Box Set Collecting 7 Original and Special Edition 12″ Vinyl Singles from 1987’s Music For The Masses; Presented in Original Single Artwork with Audio Mastered from the Original Tapes
The Depeche Mode 12″ vinyl singles project continues in May 2019 with the release of Black Celebration: The 12″ Singles and Music For The Masses: The 12″ Singles. Each of these definitive boxed sets contains 12″ vinyl singles contemporaneous to either Black Celebration (1986) or Music For The Masses (1987). Both pivotal releases in Depeche Mode’s career, these albums advanced the iconic group’s musical mission, moving their sound from industrial pop into darker atmospheric emotional territory.

Following its release in 1986, Black Celebration became the group’s then-highest charting album in both the UK and Germany, expanding their influence across pop culture while inspiring myriad young musicians to start bands of their own. The next year, Music For The Masses furthered Depeche Mode’s international mass appeal, breaking open the U.S. and other markets with the record-setting Music For The Masses Tour. An electrifying and historic adventure for band and audiences worldwide, the tour included Depeche Mode concerts in then-communist East Berlin, Budapest, and Prague. The tour’s 101st show, a transcendent performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, was attended by more than 60,000 fans and documented in 101, a concert film by D.A. Pennebaker (Don’t Look Back) and an accompanying live album.

From their earliest days as a band, Depeche Mode championed 12″ vinyl, embracing the singular power of the format and the avenues of innovation it opened. The 12″ single allowed the band to explore new sonic possibilities while the tactile physical beauty of the packaging gave Depeche Mode room to develop a sophisticated and commanding visual aesthetic. The group used their singles discography as a means of offering left field remixes and other delights for their fans. Both Black Celebration and Music For The Masses extended the band’s increasingly mind-blowing run of 12″ singles and featured some of their most sublime artwork to date. Black Celebration featured “A Question Of Lust” and “Stripped” while Music For The Masses contained “Never Let Me Down Again” and “Strangelove” (DP’s first No. 1 US Dance chart hit).

Music For The Masses: The 12″ Singles includes the seven original and special edition 12″ vinyl singles from the album. Each boxed set in the series contains the singles from each Depeche Mode album on audiophile-quality 12″ vinyl, with audio mastered from the original tapes. The artwork for the exterior of each of the boxed sets draws on iconography inspired by the original releases, while the vinyl sleeves themselves feature the original single artwork.

Features:
• Audiophile-quality 7 x 12″ vinyl box set
• Featuring seven original and special edition 12″ vinyl singles from Music For The Masses
• Audio mastered from the original tapes
• Artwork for the exterior of box draws on iconography inspired by the original releases
• Vinyl sleeves feature the original single artwork