Leave in Silence

"Leave in Silence"
12″ single cover
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album A Broken Frame
B-side"Excerpt From: My Secret Garden"
Released16 August 1982
RecordedJuly 1982
StudioBlackwing (London)
GenreSynth-pop[1]
Length
  • 4:51 (album version)
  • 4:00 (7″ version)
  • 6:32 (12″ version)
  • 3:42 (quieter version)
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"The Meaning of Love"
(1982) 		"Leave in Silence"
(1982) 		"Get the Balance Right!"
(1983)
Music video
"Leave in Silence" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

"Leave in Silence" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode.[3][4] It was released as the third single from their second studio album, A Broken Frame (1982), on 16 August 1982.[5] Recorded at Blackwing Studios, the single became the band's fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at number 18. It was the first Depeche Mode single in the UK to use the "Bong" catalogue number system, which they used until "Heaven" in 2013. Three versions of the track were released on the 7″ and 12″ singles, while a fourth cut, running at four minutes and fifty-one seconds, was released on A Broken Frame.

Critical reception

In 2017, Billboard magazine writer Andrew Unterberger stated that the song "stands today as their most regrettably overlooked classic", describing it as "A shimmering and simmering synth-pop mini-epic whose brilliance comes in its relative restraint — keys sparkle and then dissipate, built-up tension dissolves into instrumental negative space, the title is practically whispered as the chorus climax. It’s the rare breakup ballad that attempts to tiptoe out the back door rather than loudly storm out the front, having already had enough of all the drama".[1]

Music video

The music video for "Leave in Silence" was directed by Julien Temple, and features the band breaking things on a conveyor belt and talking to each other while wearing face paint. The band disliked the video and did not include it on the Some Great Videos compilation album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Martin L. Gore

7″: Mute / 7Bong1 (UK)

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16

12″: Mute / 12Bong1 (UK)

  1. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  2. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  3. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

CD: Mute / CDBong1 (UK) – released in 1991

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16
  3. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  4. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  5. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

CD: Sire / 40294-2 (US) – released in 1991

  1. "Leave in Silence" – 4:00
  2. "Excerpt From: My Secret Garden" – 3:16
  3. "Leave in Silence" (longer) – 6:32
  4. "Further Excerpts From: My Secret Garden" – 4:23
  5. "Leave in Silence" (quieter) – 3:42

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Leave in Silence"
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 18
UK Indie (MRIB)[9] 1
West Germany (GfK)[10] 58

References

  1. ^ a b Unterberger, Andrew (18 March 2017). "The 10 Most Underrated Depeche Mode Singles: Critic's Take". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Leave in Silence – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ Bernhardt, Tonia (21 November 2007). Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult. GRIN Verlag. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-638-76757-6. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  4. ^ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Depeche Mode Discography".
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Leave in Silence". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode – Leave in Silence". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  9. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Leave in Silence" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 May 2022.