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Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody

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"Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody" is a single by English electronic band Depeche Mode. It was released on 29 October 1984, as their twelfth UK single and first double A-side single.[3][4] Both A-side songs are from the album Some Great Reward.

"Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Some Great Reward
Released29 October 1984
RecordedJune 1984
Studio
GenreNew wave[1]
Length
  • "Blasphemous Rumours":
  • 5:06 (single version)
  • 6:20 (12″/album version)
  • "Somebody":
  • 4:19 (remix)
  • 4:27 (album version)
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Master and Servant"
(1984) 		"Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
(1984) 		"Shake the Disease"
(1985)
Music videos
"Blasphemous Rumours" on YouTube
"Somebody" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Background

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"Blasphemous Rumours"

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The verses to "Blasphemous Rumours" describe a 16-year-old girl who attempts suicide but fails. She experiences a religious revival but is then "Hit by a car / Ended up / On a life support machine" (from the lyrics). The chorus uses these incidents to conclude, "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours / But I think that God's got a sick sense of humour / And when I die, I expect to find him laughing." Like other songs on Some Great Reward, the song uses a dense sound with extensive sampled percussion. The song stems from the times that Martin Gore would go with bandmate Andy Fletcher and former bandmate Vince Clarke to the church.[5] When Gore initially showed Fletcher the song, he found it quite offensive.[5] Gore describes the song's meaning:

"I was going to church a lot at the time, not because I believed in it, but because there was nothing else to do on a Sunday. I found the service very hard to take seriously. The whole setup is quite handy but I'm not sure that's what God intended. Particularly a part of the service called the prayer list, when the preacher rattles off the names of those sick and about to die. The person at the top of the list was guaranteed to die, but still everyone went right ahead thanking God for carrying out his will. It just seemed so strange to me, so ridiculous and so removed from real experiences."[6]

Dave Gahan said,

"I'm by the way not anti-religious at all! I only oppose a certain kind of religion that was forced upon me when I was young. My mother was in the Salvation Army. So she sent me to the church every Sunday till my 18th birthday. Together with my sister, we usually went for a ride with the bike and told mom afterwards how lovely the homily was. The song only wants to say that no one should let someone force anything upon him. Whether it's politics or something else, that doesn't matter. You have to choose yourself what you wanna do with your life. And dare to take risks."[6]

When Depeche Mode announced that they were planning to release "Blasphemous Rumours" as a single, pushback from the religious community[7] resulted, and consequently, the band decided as a compromise to release the single as a double-A side with "Somebody".[7]

"Somebody"

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"Somebody", which was sung by Gore in the studio in the nude,[8] includes one of Gore's "little twists", where the song builds as if it is a song about finding your perfect love, only to have him reveal at the end "though things like this make me sick / in a case like this I'll get away with it."[9] Gore added this because "I simply can't write your conventional pop fare. A pleasant song to me is unfinished, it isn't telling the full story. Which is why I introduced the twist at the end of 'Somebody' because the song was just too nice. You say I'm cynical about love in my songs and perhaps I am but I think that's an interesting angle. Otherwise you just become mundane like most chart music. Relationships do have their darker side and I like to write about it."[10]

In a significant moment in the Tour of the Universe at the Royal Albert Hall, Alan Wilder made a surprise appearance accompanying by playing the piano while Gore sang "Somebody".[11]

Track listings

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All tracks written by Martin L. Gore, except "Ice Machine", written by Vince Clarke, and "Two Minute Warning", written by Alan Wilder

7″: Mute / 7Bong7 (UK)

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  1. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 5:06
  2. "Somebody" (remix) – 4:19

7″ EP: Mute / 7Bong7E (UK)

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  1. "Somebody" (remix) – 4:19
  2. "Everything Counts" (live) – 5:53
  3. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 5:06
  4. "Told You So" (live version) – 4:54

12″: Mute / 12Bong7 (UK)

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  1. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 6:20
  2. "Somebody" (live) – 4:26
  3. "Two Minute Warning" (live) – 4:36
  4. "Ice Machine" (live) – 3:45
  5. "Everything Counts" (live) – 5:53
  • This version of the single was also released on CD. Intercord 826.839. No Bong number, same cover as the vinyl version.

CD: Mute / CDBong7 (UK)

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  1. "Blasphemous Rumours" – 6:20
  2. "Told You So" (live) – 4:56
  3. "Somebody" (remix) – 4:19
  4. "Everything Counts" (live) – 5:53
  • The CD single was released in 1991 as part of the singles box set compilations.

All live tracks recorded at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England on 29 September 1984

Charts

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Chart performance for "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 24
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14]
"Somebody" 		27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 34
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 16
West Germany (GfK)[18] 22

References

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  1. ^ Sutton, Michael. "Forever – Dune". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Blasphemous Rumours – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  3. ^ Baker, Trevor (5 November 2009). Dave Gahan - Depeche Mode & The Second Coming. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN 978-1-78418-955-6. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. ^ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b "DM articles: Andy Fletcher, the brigade boy". 11 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 November 1999. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours". Story of Song. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Thompson, Dave (15 November 1994). Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward. St. Martin's Press. pp. 152–155. ISBN 9780312112622.
  8. ^ Robbins, Jenna Rose (12 July 2017). "The Hallowed Halls of Hansa". Where Traveler. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  9. ^ Shaw, William (April 1993), "In The Mode", Details magazine: 90–95, 168
  10. ^ "Sacred DM - NME 17 02 90 - page 2". 7 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  11. ^ Murray, Robin (19 February 2010). "Depeche Mode Joined By Former Member". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Blasphemous Rumours". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Depeche Mode" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
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