Vince Clarke

Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter.

Vincent John Martin was born on 3 July 1960 in South Woodford, Essex; he later moved to Basildon, Essex.

He initially studied the violin and then the piano.

Clarke's early musical influences included Sparks, Paul Simon, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), who inspired his interest in electronic music.

Clarke also cites electronic influences such as the Human League, Daniel Miller and Fad Gadget.

In the late 1970s, Clarke and schoolmate Andy Fletcher formed a short-lived band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass guitar.

In 1979, Clarke played guitar in the Plan, an Ultravox-influenced band, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith.

In 1980, after the Plan dissolved, Clarke and Fletcher formed Composition of Sound, and were soon joined by Martin Gore.

Clarke provided vocals until lead vocalist Dave Gahan joined the band, which was renamed Depeche Mode.

At that time he adopted the stage name Vince Clarke, by which he is currently known.

The band initially adopted a slick synthesised electropop sound, which produced the studio album Speak & Spell and the Clarke-penned singles "Dreaming of Me", "New Life", and "Just Can't Get Enough" in 1981.

Clarke left Depeche Mode shortly thereafter.

There were many rumoured reasons for his departure.

He commented on Depeche Mode's later material as being a little dark for his taste, but good nonetheless.

Clarke also stated that he did not enjoy the public aspects of success, such as touring and interviews, and found himself frequently at odds with his bandmates, particularly on the tour bus.

He also stated: "I think everybody in the band, especially myself, imagined that the reason we were doing so well was because of themselves ... We were pretty young and very lucky, and things had happened very quickly for us, and I don't think we were really mature to handle the situation."

Clarke was replaced by musician Alan Wilder, and Depeche Mode later achieved international stardom.

Clarke then teamed with lead vocalist Alison Moyet (at the time known by the nickname of Alf) to form the popular synth-pop duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in the US), which produced two studio albums and a string of hits, including "Only You", "Don't Go", "Situation", "The Other Side of Love" and "Nobody's Diary".

Yazoo disbanded in 1983, and Moyet had a successful solo career.

Clarke teamed up with Eric Radcliffe in 1983.

Their idea was to collaborate with different artists on each new single, under the name the Assembly.

With singer Feargal Sharkey, former lead vocalist of the Undertones, they scored the top 5 UK hit "Never Never".

Meanwhile, Clarke founded the label Reset Records with Radcliffe.

During 1983 and 1984 he produced four singles, "The Face of Dorian Gray", "I Just Want to Dance", "Claudette", and "Calling All Destroyers" for his friend Robert Marlow, which were released on this label.

In July 1984, Clarke teamed with Stephen Luscombe of Blancmange, Pandit Dinesh, and Asha Bhosle.

Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter for several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and the Assembly.

In Erasure, he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to lead vocalist Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.

Erasure have recorded over 200 songs and have sold over 28 million albums worldwide.

In 1985, another collaboration took place with Paul Quinn of Bourgie Bourgie; the result was the single "One Day" by Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn.

However, the project never took off, and Clarke moved to other projects.

In early 1985, Clarke placed an advertisement in Melody Maker for a singer, and one applicant was Andy Bell, who was a fan of his earlier projects.

He teamed with Bell to form the group Erasure, and the duo became one of the major selling acts in British music with international hits like "Oh L'amour", "Sometimes", "Chains of Love", "A Little Respect", "Drama!", "Blue Savannah", "Chorus", "Love to Hate You", "Take a Chance on Me", and "Always".

As of November 2022, the duo have released 19 studio albums and have enjoyed a long string of hit singles spanning their four decades together.

They also produced a studio album, at first shelved but later released in 1999, under the name The Peter Pan Effect.

Yazoo reformed in 2008 for a series of live dates to celebrate 25 years since the duo's split.

The first EP, entitled Spock, was released worldwide exclusively on Beatport on 30 November 2011.

In 2011, Clarke collaborated with his former Depeche Mode colleague Martin Gore for the first time since 1981, as techno duo VCMG, on an instrumental minimalist electronic dance album called Ssss, released on 12 March 2012.

The second EP, Single Blip, was once again first released exclusively on Beatport on 20 February 2012.

Their third EP, Aftermaths, was released on 20 August 2012.

Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of Depeche Mode.