Depeche Mode

Formed in the late 70’s in Essex, UK, the band transitioned from the early, ‘The Cure’ influenced work into synthesizer territory, inspired by the pioneering work of acts like ‘Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark’. The band settled on a name borrowed from a French fashion magazine and played their first gig in 1980 at their school.

The band began shopping their demo in the hope of securing a record deal, and after a verbal agreement with founder Daniel Miller, began an important partnership with fledgling label ‘Mute Records’. By their third single they had already appeared on Top of The Pops and landed a top 10 hit on the charts, all in the build up to their debut album ‘Speak & Spell’ which was released in 1981.

When founding member Vince Clark left later that year (going on to form Erasure amongst other things) the band held auditions and hired Alan Wilder who would go on to play a pivotal role as the band’s ‘Musical Director’ until his departure in the 90s.

By 1984 the band’s profile was building globally, first topping the charts in West Germany before packing out shows in the US. By the end of the 80s and moving into the 90s the band were an unstoppable global phenomenon with packed out stadium shows and platinum records.

Considered one of the most influential British acts of all the time, the band continue to release albums and with Mute records and pack shows all over.

Kraftwerk was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970 and fronted by the pair until Schneider’s departure from the band in 2008. Besides Hutter, the other current members of Kraftwerk include Fritz Hilpert, Henning Schmitz and Falk Grieffenhagen.

Kraftwerk’s first three albums, which were relatively unknown at the time of production, were in the style of free-form experimental rock and lacked the pop hooks and structure of their later work. The band used these early records in order to experiment with their style, using a variety of instruments including guitar, bass, drums, electric organ, flute and violin. It wasn’t until 1974 that Kraftwerk achieved international breakthrough with their music.

The release of their album ‘Autobahn’ in 1974 marked a new era in the band’s career. It peaked at number five in the USA’s Billboard Top 200 chart, achieving enormous mainstream success. The accompanying tour took the band across the globe, including to the UK for the first time. This led to the band later touring with British legend David Bowie, who was so impressed with the band that he asked them to support his tour.

The band has proved a massive influence on the music industry, due to their innovative style. NME compared the band to the Beatles in terms of influence and importance in music. Their use of electronics has influenced musician from Coldplay, who had to ask permission to borrow a melody they created for one of their tracks, to Depeche Mode.

Kraftwerk are known for being notoriously reclusive, shutting themselves off with their music and keeping extremely private concerning new technological advances in their music. Kraftwerk are known for their rare and enigmatic interviews, for using life-size mannequins and robots in official photo shoots, refusing to accept fan mail and not allowing visitors at their studio.

Kraftwerk has released a great number of songs during its time, and continue to do so. Just a few of their hits include ‘Die Roboter’, ‘The Model’, ‘Tour de France’ and ‘Radioactivity’. In January 2014 Kraftwerk was awarded the great honour of a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammys.