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Violator (album)



 
 
Violator is the seventh album by the English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 electrorock group Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode is an electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. The group's original line-up was Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke ....
, released by Mute Records
Mute Records

Mute Records was an independent record label based in the UK. In 2002 the label was sold to EMI....
 in 1990. Preceded by the hit singles "Personal Jesus
Personal Jesus

"Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's twenty-third United Kingdom single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator ....
" and "Enjoy the Silence
Enjoy the Silence

"Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth United Kingdom single, released on January 16 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator ....
" (a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic), Violator propelled the band into international stardom. The album yielded two further hit singles, "Policy of Truth
Policy of Truth

"Policy of Truth" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fifth United Kingdom single, released on May 7, 1990, and the third single for the album Violator ....
" and "World in My Eyes
World in My Eyes

"World in My Eyes" is Depeche Mode's twenty-sixth United Kingdom single, released on September 17, 1990, and the fourth and final single for the album Violator ....
". This album is the first of the band to achieve the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 (number seven) and stand 74 weeks in the chart.






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Encyclopedia


Violator is the seventh album by the English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 electrorock group Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode is an electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. The group's original line-up was Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke ....
, released by Mute Records
Mute Records

Mute Records was an independent record label based in the UK. In 2002 the label was sold to EMI....
 in 1990. Preceded by the hit singles "Personal Jesus
Personal Jesus

"Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's twenty-third United Kingdom single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator ....
" and "Enjoy the Silence
Enjoy the Silence

"Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth United Kingdom single, released on January 16 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator ....
" (a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic), Violator propelled the band into international stardom. The album yielded two further hit singles, "Policy of Truth
Policy of Truth

"Policy of Truth" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fifth United Kingdom single, released on May 7, 1990, and the third single for the album Violator ....
" and "World in My Eyes
World in My Eyes

"World in My Eyes" is Depeche Mode's twenty-sixth United Kingdom single, released on September 17, 1990, and the fourth and final single for the album Violator ....
". This album is the first of the band to achieve the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 (number seven) and stand 74 weeks in the chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 342 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003.Related news articles:* The list was based on the votes of 273 rock musicians, critics and industry figures, each of whom submitted a weighted list of 50 albums....
, and is often considered to be one of the finest albums ever recorded. It was supported by the World Violation Tour
World Violation Tour

The World Violation Tour was a concert tour by Depeche Mode to promote their most successful album to date, Violator , and took place in the year of 1990....
.

2006 re-release

As part of Mute's 2006 reissue schedule, Violator was re-released as a hybrid Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD

Super Audio CD is a read-only optical disc audio storage format that can provide higher accuracy as well as surround sound compared to the Red Book ....
 + DVD-Video
DVD-Video

DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Canada, Europe and Australia....
 package on 3 April 2006 which included 2-channel and 5.1 surround mixes of all Violator album tracks. The six B-sides to the Violator singles — "Dangerous", "Memphisto", "Sibeling", "Kaleid", "Happiest Girl", and "Sea Of Sin" — also appear, albeit without the surround sound treatment. The reissue didn't reach the US till 6 June 2006. The US version lacked the hybrid SACD and instead just had a CD, but the DVD was included, and was identical to the European DVD.

A 32-minute short film entitled Depeche Mode 1989-90 (If You Wanna Use Guitars, Use Guitars) and featured interviews with the band (including Alan), Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller (music producer)

Daniel Miller is a United Kingdom music producer and founder of Mute Records....
, Flood, François Kevorkian
François Kevorkian

Fran?ois Kevorkian, alias Fran?ois K, is a France Disc jockey, remixer, record producer and record label owner of Armenians descent living in the United States....
 (who mixed the album), Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn

Anton Corbijn is a photographer and Music video director from Strijen, the Netherlands. He is well known for directing music videos, including Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and Nirvana 's "Heart-Shaped Box" , as well as directing the Ian Curtis biopic Control ....
 (who directed the music videos and did the album's photography/cover), and others. It also includes news footage from the infamous "riot" in Los Angeles which gave the band media publicity the day before Violator came out. The band were scheduled to do autographs in an LA music store, and the line reached into the 10,000's. The event had to be cancelled shortly after it began due to problems keeping the line in order. Unfortunately, the documentary lacked footage from the World Violation Tour, but did have information about it. For example, interviews regarding the soldout Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium is a large outdoor baseball park in Los Angeles, California at Ch?vez Ravine. It is located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles. Dodger Stadium was privately financed at a cost of United States dollar23 million in 1962....
 shows. There is also footage from Strange Too
Strange Too

Strange Too is the third music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring more videos directed by Anton Corbijn, released in 1990.Unlike the previous video, Strange , all the videos are fully in color....
, notably clips from the music videos for "Halo" and "Clean".

A caption at the end of the film reveals Violator has sold 7.5 million copies worldwide. Today, "Violator" has sold more than 8.2 million copies.

The remastered album was released on "deluxe" vinyl 2 March 2007 in Germany and 5 March 2007 internationally.

Violator had reached number 17 on the Billboard Year End chart of 1990.

Track listing

All tracks written by Martin L. Gore.

1990 release: Mute / Stumm 64

  1. "World in My Eyes
    World in My Eyes

    "World in My Eyes" is Depeche Mode's twenty-sixth United Kingdom single, released on September 17, 1990, and the fourth and final single for the album Violator ....
    " – 4:26
  2. "Sweetest Perfection" – 4:43
  3. "Personal Jesus
    Personal Jesus

    "Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's twenty-third United Kingdom single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator ....
    " – 4:56
  4. "Halo" – 4:30
  5. "Waiting for the Night" – 6:07
  6. "Enjoy the Silence
    Enjoy the Silence

    "Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth United Kingdom single, released on January 16 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator ....
    " – 6:12
    "Interlude #2 - Crucified" – 1:42 (hidden song starting at 4:30)
  7. "Policy of Truth
    Policy of Truth

    "Policy of Truth" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fifth United Kingdom single, released on May 7, 1990, and the third single for the album Violator ....
    " – 4:55
  8. "Blue Dress" – 5:41
    "Interlude #3" – 1:23 (hidden song starting at 4:18)
  9. "Clean" – 5:28


According to the band's the original title for "Waiting for the Night" was "Waiting for the Night to Fall" and that the printing for the Violator cover accidentally erased the rest of the title. Funnily enough, Alan Wilder claims this is not true.

2006 Collectors Edition: Mute / DM CD 7 (CD/SACD + DVD)

  • Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer, with the same track listing as the 1990 release.
  • Disc 2 is a DVD which includes Violator in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo [48 kHz/24bit] plus the following bonus tracks:


Bonus Tracks (in PCM Stereo [48 kHz/16bit]):
  1. "Dangerous" – 4:22
  2. "Memphisto" – 4:03
  3. "Sibeling" – 3:18
  4. "Kaleid" – 4:18
  5. "Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)" – 4:58
  6. "Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)" – 4:46


Additional Material:
  • "Depeche Mode 89-91 (If You Wanna Use Guitars, Use Guitars)" [32'28" video]


Dave Gahan sings lead vocals on all songs except "Sweetest Perfection" (Dave Gahan can also be heard singing in last chorus) and "Blue Dress", which Martin sings.

Singles

  1. "Personal Jesus
    Personal Jesus

    "Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's twenty-third United Kingdom single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator ....
    " (29 August 1989)
  2. "Enjoy the Silence
    Enjoy the Silence

    "Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth United Kingdom single, released on January 16 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator ....
    " (5 February 1990)
  3. "Policy of Truth
    Policy of Truth

    "Policy of Truth" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fifth United Kingdom single, released on May 7, 1990, and the third single for the album Violator ....
    " (7 May 1990)
  4. "World in My Eyes
    World in My Eyes

    "World in My Eyes" is Depeche Mode's twenty-sixth United Kingdom single, released on September 17, 1990, and the fourth and final single for the album Violator ....
    " (17 September 1990)


Personnel

  • Andrew Fletcher
    Andrew Fletcher (musician)

    Andrew John Fletcher , is the co-founder and keyboardist of Electronic music band Depeche Mode....
     - keyboards, distorted vocal on "Interlude 2"
  • David Gahan
    David Gahan

    Dave Gahan is the baritone lead singer for the United Kingdom electronic band Depeche Mode, and is also an accomplished solo artist....
     - lead vocals (except "Sweetest Perfection" and "Blue Dress")
  • Martin Gore
    Martin Gore

    Martin Gore is an English songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist and keyboardist. He is a founding member of Depeche Mode. His work now spans three decades, but he is best known as the composer of chart-topper such as "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence"....
     - keyboards, guitar, backup vocals, lead vocals ("Sweetest Perfection" and "Blue Dress")
  • Alan Wilder
    Alan Wilder

    Alan Charles Wilder is a Great Britain musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil , started as a side project to Depeche Mode, but when he left the latter in 1995, it evolved into Wilder's primary project....
     - programming, keyboards, drums on "Clean"


  • Mark Ellis “Flood” - Production.
  • François Kevorkian
    François Kevorkian

    Fran?ois Kevorkian, alias Fran?ois K, is a France Disc jockey, remixer, record producer and record label owner of Armenians descent living in the United States....
     - mixing, except track 6.
  • Enjoy the Silence
    Enjoy the Silence

    "Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth United Kingdom single, released on January 16 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator ....
     mixed by Daniel Miller
    Daniel Miller (music producer)

    Daniel Miller is a United Kingdom music producer and founder of Mute Records....
     and Flood.
  • Pino Pischetola, Peter Iversen, Steve Lyon, Goh Hotoda, Alan Gregorie, Dennis Mitchell, Phil Legg - Engineering.
  • Daryl Bamonte, Dick Meaney, David Browne, Mark Flannery - assistance.


Charts and certifications


Chart (1990)Peak
position
Certification
Australian Albums Chart
ARIA Charts

File:ARIA Charts Logo.pngThe ARIA charts are the main Australia record charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling single and albums in various genres in Australia....
42 
Austrian Albums Chart4 
German Albums Chart
Media Control Charts

The official Music Charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband der phonographischen Wirtschaft ....
2Platinum
Norwegian Albums Chart12 
Swedish Albums Chart6 
Swiss Albums Chart
Swiss Music Charts

The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland....
2Platinum
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus....
2Silver
US Billboard 200
Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
73× Platinum


External links