Blasphemous Wiki
| 'Blasphemous Rumours'/'Somebody' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Depeche Mode | ||||
| from the album Some Great Reward | ||||
| Released | 29 October 1984 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record(7' and 12') CD(1991 box set) | |||
| Recorded | June 1984 Music Works in Highbury, Hansa Mischraum in West Berlin | |||
| Genre | New wave[1] | |||
| Length | 5:06(Blasphemous Rumours) 6:20 (Blasphemous Rumours, 12' version) 4:19 (Somebody) 4:27 (Somebody, album version) | |||
| Label | Mute | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Martin Gore | |||
| Producer(s) | Depeche Mode, Daniel Miller, and Gareth Jones | |||
| Depeche Mode singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
'Blasphemous Rumours'/'Somebody' is Depeche Mode's twelfth UK single and first double A-side single, released on 29 October 1984.
Blasphemous Story. A foul curse has fallen upon the land of Cvstodia and all its inhabitants - it is simply known as The Miracle. Play as The Penitent One - a sole survivor of the massacre of the ‘Silent Sorrow’. Trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, it’s down to you to free the world from this terrible fate and reach the origin of your anguish.
Both A-side songs are from the album Some Great Reward. 'Somebody' is the first single with Martin Gore as lead vocals, one of only three (the others being 'A Question of Lust' and 'Home'.)
The music videos for both songs were directed by Clive Richardson.
Song information[edit]
The verses to 'Blasphemous Rumours' describe a 16-year-old girl who attempts suicide but fails. She experiences a religious revival but is killed in a car accident at age 18. The chorus uses these incidents to conclude, 'I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours / but I think that God's got a sick sense of humour / and when I die, I expect to find him laughing.' Like other songs on Some Great Reward, the song uses a dense sound with extensive sampled percussion.
When Depeche Mode announced that they were planning to release 'Blasphemous Rumours' as a single, pushback from the religious community[clarification needed] resulted, and consequently, the band decided as a compromise to release the single as a double-A side with 'Somebody.'[2]
'Somebody', which was sung by Martin Gore in the studio in the nude, includes one of Gore's 'little twists,' where the song builds as if it's a song about finding your perfect love, only to have him reveal at the end 'though things like this make me sick / in a case like this I'll get away with it.'[3]
Track listings[edit]
All songs written by Martin Gore except:
- 'Ice Machine' by Vince Clarke
- 'Two Minute Warning' by Alan Wilder
7': Mute / 7Bong7 (UK)[edit]
- 'Blasphemous Rumours' – 5:06
- 'Somebody (Remix)' – 4:19
7' EP: Mute / 7Bong7E (UK)[edit]
- 'Somebody (Remix)' – 4:19
- 'Everything Counts (Live)' - 5:53
- 'Blasphemous Rumours' – 5:06
- 'Told You So (Live Version)' - 4:54
12': Mute / 12Bong7 (UK)[edit]
- 'Blasphemous Rumours' – 6:20
- 'Somebody (Live)' – 4:26
- 'Two Minute Warning (Live)' – 4:36
- 'Ice Machine (Live)' – 3:45
- 'Everything Counts (Live)' – 5:53
- This version of the single was also released on CD. Intercord 826.839. No Bong number, same cover as the vinyl version.
CD: Mute / CDBong7 (UK)[edit]
- 'Blasphemous Rumours' – 6:20
- 'Told You So (Live)' – 4:56
- 'Somebody (Remix)' – 4:19
- 'Everything Counts (Live)' – 5:53
- The CD single was released in 1991 as part of the singles box set compilations
All live tracks recorded at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England on 29 September 1984.
Notable cover versions of 'Somebody'[edit]
- American alternative rock band Veruca Salt covered the song for the 1998 Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses.
- British band Ultra released their version of the song in 1999 as the B-side to the limited edition CD single of 'Rescue Me'.
References[edit]
- ^Michael Sutton. 'Forever - Dune - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic'. AllMusic.
- ^Thompson, Dave (15 November 1994). Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward. St. Martin's Press. pp. 152–155.
- ^Shaw, William (April 1993), 'In The Mode', Details magazine: 90–95, 168
External links[edit]
- Allmusic review
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Blasphemy at the 2009 Black Flames of Blasphemy concert in Helsinki, Finland. | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Black metal, death metal, war metal |
| Years active | 1984–1993, 1999–present |
| Labels | Wild Rags, Osmose, Nuclear War Now!, Displeased |
| Associated acts | Conqueror, Antichrist, Tyrants Blood |
| Members | Members |
Blasphemy are a Canadian black metal band based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
History[edit]
Blasphemy formed in 1984. The band released a demo titled Blood Upon the Altar in 1989 and their debut album, Fallen Angel of Doom,[1][2] the following year through Wild Rags, a record label they had signed to while touring the United States.[3]
Their second full-length studio album was the 1993 Gods of War released through Osmose Productions. In 1993, Blasphemy also took part in the 'Fuck Christ Tour' and toured through Europe with Immortal and Rotting Christ.[4]
Blasphemy was then inactive for several years.[5] Ryan Förster joined the band in 1999.[6] The band's July 2001 concert in Vancouver was released as a live album titled Live Ritual – Friday the 13th in 2002.[7]
They were inactive again until 2009, when they played two concerts; one in Montreal and one in Helsinki, in the Black Flames of Blasphemy festival, with Proclamation, Black Witchery, Revenge and Archgoat.[8] In 2010, Blasphemy headlined the second installation of the Nuclear War Now! festival in Germany.
Blasphemy's song 'War Command' has been covered by Beherit and the cover appeared on Beherit's 1999 compilation album Beast of Beherit - Complete Worxxx. Blasphemy's 'Winds of the Black Gods' was the opening track on the 2004 compilation Fenriz Presents.. The Best of Old-School Black Metal.
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Members[edit]
- Current line-up
- Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds – Vocals, formerly bass and guitars
- Caller of the Storms – Guitars
- Deathlord of Abomination and War Apocalypse – Guitars
- Three Black Hearts of Damnation and Impurity – Drums
- V.K. – Live Session Bass
- Former members
- Ace Gestapo Necrosleezer and Vaginal Commands – Bass
- Black Priest of 7 Satanic Rituals – Guitars
- The Traditional Sodomizer of the Goddess of Perversity – Guitars
- Bestial Saviour of the Undead Legions – Bass and Backing Vocals
Timeline[edit]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- Fallen Angel of Doom.. (1990)
- Gods of War (1993)
Live albums[edit]
- Live Ritual – Friday the 13th (2001)
- Desecration of São Paulo - Live in Brazilian Ritual Third Attack (2016)
- Victory (Son of the Damned) (2018)
Demo albums[edit]
- Blood Upon the Altar (1989)
- Die Hard Rehearsal (2001)
- Blood Upon the Soundscape (2018)
References[edit]
- ^'Hail Canada! An Ode to Metal from Up North'. Vice, Kim Kelly Jul 1 2015
- ^Robert Müller: Wollt Ihr den ewigen Krieg?. Der tote Winkel. In: Metal Hammer, November 2011.
- ^'Interview with Blasphemy'. FMP666. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^'Interview with Rotting Christ'. Masterful Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^'Blasphemy’s black metal is far from dead'. Georgia Straight, by Allan MacInnis on March 8th, 2017
- ^' BESTIAL, SAVAGE, MERCILESS']. BeatRoute, 07th, September 2013.
- ^['Blasphemy', 1 Issue 7 - Absolute Underground. page 12
- ^'Black Flames of Blasphemy review'. deathmetal.com. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
External links[edit]
- Blasphemy at Allmusic
- Blasphemy at Discogs
- Blasphemy at Encyclopaedia Metallum