The best Depeche Mode tribute compilations

Addicted to Depeche Mode covers

I love Synth Pop cov­er ver­sions and I'm a big fan of Depeche Mode. So what could be more obvi­ous than to write an art­icle about the best Depeche Mode trib­ute com­pil­a­tions? I espe­cially enjoyed the trib­ute com­pil­a­tions with a concept or a cer­tain theme. In this art­icle I would like to intro­duce you to my favour­ite trib­ute compilations.

How my addiction started

My pas­sion for these trib­ute com­pil­a­tions star­ted early in the 90s. When I was a stu­dent, one of my class­mates noticed that I was a big Depeche Mode fan and brought me a CD that he didn't need any­more. It was the remix bootleg "DJs Revenge". I had nev­er seen this before in a reg­u­lar CD store and nev­er heard of this release. When I asked him where he got this CD, he replied: "I bought it at a CD fair in Düsseldorf". At this time I also did not know what a CD fair is. I also don't know if this is a typ­ic­al German thing. Basically it is a big flea mar­ket exclus­ively for music (CDs, Vinyls, Merchandise and oth­er rare Limited Editions or Collector Editions).

After some research, I finally found a date for such a CD fair in Düsseldorf. You even had to pay admis­sion, which hurt me fin­an­cially because I had very little money in my account dur­ing my appren­tice­ship. But what I saw then made my music fan heart beat faster. I was sud­denly stand­ing in a large hall with only music stands. I still can remem­ber that I had about 100 DM (around 50€) in my wal­let. At the first stand where I saw a big box with the let­ters "DEPECHE MODE", a new world opened up for me. So many remix bootlegs and trib­ute com­pil­a­tions in one place, it felt like I had dis­covered a treas­ure.

I would have loved to buy them all, but unfor­tu­nately with my budget I had to lim­it myself. My buddy didn't want to buy any­thing. So he lent me his cash, which was about the same amount as I had with me. Now I just had to decide which CDs I would buy, because I also found a lot of Depeche Mode CDs at sev­er­al oth­er booths. I got rid of the money without any trouble and that sparked a kind of addic­tion in me. For the next few years, I had to get rid of thou­sands of euros (German Marks at that time) at CD fairs. To this day, I still own these CDs and I am really proud to have some rare cop­ies in my CD collection.

The best Depeche Mode tribute compilations in no particular order

We Love Depeche – A Lounge Tribute to Depeche Mode

Release Date: September 19th, 2009
Style: Downtempo, Lounge music
Discogs: We Love Depeche

This is the per­fect trib­ute for a romantic candle light din­ner or chilling in front of the fire­place with a good glass of whis­key and a cigar. You listen rather cas­u­ally to the soft sounds of vari­ous Depeche Mode clas­sics, won­der­fully inter­preted by warm female voices.

Tracklist

1. All 4 Love Ft. Tracy Diamonds – Enjoy The Silence
2. Ak47 Ft. Angie Soft – Policy Of Truth
3. Tangwork Ft. Angie Soft – StrangeLove
4. Ak47 Ft. Tracy Diamonds – Its No Good
5. Dj Downbeat Ft. Tracy Diamonds – Personal Jesus
6. Dj Tremendous Ft. Angie Soft – A Question Of Lust
7. All 4 Love Ft. Tracy Diamonds – Precious
8. Tracy Diamonds & Step Away – A Pain That Im Used To
9. Atom Lounge Ft. Angie Soft – Never Let Me Down Again
10. Tangwork Ft. Angie Soft – Behind The Wheel
11. Dj Downbeat Ft. Angie Soft – Shine
12. Angie Soft & Kauderer – Stripped

Listen to 'We Love Depeche' now

Mode Of Obscurity

Release Date: August 1st, 2005
Style: Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Industrial, Punk, Ska, Hard Rock, Shoegaze
Discogs: Mode Of Obscurity

The label 'Alter Ego' pur­sues with the trib­ute com­pil­a­tion 'Mode Of Obscurity' the same way as we do. To have unusu­al cov­er ver­sions of a well-known band real­ised by young bands in order to intro­duce and pro­mote them to a lar­ger audi­ence. This South African trib­ute is an excel­lent suc­cess. And with 20 songs, the CD is full to the brim and def­in­itely not a bad buy.

Tracklist

1. The Narrow – I Feel You
2. Fokofpolisiekar – Shake The Disease
3. Wickhead – Waiting For The Night
4. 6Stitch – Policy Of Truth
5. N8ive – It's No Good
6. Tiger Lilly – Strangelove
7. Parlotones – Somebody
8. Roswell Kings – Condemnation
9. Diesel Whores – I Feel Loved
10. The Slashdogs – Never Let Me Down Again
11. F…Etc – Enjoy The Silence
12. Hog Hoggidy Hog – Just Can't Get Enough
13. 3 Minute Solution – Personal Jesus
14. Dubway – Barrel Of A Gun
15. Scarlet Box – Dream On
16. In Dreams – In Your Room
17. Running With Scissors – World In My Eyes
18. Belljar – Stripped
19. Heteromorpha – Fly On The Windscreen
20. Kobus! – Blasphemous Rumours

For The Masses: A Tribute To Depeche Mode

Release Date: August 4th, 1998
Style: Alternative Rock, House, Techno, Synth Pop, New Wave
Discogs: For The Masses

'For The Masses' is indeed an excep­tion­al com­pil­a­tion, because it's not just smal­ler bands that pay trib­ute to the boys from Basildon. Great names like Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Rammstein, Deftones and Monster Magnet join smal­ler niche bands of the time in a col­our­ful mix of vari­ous music­al genres. This is a lar­ger pro­duc­tion that can actu­ally still be found in reg­u­lar stores from time to time.

Tracklist

1. The Smashing Pumpkins – Never Let Me Down Again
2. God Lives Underwater – Fly On The Windscreen
3. Failure – Enjoy The Silence
4. The Cure – World In My Eyes
5. Dishwalla – Policy Of Truth
6. Veruca Salt – Somebody
7. Meat Beat Manifesto – Everything Counts
8. Hooverphonic – Shake The Disease
9. Locust – Master And Servant
10. Self – Shame
11. Monster Magnet – Black Celebration
12. Rabbit In The Moon – Waiting For The Night
13. Apollo Four Forty – I Feel You
14. Gus Gus – Monument
15. Deftones – To Have And To Hold
16. Rammstein – Stripped

A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode

Release Date: March 21st, 2005
Style: Rock, Pop, Synth Pop
Discogs: A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode

As the title sug­gests, this 2005 com­pil­a­tion comes from beau­ti­ful Greece. I must hon­estly admit that I don't know a single band except for 'Marsheaux'. But that's not a judge­ment of qual­ity, because all the cov­er ver­sions have their own style and offer a new per­spect­ive on the beloved Depeche Mode songs. The first edi­tion of the release came in a beau­ti­ful box. Besides the CD, the box con­tains 17 indi­vidu­ally designed post­cards for each song. A must-have for music collectors!

Tracklist

1. Yeah – Policy Of Truth
2. Μίκρο – World In My Eyes
3. Ελένη Πέτα – Only When I Lose Myself
4. Raining Pleasure – Shouldn't Have Done That
5. Mindwaltz – Shake The Disease
6. Monitor – Little 15
7. Marsheaux – New Life
8. Emigre – Somebody
9. Fotonovela – But Not Tonight
10. Decode – Behind The Wheel
11. Oberon – Enjoy The Silence
12. Atria – Photographic
13. Δημήτρης Κοργιαλάς – Halo
14. Φόβοι Του Πρίγκηπα – Never Let Me Down Again
15. ρχήστρα Του 5ου Γαλαξία – In Your Room
16. Μαρία Παπαδοπούλου – Stripped
17. Carpe Diem – Clean

Listen to 'A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode' now

Bright Lights, Dark Room – An Electro B‑Side Tribute To Depeche Mode

Release Date: June 1st, 2006
Style: EBM, Industrial, Synth Pop
Discogs: Bright Lights, Dark Room

The Depeche Mode trib­ute com­pil­a­tion 'Bright Lights, Dark Rooms' is prob­ably the nerdiest release in this list. Here, bands ded­ic­ate them­selves to the mul­ti­tude of first-class B‑sides from the last 25 years of Depeche Mode. At least for the most part, because there are also a few reg­u­lar album tracks on the massive 35 track com­pil­a­tion, such as 'Rush', 'Fly On The Windscreen', 'Higher Love' or 'A Question Of Lust'. However, this is def­in­itely a release worth listen­ing to, because some of the songs are turned inside out and are thus presen­ted in a com­pletely new light.

Tracklist

1. The Nine – Shout
2. Octolab – Fools
3. Armageddon Dildos – Dangerous
4. Razed in Black – Happiest Girl
5. Northern Kind – Christmas Island
6. Technoir – In Your Memory
7. Inertia – Flexible
8. Brainclaw – Work Hard
9. Monstergod – Fly on the Windscreen
10. FAQ – Pimpf
11. Fiction 8 – Pleasure Little Treasure
12. Page of Quire – Reason Man
13. F.P. – My Secret Garden
14. Dekad – But Not Tonight
15. Serotonin – Higher Love
16. Thee Hyphen – In Your Memory
17. Libitina – Ice Machine
18. Benthic – Stjarna
19. Alien 6 – Ice Machine
20. Interface vs Viral Conciousness – Never Let Me Down Again
21. Killing Ophelia – Sea of Sin
22. Color Theory – Surrender
23. Syntphonic – A Question of Lust
24. Swarf – Free
25. Mechanical Cabaret – (Set Me Free) Remotivate Me
26. Pinion – Oberkorn (It's a small town)
27. Blue October – My Joy
28. Foco – Rush
29. BlackBlueBlack – Newborn
30. Waiting for Words – Nothing
31. Tracer – Now this is Fun
32. Kao Tao – Death's Door
33. Run Level Zero – Work Hard
34. Babylonia – Dangerous
35. Celluloide – Reason Man

Your World In Our Eyes

Release Date: 1997
Style: Synth Pop
Discogs: Your World In Our Eyes

'Your World In Our Eyes' is a small, Swedish com­pil­a­tion from 1997. Musically there is noth­ing super fancy on here, you get what you see. Finest Synth Pop that sounds typ­ic­al of the late 90s. So what makes this trib­ute so spe­cial? For me per­son­ally, it was the son­ic update of the 80s Depeche Mode songs in a fresh sound. These are still worth a listen today.

Tracklist

1. Forbidden Colours – Halo
2. Statemachine – Stripped
3. Children Within – Waiting For The Night
4. Laura Effect – World In My Eyes
5. Kiethevez – Here Is The House
6. Brave New World – Shake The Disease
7. Daybehavior – See You
8. Paradigm – But Not Tonight
9. X‑Act – Barrel Of A Gun
10. Dark Distant Spaces – A Question Of Lust

Listen to 'Your World In Our Eyes' now

Barrel Of The Sons – Ultrasounds Dedicated To Depeche Mode

Release Date: 1997
Style: Synth Pop
Discogs: Barrel Of The Sons

The album 'Ultra' is my abso­lute favour­ite Depeche Mode album and that's why the 'Ultra' cov­er com­pil­a­tion 'Barrel Of The Sons', which was released shortly after, also belongs on this list. This release spreads ultra cool vibes. I was par­tic­u­larly impressed by the ver­sion of 'The Love Thieves'.

Tracklist

1. Laura Effect – Barrel Of A Gun
2. EnCounter – The Love Thieves
3. Proxy – Home
4. Automatic – It's No Good
5. Infam – Useless
6. Forbidden Colours – Sister Of Night
7. Sombre View – Freestate
8. Estrange – The Bottom Line
9. Children Within – Insight
10. LCD – Painkiller

Listen to 'Barrel Of The Sons' now

MODEified by 7

Release Date: August, 2008
Style: Acoustic, Industrial, Synth Pop, Experimental
Discogs: MODEified by 7

MODEified was a trib­ute com­pil­a­tion series made by fans and artists with a lot of love and pas­sion. The com­pil­a­tions were avail­able for free down­load on the MODEified web­site. Unfortunately, Volume 7 from 2008 is the last release and the web­site has also been off­line for a long time. The qual­ity of the Depeche Mode cov­er ver­sions on this series was always very mixed, but I always found that these imper­fect ver­sions always had a spe­cial charm. What counts here is not per­fec­tion, but great ideas and devo­tion to the music­al heroes.

Tracklist

1. James D. Stark – Higher Love (Monastery Mix)
2. A New January – Two Minute Warning
3. love|less – Television Set ('08)
4. The Echoing Green – Here Is The House
5. Kilna – Enjoy The Silence
6. Darkly Dreaming – Love In Itself
7. Endless Comes Later – Things You Said
8. Lakeside X – Nothing's Impossible
9. Storybox – Lie To Me
10. Dossiers Secrets – But Not Tonight
11. Blind Before Dawn – The Sun & The Rainfall
12. Terminal Bliss – World In My Eyes
13. Louis Guidone – Photographic
14. Jason Coy – Only When I Lose Myself
15. Perihelion + Dasein – Suffer Well
16. Northern Mars – Walking In My Shoes
17. Tony Court – Stripped (The Honeymoon Mix)
18. Fuzzy Monsters – Sweetest Perfection

Complete dedication – When a cover version is not enough

Here is a little bonus part. It's about two bands that have ded­ic­ated an entire album (or sev­er­al) to their favour­ite band Depeche Mode.

Diesel Christ – Diesel Mode

Release Date: 1993
Style: Synth Pop
Discogs: Diesel Mode

I dis­covered the trib­ute album 'Diesel Mode' by 'Diesel Christ' by chance in an elec­tron­ics shop. As a DM fan, the eye-catch­ing cov­er art­work imme­di­ately appealed to me and I bought it without hes­it­a­tion. It's a great piece of work that I can only recom­mend to every­one. The track 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?' is not a Depeche Mode cov­er, but one of the band's own songs. They prob­ably wanted to pro­mote their own album 'Gas Food Lodging', which was released shortly after­wards. Which worked for me, because this is also a recom­mend­able Synth Pop album and a hard copy is in my CD collection.

Tracklist

1. Walking In My Shoes
2. Rush
3. In Your Room
4. I Feel You
5. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
6. Higher Love

Marsheaux – A Broken Frame

Release Date: June 9th, 2015
Style: Synth Pop
Discogs: A Broken Frame

The Synth Pop duo 'Marsheaux' have giv­en Depeche Mode's debut album, 35 years after its release, a com­plete makeover. I love this trib­ute album! Every track sounds mod­ern and famil­i­ar at the same time. In addi­tion to the trib­ute album, the track 'Monument' was released as a single includ­ing a music video. At this point, I would like to clearly point out that the album and the single are a must-buy.

Tracklist

1. Leave In Silence
2. My Secret Garden
3. Monument
4. Nothing To Fear
5. See You
6. Satellite
7. The Meaning Of Love
8. A Photograph Of You
9. Shouldn’t Have Done That
10. The Sun And The Rainfall
11. Now This Is Fun (Featuring – James New)
12. Oberkorn (It’s A Small Town)

Listen to 'A Broken Frame' now

Need more Depeche Mode cover compilations?

If you've reached this point and are sad to have come to the end of it, calm down because there are a hun­dred oth­er fant­ast­ic Depeche Mode trib­ute com­pil­a­tions and cov­er ver­sions out there. Just check out my pal Michael's page 'The (Al)most com­plete Depeche Mode cov­er ver­sions'. Here you will find, as far as I know, the biggest data­base of Depeche Mode cov­er ver­sions. Michael is always happy about feed­back, so thank him if you find any music­al treas­ures there.

Bonus – Electrozombies Depeche Mode tribute compilations

To hon­our the band, we have released two trib­ute com­pil­a­tions in 2017. If you might have missed them, go and check them out now: