Vince Clarke

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Vince Clarke, 2005

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 .

Vince Clarke, 2011

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 DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1981 Speak & Spell
Depeche Mode
DE49
gold
gold

(8 weeks)DE
- - UK10
gold
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
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
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(78 weeks)UK
US49
platinum
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
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(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
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
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
1 only published in UK
2 only published in the USA
3 only available as a download

Compilation and live albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US 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
1 only published in UK

Singles

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1985 One Day
Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn
- - - UK99 (1 week)
UK
-
  • "N. v. “= not published
1 only published in UK
2 only published in the USA
3 only available as a download
4th only available in UK and DE as CD, otherwise only available as download

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

Commons : Vince Clarke  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Speak and Spell in the Official German Charts
  2. Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
  3. Speak and Spell on the Billboard Charts
  4. Upstairs at Eric’s in the Official German Charts
  5. Upstairs at Eric's in the Official UK Charts (English)
  6. Upstairs at Eric's at number 92 on the US Billboard 200 of November 20, 1982
  7. You and Me Both in the Official German Charts
  8. Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
  9. You and Me Both at number 69 on US Billboard 200 from September 10, 1983
  10. Wonderland in the Official German Charts
  11. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
  12. ^ The Circus in the Official German Charts
  13. ^ The Circus on Hitparade.ch
  14. The Circus at number 190 on US Billboard 200 from July 25, 1987
  15. ^ The Innocents in the Official German Charts
  16. The Innocents on Hitparade.ch
  17. The Innocents at number 49 on US Billboard 200 of October 22, 1988
  18. ^ The Innocents in the Official German Charts
  19. Wild! on Hitparade.ch
  20. Wild! at number 57 on US Billboard 200 of November 25, 1989
  21. Chorus in the Official German Charts
  22. a b Chorus on Austriancharts.at
  23. Jump up ↑ Chorus at number 29 on US Billboard 200 of November 2, 1991
  24. I Say I Say I Say in the Official German Charts
  25. a b I Say I Say I Say on Austriancharts.at
  26. ^ I Say I Say I Say at number 18 on US Billboard 200 of June 4, 1994
  27. Erasure in the Official German Charts
  28. Erasure on Austriancharts.at
  29. Erasure at number 82 on US Billboard 200 of November 11, 1995
  30. Cowboy in the Official German Charts
  31. Cowboy on Austriancharts.at
  32. Cowboy at number 43 on US Billboard 200 of May 10, 1997
  33. Loveboat in the Official German Charts
  34. Other People's Songs in the Official German Charts
  35. Other People's Songs at # 138 on US Billboard 200 on February 15, 2003
  36. Nightbird in the Official German Charts
  37. Nightbird at number 154 on US Billboard 200 of February 12, 2005
  38. Light at the End of the World in the Official German Charts
  39. Light at the End of the World at number 127 on US Billboard 200 of June 9, 2007
  40. Tomorrow's World in the Official German Charts
  41. Tomorrow's World at number 61 on the US Billboard 200 of October 29, 2011
  42. Ssss in the Official German Charts
  43. a b Ssss on Austriancharts.at
  44. Vince Clarke in the Official UK Charts (English)
  45. Snow Globe in the Official German Charts
  46. The Violet Flame in the Official German Charts
  47. The Violet Flame at number 48 on US Billboard 200 from October 10, 2014
  48. Pop! - The First 20 hits in the Official German Charts
  49. Pop! - The First 20 hits on Austriancharts.at
  50. Pop! - The First 20 hits on Hitparade.ch
  51. Pop - The First 20 Hits in the Official UK Charts (English)
  52. Pop! - The First 20 hits on the Billboard charts December 12, 1992
  53. Only Yazoo - The Best Of in the Official UK Charts (English)
  54. Hits! The Very Best of Erasure in the Official German Charts
  55. Hits - The Very Best Of Erasure in the Official UK Charts (English)
  56. Total Pop - The First 40 Hits in the Official UK Charts (English)
  57. Always: The Very Best Of Erasure in the Official German Charts
  58. Always - The Very Best Of in the Official UK Charts (English)
  59. Vince Clark and Paul Quinn in the Official UK Charts (English)