Single Stories: Depeche Mode, GET THE BALANCE RIGHT!

It was early 1983, and Depeche Mode was in a transitional period. The band had recorded second album, A Broken Frame (1982), their first without founding member Vince Clarke (who'd left to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet) and written entirely by Martin Gore. While the group was preparing to work album number three, Depeche Mode drafted a new member into the fold: Alan Wilder.

As the band's sound continued to evolve, Gore attended a concert by legendary German experimental band Einstürzende Neubauten. The act's abrasive and industrial approach to sound left a heavy impression on the young songwriter, now inspired to incorporate those same ideas in pop music. 

Released January 31, 1983, "Get the Balance Right!" was a hit in Depeche Mode's home country, peaking at #13 on the UK Singles chart. The song marked Wilder's first official recording with the band, which he spoke on during an interview in 1985: "Yeah, it was my first single, but I don't think I made a great deal of difference. I probably made it worse," he joked. "I'd been involved for about a year. I wasn't coming into it cold."

During the same interview, Gore had some less than favorable things to say about the song: "Well, that is actually our least favorite single," he revealed. "It was hell to record."

"We had a lot of problems," added Andy Fletcher. "It was a kind of interim period between equipment, and it just didn't happen."

Legions of Depeche Mode fans would beg to differ.