"Enjoy the Silence"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth UK single, released on February 5, 1990, and the second single from the album Violator. When "Enjoy the Silence" was written by Martin Gore, it was intended to be a slow-paced ballad in C minor; the demo featured a harmonium with Gore singing. Alan Wilder saw hit potential in the track, and composed an upbeat tempo and structure for the song. The group liked it, and Gore added more himself together with Flood, notably the guitar parts heard throughout, though the final version includes Dave Gahan on vocals. The demo would later be remade into the "Harmonium" version (available on the limited edition 12" vinyl release), featuring Gore on vocals.

"Enjoy the Silence" became one of the band's most successful singles and its highest charting since the early 80s. The single rocketed up the UK Singles Chart to #6, remaining there for three weeks. This was the band's highest charting single since "People Are People" peaked at #4 in 1984.

The Anton Corbijn music video for "Enjoy the Silence" is one of the most well known Depeche Mode videos and a particular fan favorite. The visual imagery is very close to the themes and storyline of the famous philosophical children's book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Most notably is the prominent display of a rose during the video (which is also featured on the album cover of Violator). As well as the distinct imagery of Dave dressed as the character of the King wandering around with his deck chair chasing the sunset.


The video features a slightly different mix of the song (the most notable difference being an extended introduction) that has not been released in any audio format. The long shots in the snow were not of Dave. After a day in Switzerland, Dave got tired of being in the cold and took off, and Richard Bell, the producer for the video did the shots.