Attention vinyl collectors: A huge trove of Depeche Mode is headed your way (UPDATED)

With Depeche Mode’s new round of reissues, they decided to go big. REALLY big.

Because the band was one of the first of the alt-rock type to recognize the power, flexibility, and potential of the 12-inch single, DM wants to remember those years with a massive re-release of all their singles on 12-inch vinyl.

From the press release:

Depeche Mode realized the format’s potential and embraced the power of 12″ vinyl and the avenues of innovation it opened up. The 12″ single allowed the band to explore new sonic possibilities while the physical beauty of the packaging gave Depeche Mode room to develop a sophisticated and commanding visual aesthetic. Depeche Mode used their singles discography as a means of offering left field remixes and other delights for their fans.

“Our 12″ singles have always been incredibly important to the band,” agreed the members of Depeche Mode. “It’s great to be able to re-share these songs with old and new fans in the way they were originally intended to be experienced. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.”

Here’s what we can expect:

• All vinyl in the box sets will feature “audiophile-quality” vinyl. That probably means at least 180-gram virgin PVC.
• All material will be remastered from the original tapes and cleaned up at Abbey Road.
• The artwork for each box will draw from “street art iconography inspired by the original releases.”

Let’s break down the boxes, shall we? The series will begin with two sets with more to be issued over the coming years.

SPEAK & SPELL | THE 12″ SINGLES contains a facsimile reproduction of the rare Flexi Disc “Sometimes I Wish I Was Dead” b/w “King of the Flies” (the Fad Gadget track as on the original release); Dreaming Of Me 12″: “Dreaming of Me” b/w “Ice Machine”; New Life 12″: “New Life (Remix)” b/w “Shout! (Rio Mix)”; Just Can’t Get Enough 12″: “Just Can’t Get Enough (Schizo Mix)” b/w “Any Second Now (Altered)”; original single poster reproduction; download card.

A BROKEN FRAME | THE 12″ SINGLES contains See You 12″: “See You (Extended Version)” b/w “Now This Is Fun (Extended Version)”; The Meaning of Love 12″: “The Meaning of Love (Fairly Odd Mix)” b/w “Oberkorn (It’s a Small Town) (Development Mix)”; Leave In Silence 12″: “Leave In Silence (Longer)” b/w “Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden” and “Leave In Silence (Quieter)”; original single poster reproduction; download card.

How much? Each has a list price of $59.98. If they do this for all 14 studio albums, it will cost almost $850 to collect the whole set.

UPDATE: Daniel Barassi (webmaster/band archivist for Depeche Mode) emailed me this correction.

Hello

I’m writing you regarding your recent article about the upcoming DM 12″ box sets.

“All material will be remastered from the original tapes and cleaned up at Abbey Road.”

This is not entirely accurate. Abbey Road has transferred all the tapes at high resolution and done some lacquer cutting. All tape cleaning (so far, only some hum in a few live tracks), fade-outs and correct mix double checking were actually done by me, with final EQ and level checks at Battery (Sony’s studio in NYC).

These 12″ singles are all take from original tapes, but I would not call them “remasters”. The goal is to have them sound like the original, out-of-print 12″ singles. I have spent months A/B’ing the original 12″ singles with test pressings of the new box set content, to make sure that goal is met.

Just wanted to send you this correction.

Thanks!

Daniel Barassi
webmaster / band archivist, Depeche Mode