Black Celebration

Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by the English electronic rock band Depeche Mode. It was released on 17 March 1986. Mute Records and Sire Records distributed the album in the UK and US, respectively. It was recorded in London and West Berlin. The album was produced by Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones. Miller prompted the band to record the album using the "live the album" ethos. This was inspired by the film director Werner Herzog. The results were tension between the band and both Miller and Jones. As such, neither of them worked on subsequent Depeche Mode albums.

The album was promoted by the singles "Stripped", "A Question of Lust", and "A Question of Time". In the US, "But Not Tonight" was released as a single instead of "Stripped". In support of the album, Depeche Mode embarked on the five-month-long tour Black Celebration Tour. It was across Europe, North America, and Japan. The four ran from early to mid-1986.

Black Celebration is considered the start of a four album series of Depeche Mode's best albums. This is continued by Music for the Masses (1987), Violator (1990) and Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993). Three years after its release, Spin ranked it the 15th-greatest album of all time. Radio X in 2011 cited it as one of the most influential albums of the 1980s. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails also cited Black Celebration as influencing his debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989).
Track listing

2007 Collectors Edition CD + DVD

Personnel
Depeche Mode
 Alan Wilder
 Andrew Fletcher
 David Gahan
 Martin Gore

Technical
 Depeche Mode – production
 Gareth Jones – production
 Daniel Miller – production
 Richard Sullivan – engineering assistance
 Peter Schmidt – engineering assistance
 Tim Young – mastering
 Dave Allen – recording on "Fly on the Windscreen – Final"
 Phil Tennant – recording assistance on "Fly on the Windscreen – Final"

Artwork
 Martyn Atkins – design
 David A. Jones – design
 Mark Higenbottam – design
 Brian Griffin – photography
 Stuart Graham – photography assistance

Charts

Weekly charts
+ 1986 weekly chart performance for Black Celebration Chart (1986) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 69 European Albums (Music & Media) 5 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 17 French Albums (IFOP) Select "DEPECHE MODE" from the drop-down menu and click "OK". 11 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Black Celebration" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca". 9 UK Independent Albums (MRIB) 1

+ 2013 weekly chart performance for Black Celebration Chart (2013) Peakposition

+ 2017 weekly chart performance for Black Celebration Chart (2017) Peakposition

+ 2025 weekly chart performance for Black Celebration Chart (2025) Peak position Greek Albums (IFPI) 44

Year-end charts
+ Year-end chart performance for Black Celebration Chart (1986) Position European Albums (Music & Media) 24 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 19 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 23

Certifications

Notes

References





Other websites

 Album information from the official Depeche Mode website
 Official remaster info

Category:1986 albums
Category:Virgin Records albums