New Life

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New Life
Song	New Life
By	Depeche Mode
Songwriter	Vince Clarke
Produced by	Depeche Mode Daniel Miller
Recorded at	Blackwing Studios (London)
Length (mm:ss)	3:43 (album version) 3:58 (remix)
Tempo	158 BPM
Time signature	4 4
Key	D Major
Engineered by	Eric Radcliffe John Fryer
Photography	Brian Griffin
Originally released	13 June 1981
Live performances as Depeche Mode	240 times *
Total live performances	240 times *

"New Life" is a song from the 1981 album Speak & Spell by Depeche Mode. It was released as a single on 13 June 1981.

Notes

In May/June 2020, one of Vince Clarke's cousins, named Adam Spector, claimed the following on Facebook:

My brother Paul Spector wrote the lyrics to this song. He didn't want any or got any credit for it. I remember quite clearly Vince "borrowing" them from him. It's about a Chinese Philosopher. I read a whole page about it in a Depeche Mode book and every word about it was true except who wrote it. Vince's highest qualification is in Woodwork and my brother has a Masters Degree in Philosophy from King's College, London. Vince wouldn't be able to explain what it was about other than what he was told by Paul. I did ask Vince for the original, written lyrics back but he said he'd lost them.

Source

In July 2020, Adam Spector uploaded a version of 'New Life' on YouTube (video private; audio mirrored below), claiming in the description that his brother Paul wrote the lyrics, with Vince Clarke having written the music. Adam later clarified to DM Live that he was singing vocals in this clip, with Vince playing keyboards. Susan Ryder Paget, who was in the band No Romance In China along with Vince Clarke, posted a comment on Facebook in which she recognizes Vince speaking at the beginning of the recording (seen in the screenshot to the right), and further feels that the ending of the song is characteristic of Vince Clarke's keyboard playing style of the time; this matches up with Vince's keyboard part heard at the end of the song at 1980-11-14 Essex. Additionally, similar keyboard melodies which are heard in this version of 'New Life' are also heard in the only live recording available of Reason Man, around timestamp 1:00. Furthermore, the music of this version strongly resembles "Do You Need The Service?" by Tubeway Army.

Audio extracted from Adam Spector's YouTube video of 'New Life'. Warning: the audio is rather loud, turn down your volume before pressing play.

Dave Gahan and Andrew Fletcher in the 1982-01-22 issue of Smash Hits:

Fletcher: "Words were never Vince [Clarke]'s strong point. As a matter of fact, we were sometimes quite embarrassed by his stuff! We didn't understand a lot of his songs. He’d never tell us what they were about!"

Gahan: "I remember walking through town in Basildon one night and I saw these two girls following along behind me. I knew they'd recognised me. And they start singing, [high-pitched squeak] 'I stand still stepping on a shady street'. And I start walking a bit faster, turns me collar up like this! And then... [wails] 'And I watch that man to a stranger.' And I'm thinking: 'Oh no, this is embarrassing! Do they understand these lyrics?! Perhaps they do and we don't!"

Lyrics

New Life

I stand still stepping on the shady streets

And I watched that man to a stranger

You think you only know me when you turn on the light

Now the room is lit, red danger

Complicating, circulating

New life, new life

Operating, generating

New life, new life

Transitions to another place

So the time will pass more slowly

Features fuse and your shadow's red

Like a film I've seen now show me

Your face is hidden and we're out of sight

And the road just leads to nowhere

The stranger in the door is the same as before

So the question answers nowhere

I stand still stepping on the shady streets

And I watched that man to a stranger

You think you only know me when you turn on the light

Now the room is lit, red danger

Songwriter: Vince Clarke
Publishing Information: ©1981 Musical Moments Ltd./Sony Music Publishing Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Live performances

Main article: Available recordings of "New Life"

Main article: List of dates where "New Life" was played

Live versions

This section provides an example of a live version of New Life from each tour that it was played.

• Play 1980 Tour: 1980-11-14 Technical College, Southend-On-Sea, Essex, England, UK
• Play 1981 Tour: 1981-09-29 Les Bains Douches, Paris, France
• Play 1982 See You Tour: 1982-02-10 BBC Paris Studio, London, England, UK
• Play 1982-1983 A Broken Frame Tour: 1982-12-14 Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Play 1983-1984 Construction Time Again Tour: 1983-10-08 Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, UK
• Play 1984-1985 Some Great Reward Tour: 1984-12-09 Alsterdorf Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany

Depeche Mode songs released as singles 1981-1985: Dreaming Of Me • New Life • Just Can't Get Enough • See You • The Meaning Of Love • Leave In Silence • Get The Balance Right • Everything Counts • Love In Itself • People Are People • Master And Servant • Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody • Shake The Disease • It's Called A Heart 1986-1989: Stripped • But Not Tonight • A Question Of Lust • A Question Of Time • Strangelove • Never Let Me Down Again • Behind The Wheel • Little 15 • Personal Jesus 1990-1998: Enjoy The Silence • Policy Of Truth • World In My Eyes • I Feel You • Walking In My Shoes • Condemnation • In Your Room • Barrel Of A Gun • It's No Good • Home • Useless • Only When I Lose Myself 2001-2009: Dream On • I Feel Loved • Freelove • Goodnight Lovers • Precious • A Pain That I'm Used To • Suffer Well • John The Revelator / Lilian • Martyr • Wrong • Peace • Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed 2013-2017: Heaven • Soothe My Soul • Should Be Higher • Where's The Revolution • Going Backwards • Cover Me 2023: Ghosts Again Recoil songs released as singles 1992-1998: Faith Healer • Drifting • Stalker / Missing Piece 2000-2008: Strange Hours • Jezebel • Prey • Allelujah Dave Gahan songs released as singles 2003-2008: Dirty Sticky Floors • I Need You • Bottle Living / Hold On • A Little Piece • Kingdom • Saw Something / Deeper And Deeper 2012-2015: Longest Day • Take Me Back Home • All Of This And Nothing • Shine Martin Gore solo songs released as singles 1989-2003: Compulsion • Stardust • Loverman 2012-2015: Spock • Single Blip • Aftermaths • Europa Hymn • "Pinking" (Christoffer Berg Remix) Official releases Studio albums • Live albums • Compilation albums • Video albums • Singles