(Debuted September 1, 1988, Peaked #50, 9 Weeks on the Chart)
There were actually two versions of "Strangelove" that charted on Billboard's pop chart. The first was the 1987 recording that appeared on the band's LP Music For the Masses. It reached #76 and was a #1 single on the dance chart. Considered a little too sonically "bright" when compared to the rest of the music on that album, it was remixed and made a little slower and darker. The "new" version returned to the chart and reached #50, making it the highest-peaking of the three singles the group had from the album.
While having three songs fail to hit the pop Top 40 may seem like a disappointment, Depeche Mode was slowly building a small but rapid fan base in the U.S. as well as their home in the U.K. By the time the next decade rolled around, they found the success that had largely escaped them in the 1980s.
Depeche Mode - Strange Love 88 (88 Version) by Dmode59
Easily my favorite Mode song (with a slight nod to People are People from a nostalgia standpoint). Though I am generally not a fan of live albums (and wouldn't consider myself to be the biggest DM fan in the world), the Depeche Mode 101 album is an album that shouldn't be missed.
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