Tuesday, August 29, 1989

Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” charted

Personal Jesus

Depeche Mode

Writer(s): Martin L. Gore (see lyrics here)

First Charted: August 29, 1989

Peak: 28 BB, 31 CB, 3 MR, 13 UK, 44 CN, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.4 UK, 2.86 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 369.59 video, 435.80 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Depeche Mode formed in England in 1980. The original quartet consisted of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke (later of Yazoo and Erasure). They “blossomed from a cheerful synth pop band into one of the biggest alternative bands in the world. By the end of the decade, they were a stadium group in the United States.” ^RX They became part of the British new wave scene with the release of their first album in 1981 and would also be associated with he Second British Invasion associated with the rise of MTV. In the UK, they landed five top-ten hits from 1981 to 1984; they finally charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 with “People Are People” (#13).

“The group managed to get some of the most introspective and troubling lyrics onto America’s airwaves…This was never more obvious than on the single ‘Personal Jesus.’” ^RX The song was the first single released fom 1990’s Violator, the group’s first top 10 album in the U.S., after reaching the top 10 in the UK with all six of their studio albums released in the 1980s. The album also featured Depeche Mode’s best-known song, “Enjoy the Silence.”

“With a stomping drumbeat and the unusual – for Depeche Mode – sound of a twanging guitar – the song extolled the virtues of ‘Your own personal Jesus – someone to hear your prayers, someone who cares.’” ^RX Johnny Cash famously recorded the song for his 2002 album American IV: The Man Comes Around. He said, “I heard that as a gospel song…I don’t know that the writer ever meant it to be that, but that’s what it is.” ^RX

Some suspected the song “was about the commercialization of religion” ^RX but Martin Gore said he was actually inspired to write the lyrics because of Priscilla Presley’s autobiography Elvis and Me. ^RX He said, “It’s a song about being a Jesus fo somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It’s about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships.” ^RX