure |
DE100 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
UK49 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: November 11, 2013
|
2014 | The Violet Flame Erasure |
DE41 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
UK20 (2 weeks) UK |
US48 (1 week) US |
First published: September 22, 2014
|
2016 | 2Square 3 Vince Clarke & Paul Hartnoll |
- | - | - | - | - |
First published: June 10, 2016
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
- "N. v. “= not published
Compilation and live albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1987 | The Two Ring Circus Erasure |
- | - | - | UKn. g.UK |
US186 (3 weeks) US |
|
1992 | Pop! - The First 20 Hits Erasure |
DE12 (18 weeks) DE |
AT4 (16 weeks) AT |
CH18 (10 weeks) CH |
UK1 (19 weeks) UK |
US112 (15 weeks) US |
First published: November 16, 1992
|
1999 | Only Yazoo - The Best Of Yazoo |
- | - | - |
UK22 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: September 6, 1999
|
2003 | Hits! The Very Best of Erasure Erasure |
DE54 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK15 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 20, 2003
|
2005 | The Erasure Show 1 Erasure |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | UKn. g.UK | USn. v.US | |
2006 | Acoustic Live 1 Erasure |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | UKn. g.UK | USn. v.US | |
2007 | Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1 Erasure |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | UKn. g.UK | USn. v.US | |
2009 | Total Pop - The First 40 Hits Erasure |
- | - | - |
UK21 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 20, 2009
|
2010 | Reconnected Live Yazoo |
- | - | - | - | - | |
2011 | Live at the Roundhouse Erasure |
DEn. v.DE | ATn. v.AT | CHn. v.CH | UKn. g.UK | USn. v.US | |
2015 | Always: The Very Best Of Erasure Erasure |
DE91 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
UK9 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 30, 2015
|
- "N. v. “= not published
- "N. g. “= not counted, album does not comply with UK chart regulations
Singles
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1985 | One Day Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn |
- | - | - |
UK99 (1 week) UK |
- |
- "N. v. “= not published
Remixes
Vince Clarke created remix versions of the following titles for other artists:
- 1988: Happy Mondays - WFL (Wrote for Luck)
- 1990: Betty Boo - 24 Hours (Oratronic Mix)
- 1991: Fortran 5 - Heart on the Line (VC Mix)
- 1991: Habit - Power
- 1992: Nitzer Ebb - Ascend (Anonymous Mix)
- 1992: The Wolfgang Press - Angel
- 1992: Betty Boo - I'm on My Way (The Batman and Robin Mix)
- 1993: The Time Frequency - Real Love '93
- 1994: Sparks - When Do I Get to Sing "My Way" (Vince Clarke Remix & Vince Clarke Extended Remix)
- 1994: Alison Moyet - Whispering Your Name (A Remix)
- 1995: Egebamyasi - Remont (Vince Version)
- 1995: Wubble-U - Down - Get 'Em Down (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 1997: White Town - Wanted (Single)
- 2001: Marlow - My Teenage Dream (Stealth Mix)
- 2001: Marlow - No Heart (Vince Clarke 2001 Dance Mix)
- 2002: Simple Minds - Homosapien
- 2005: Andy Bell - Crazy (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2005: Rammstein - Mann gegen Mann (Popular Music Mix)
- 2006: Rosenstolz - None of that (I'm sorry) (Mixed Up Mix & Maxed Up Mix)
- 2006: Noirhaus - It's Over (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: The Saturdays - Issues (Vince Clarke Extended & Vince Clarke Radio Edit)
- 2009: Marlow - Home (Vince Clarke's Starstruck Mix)
- 2009: Polly Scattergood - Other Too Endless (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: The Presets - If I Know You (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: Space Cowboy - Falling Down (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: A Place to Bury Strangers - In Your Heart (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2009: Ash - True Love 1980 (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2010: Andy Bell - Call on Me (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2010: Andy Bell - Non-Stop (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2010: Goldfrapp - Believer (Vince Clarke Remix & Vince Clarke Remix Edit)
- 2011: Billie Ray Martin - Sweet Suburban Disco (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2011: Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2011: Plastikman - Electrostatics (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2011: The Present Moment - Loyal to a Fault (Analogue Edit)
- 2012: Liars - No.1 Against the Rush (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2012: VCMG - Aftermaths (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2012: Kidnap Kid - Lazarus Taxon (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2013: Chad Valley - Up & Down (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2013: Dido - End of Night (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2013: Blancmange - Living on the Ceiling (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2014: Polly Scattergood - Subsequently Lost (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2014: Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2014: Future Islands - Doves (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2015: Simon Lowery - I Am an Astronaut (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2016: Nitzer Ebb - Once You Say (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2016: Andy Bell - My Precious One (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2016: Reed & Caroline - Electrons (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2017: Bright Light Bright Light - Running Back to You (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2017: Miss Kittin , Dubfire - Ride (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2017: The Overlords - God's Eye (Vince Clarke Loony Remix)
- 2017: Alka - Truncate (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2018: Ladytron - The Animals (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2018: Robert Görl - Part 1 (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2018: Lanah P - Pistol in My Pocket (Erasure 2018 Mix)
- 2018: Reed & Caroline - Before (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2018: Soft Cell - Bedsitter (Erasure Remix)
- 2018: Space - Magic Fly (Vince Clarke Rework)
- 2018: Benjamin Lowery - Imagine (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2019: James Yorkston - Shallow (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2019: All Hail The Silence - The Alarm (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2019: Fujiya & Miyagi - Fear Of Missing Out (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2019: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark - Almost (Vince Clarke Remix)
- 2020: Yova - Rain (Vince Clarke Remix)
Web links
- http://www.vinceclarkemusic.com/ - official website
- Article about Clarke on the occasion of his 54th birthday in 2014 on www.seite3.ch
- Vince Clarke at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Speak and Spell in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Speak and Spell on the Billboard Charts
- ↑ Upstairs at Eric’s in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Upstairs at Eric's in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Upstairs at Eric's at number 92 on the US Billboard 200 of November 20, 1982
- ↑ You and Me Both in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ You and Me Both at number 69 on US Billboard 200 from September 10, 1983
- ↑ Wonderland in the Official German Charts
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ^ The Circus in the Official German Charts
- ^ The Circus on Hitparade.ch
- ↑ The Circus at number 190 on US Billboard 200 from July 25, 1987
- ^ The Innocents in the Official German Charts
- ↑ The Innocents on Hitparade.ch
- ↑ The Innocents at number 49 on US Billboard 200 of October 22, 1988
- ^ The Innocents in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Wild! on Hitparade.ch
- ↑ Wild! at number 57 on US Billboard 200 of November 25, 1989
- ↑ Chorus in the Official German Charts
- ↑ a b Chorus on Austriancharts.at
- Jump up ↑ Chorus at number 29 on US Billboard 200 of November 2, 1991
- ↑ I Say I Say I Say in the Official German Charts
- ↑ a b I Say I Say I Say on Austriancharts.at
- ^ I Say I Say I Say at number 18 on US Billboard 200 of June 4, 1994
- ↑ Erasure in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Erasure on Austriancharts.at
- ↑ Erasure at number 82 on US Billboard 200 of November 11, 1995
- ↑ Cowboy in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Cowboy on Austriancharts.at
- ↑ Cowboy at number 43 on US Billboard 200 of May 10, 1997
- ↑ Loveboat in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Other People's Songs in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Other People's Songs at # 138 on US Billboard 200 on February 15, 2003
- ↑ Nightbird in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Nightbird at number 154 on US Billboard 200 of February 12, 2005
- ↑ Light at the End of the World in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Light at the End of the World at number 127 on US Billboard 200 of June 9, 2007
- ↑ Tomorrow's World in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Tomorrow's World at number 61 on the US Billboard 200 of October 29, 2011
- ↑ Ssss in the Official German Charts
- ↑ a b Ssss on Austriancharts.at
- ↑ Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Snow Globe in the Official German Charts
- ↑ The Violet Flame in the Official German Charts
- ↑ The Violet Flame at number 48 on US Billboard 200 from October 10, 2014
- ↑ Pop! - The First 20 hits in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Pop! - The First 20 hits on Austriancharts.at
- ↑ Pop! - The First 20 hits on Hitparade.ch
- ↑ Pop - The First 20 Hits in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Pop! - The First 20 hits on the Billboard charts December 12, 1992
- ↑ Only Yazoo - The Best Of in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Hits! The Very Best of Erasure in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Hits - The Very Best Of Erasure in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Total Pop - The First 40 Hits in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Always: The Very Best Of Erasure in the Official German Charts
- ↑ Always - The Very Best Of in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Vince Clark and Paul Quinn in the Official UK Charts (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Clarke, Vince |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Martin, Vincent John (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British pop musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd July 1960 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | South Woodford, Essex, England |