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Leave in Silence

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Leave in Silence

| cover = DepecheModeLeaveInSilence.jpg

| alt =

| caption = 12″ single cover

| type = single

| artist = Depeche Mode

| album = A Broken Frame

| B-side = Excerpt From: My Secret Garden

| released = 16 August 1982

| recorded = July 1982

| studio = Blackwing (London)

| genre = Synth-pop{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7728683/depeche-mode-most-underrated-singles-critics-take |title=The 10 Most Underrated Depeche Mode Singles: Critic's Take |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |date=18 March 2017 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=22 January 2020}}

| length =

  • 4:51 (album version)
  • 4:00 (7″ version)
  • 6:32 (12″ version)
  • 3:42 (quieter version)

| label = Mute

| writer = Martin L. Gore

| producer =

| prev_title = The Meaning of Love

| prev_year = 1982

| next_title = Get the Balance Right!

| next_year = 1983

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|ucIv-sMta7I|"Leave in Silence"}}}}

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last=Raggett|first=Ned|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/leave-in-silence-mw0002037892|title=Leave in Silence – Depeche Mode|website=AllMusic|access-date=26 April 2024}}

}}

"Leave in Silence" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode.{{cite book |last1=Bernhardt |first1=Tonia |title=Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult |date=2007-11-21 |publisher=GRIN Verlag |isbn=978-3-638-76757-6 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLrdaz3MoB8C&dq=Leave+in+Silence+-+Depeche+Mode&pg=PA3 |access-date=24 May 2021 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Christopher |first1=Michael |title=Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band |date=2020-12-28 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-5400-8 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKgKEAAAQBAJ&dq=Leave+in+Silence+-+Depeche+Mode&pg=PA70 |access-date=24 May 2021 |language=en}} It was released as the third single from their second studio album, A Broken Frame (1982), on 16 August 1982.{{cite web|url=http://archives.depechemode.com/discography/singles/06_leaveinsilence.html|title=Depeche Mode Discography}} Recorded at Blackwing Studios, the single became the band's fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at number 18. It was the first Depeche Mode single in the UK to use the "Bong" catalogue number system, which they used until "Heaven" in 2013. Three versions of the track were released on the 7″ and 12″ singles, while a fourth cut, running at four minutes and fifty-one seconds, was released on A Broken Frame.

Background and recording

"Leave in Silence" was written to be more experimental than the pop songs that had preceded it for the band.{{cite book | title=Depeche Mode | last=Thomas | first=Dave | publisher=Bobcat Books | year=1986 | isbn=0-7119-0804-4}} Singer Dave Gahan said of the song, "it kind of summed up the whole of the second album. Rather than continue to do these lightweight poppy songs, we decided to experiment. Martin can write pop songs, but we wanted to try something totally different, just to see if we could."

Critical reception

In 2017, Billboard magazine writer Andrew Unterberger stated that the song "stands today as their most regrettably overlooked classic", describing it as "A shimmering and simmering synth-pop mini-epic whose brilliance comes in its relative restraint — keys sparkle and then dissipate, built-up tension dissolves into instrumental negative space, the title is practically whispered as the chorus climax. It’s the rare breakup ballad that attempts to tiptoe out the back door rather than loudly storm out the front, having already had enough of all the drama". In a 1986 band biography, the song was described as an "absolute departure" from the then-established "Depeche Mode sound". Gahan said "There were a couple of other things [tracks] we could have released which could have gone straight into the charts and been really successful, but it just didn't seem right. You can't just carry on releasing stuff every few months and having hits with something catchy."

Music video

The music video for "Leave in Silence" was directed by Julien Temple, and features the band breaking things on a conveyor belt and talking to each other while wearing face paint. The band disliked the video and did not include it on the Some Great Videos compilation album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Martin L. Gore

7″: Mute / 7Bong1 (UK)

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16

12″: Mute / 12Bong1 (UK)

  1. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  2. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  3. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

CD: Mute / CDBong1 (UK) – released in 1991

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16
  3. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  4. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  5. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

CD: Sire / 40294-2 (US) – released in 1991

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16
  3. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  4. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  5. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for "Leave in Silence"

! scope="col"| Chart (1982)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{single chart|Ireland2|13|song=Leave in Silence|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}}
{{single chart|Sweden|17|artist=Depeche Mode|song=Leave in Silence|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|18|artist=Depeche Mode|artistid=20192|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}}
scope="row"| UK Indie (MRIB){{cite book |last=Lazell |first=Barry |chapter=Depeche Mode |chapter-url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/d.htm |title=Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums) |publisher=Cherry Red Books |year=1997 |isbn=0-95172-069-4 |access-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605132747/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/d.htm |archive-date=5 June 2011}}

| 1

{{single chart|West Germany|58|songid=19015|artist=Depeche Mode|song=Leave in Silence|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2022}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://archives.depechemode.com/discography/singles/06_leaveinsilence.html Single information from the official Depeche Mode website]

{{Depeche Mode}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1982 singles

Category:Depeche Mode songs

Category:Songs written by Martin Gore

Category:Song recordings produced by Daniel Miller

Category:Mute Records singles

Category:Music videos directed by Julien Temple

Category:1982 songs

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles