Depeche Mode sample sources

Among the thousands of original samples recorded and utilized by Depeche Mode to enhance the atmosphere of their musical output are many that originated elsewhere, such as brief passages of musical recordings by other artists as well as snippets of audio from television shows, radio broadcasts, and films. Analysis of these sample sources and how they are manipulated is a common topic of discussion among fans of the group.

Within reason, this page aims to capture all identifiable sound sources for many of the samples used by Depeche Mode on their studio albums, official remixes, and live performances, as well as the samples used in former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder's Recoil studio albums, official remixes, and live performances. In addition to confirmed samples, the tables below also describe samples that are commonly believed to be but were not actually used by Depeche Mode in the specified song. The confirmation status of each sample is measured by the following standard:

• Deconfirmed - This sample is not used in the specified song.
• Unconfirmed - This sample may or may not be used in the specified song.
• Likely - This sample is likely to be used in the specified song but is not yet confirmed.
• Confirmed - This sample has been independently confirmed to be used in the specified song and an audio demonstration is available.
• Officially confirmed - This sample has been confirmed by either a past or present member of Depeche Mode or an individual involved in the production of the specified song.
  
  

Depeche Mode

Speak And Spell

Speak And Spell does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

A Broken Frame

A Broken Frame does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Construction Time Again

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Everything Counts (Tim Simenon/Mark Saunders Remix)	1989	Breathing sound	Kraftwerk - Tour de France	1983	Unconfirmed
		Intro sweep	Kraftwerk - Die Roboter	1978	Unconfirmed
The Landscape Is Changing	1983	Spoken word in German	Einstürzende Neubauten - Merle (Die Elektrik)	1983	Unconfirmed

Some Great Reward

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
People Are People (Are People People? Mix)	1984	Doo-wop vocal sample	The Citadels - When I Woke Up This Morning	1964	Confirmed	Credit to Brat (Daniel Barassi) for this discovery.

Black Celebration

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
A Question Of Time	1986	Moan vocal sample	The Chanters - She Wants To Mambo	1954? (Re-release by Jazzman Records in 2014)	Officially confirmed	The second feminine moan in the song is sampled and played in a descending two note passage with EQ for added top-end during the chorus sections of A Question Of Time. Martin Gore confirmed the use of the sample in the August 1986 issue of Electronics & Music Maker: 'It's not that audible, though. It's a sample from a record called 'She Wants to Mambo', an old doo-wop disc. At the end of each verse, the woman who sings sort of moans. We sampled this moan and played it up a few notes, which made it sound like a girl moaning. We used it on the chorus section of 'A Question of Time'.'
Fly On The Windscreen	1986	"Their living hell" vocal sample	Peter Jennings, ABC News (Television News Report, unidentified date)	?	Likely	Jennings was an active news anchor from 2/1/1965 to 4/1/2005. It is likely the exact date of the report sampled by Depeche Mode occurred sometime before or between approx. November 1985 and December 1985 at the latest.
Fly On The Windscreen (Death Mix)	1986	"I don't care how you feel!" vocal sample	Richard Pryor - Unidentified film	?	Unconfirmed
		"Help the dying" vocal sample	Steve Kroft, CBS News (Television News Report, unidentified date)	?	Likely	Kroft was an active television news anchor with CBS news starting in 1980. It is likely the exact date of the report sampled by Depeche Mode occurred sometime before or between approx. November 1985 and December 1985 at the latest.

Music For The Masses

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Never Let Me Down Again	1987	Classic John Bonham drum loop	Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin'	1982	Officially confirmed	The heavy drums of Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks sampled on the Beastie Boys song Rhymin And Stealin were subsequently sampled by Depeche Mode. One-shot samples of the bass drum and snare drum are sampled and sequenced to form the primary drum pattern of Never Let Me Down Again. Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. The sampled parts would later be re-purposed for Halo and Get Right With Me. From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN's When the Levee Breaks (but secondhand from a rap record). It is one of the most commonly used drum samples – for obvious reasons as it has that very special Bonham sound. The same snare drum sound appears on DM's Get Right With Me. I've also heard that snare on a MASSIVE ATTACK record and many others. I think Violator was the first album that we used whole performance drum loops to create rhythm tracks, as opposed to programmed single drum sounds, and Halo was one of the first tracks we recorded for Violator in fact. Flood and I were listening to quite a lot of hip hop and rap records at the time – those artists were the forerunners when sampling larger sections of rhythms and grooves. And the unusual feels that were created on those albums really influenced Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.
		Classic John Bonham drum break	Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks	1971	Officially confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin).
		N/A	Gary Wright - Love Is Alive	1982	Unconfirmed
		Guitar riff and drum elements	3rd Bass - Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2	1989	Officially confirmed	American hip-hop group 3rd Bass employed an uncredited sample of the opening guitar riff from Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again for their 1989 track Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2. Depeche Mode were fond of their use of the sample, and would later sample it back from Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2 and employ it during the live interlude of Never Let Me Down Again as performed on the 1990 World Violation Tour. Former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder would use this sample and other elements from Wordz Of Wisdom, Pt. 2 in the live production of In Your Room as part of Recoil's 2010-2011 Selected Events tour.
Strangelove (The Fresh Ground Mix)	1987	N/A	Cameo - Word Up'	1986	Unconfirmed
Route 66 (Beatmasters Mix)	1987	"They come from everywhere to take the challenge", "If they can name it they can claim it", "It's big money, high hopes, near misses, and love and kisses", "So, join host Tom Kennedy, tonight at 7:30, and 'Name That Tune!'" vocal samples from a television promotion for the television game show Name That Tune	Unspecified television advertisement for Name That Tune (game show)	?	Confirmed

Violator

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
World In My Eyes	1990	Bell tree sample	Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman	1982	Confirmed	This sample is used for two distinct sounds in the production of World In My Eyes: One version of the sample features oscillating pitch with added reverb that is reversed and played in chorus with a separate sample, producing an exciting "whirl" effect that occurs during the verses and throughout the song. A second version of the sample appears on the first bar following the end of the first chorus, with added reverb to create a distancing effect. This sample is used to dramatic effect during the outro to the 1993 Devotional Tour version of World In My Eyes.
Sweetest Perfection	1990	Bell tree sample	Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman	1982	Confirmed	This sample is looped and manipulated to produce a ghostly pad with oscillating pitch and creative panning effects during the verses.
Personal Jesus	1989	Vocal huffing rhythm	Kate Bush - The Dreaming	1982	Likely
		'Preacher' vocal sample "I'm not crazy anymore!"	A Cry In The Wilderness (film)	1974	Likely
Halo	1990	Classic John Bonham drum loop	Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin'	1982	Officially confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record. The sampled parts would later be re-purposed for Halo: From memory, the drums were sampled from LED ZEPPELIN's When the Levee Breaks (but secondhand from a rap record). It is one of the most commonly used drum samples – for obvious reasons as it has that very special Bonham sound. The same snare drum sound appears on DM's Get Right With Me. I've also heard that snare on a MASSIVE ATTACK record and many others. I think Violator was the first album that we used whole performance drum loops to create rhythm tracks, as opposed to programmed single drum sounds, and Halo was one of the first tracks we recorded for Violator in fact. Flood and I were listening to quite a lot of hip hop and rap records at the time – those artists were the forerunners when sampling larger sections of rhythms and grooves. And the unusual feels that were created on those albums really influenced Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion.
		Classic John Bonham drum break	Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks	1971	Officially confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
Clean	1990	Bass guitar	Pink Floyd - One Of These Days	1971	Deconfirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Clean does not employ a sample from Pink Floyd: I recognise the similarity but It's not a Floyd sample. It was programmed using a combination of analogue synth and sampled bass gtr.[sic]
Happiest Girl (Pump Up The House Mix)	1990	"Pump up the volume" vocal sample	M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume	1987	Confirmed	This sample appears sporadically in the Happiest Girl (Pump Up The House Mix) as a simple vocal sample played in time with the bass drum.
Sea Of Sin (Sensoria Mix)	1990	N/A	Madonna - Vogue	1990	Unconfirmed
Policy Of Truth (Trancentral Mix)	1990	"I'm not a politician, I'm a businessman" Robert Hoskins vocal sample	The Long Good Friday (film)	1980	Likely
		N/A	My Side of the Story - The "Checkers" Speech, Richard M. Nixon speech broadcast, 1952	1952	Uncomfirmed
World In My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)	1990	N/A	Kraftwerk - Musique Non-Stop	1986	Unconfirmed

Songs Of Faith And Devotion

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Walking In My Shoes	1993	Drum loop	Funkadelic - Nappy Dugout	1973	Unconfirmed
Mercy In You	1993	Drum loop	The Headhunters - God Make Me Funky	1975	Unconfirmed
In Your Room	1993	Drum loop	Rusty Bryant - Fire Eater	1971	Confirmed
		Drum loop	Simtec & Wylie - Bootleggin'	1971	Unconfirmed
		Drum loop	Melvin Bliss - Synthetic Substitution	1973	Unconfirmed
Get Right With Me	1993	Classic John Bonham drum loop	Beastie Boys - Rhymin' And Stealin'	1982	Officially confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
		Classic John Bonham drum break	Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks	1971	Officially confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Never Let Me Down Again employs some drum elements originally from Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks which were sampled second-hand from a rap record (Beastie Boys - Rhymin And Stealin). These samples were later re-purposed for use in Halo and Get Right With Me.
		N/A	N.W.A. - Unspecified song	N/A	Unconfirmed
Higher Love	1993	Drum loop	U2 - So Cruel	1991	Officially confirmed	Wilder indirectly confirmed in a response to a question regarding the sonic similarity between the drums of Depeche Mode's Higher Love and U2's So Cruel in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that a drum loop from U2's So Cruel was utilised by affirming producer Flood assisted in the production of both records (Depeche Mode would later cover this song, see So Cruel): Didn't Flood work on both LP's?.....
My Joy	1993	'Rolling' percussion fill	Beastie Boys - Funky Boss	1992	Confirmed	The 'rolling' percussion fill audible in the intro of the Beastie Boys' Funky Boss is sampled and stretched via resampling to match My Joy's approx. 101 BPM tempo, with light distortion/saturation added to introduce a 'dirty' quality to the part. As it was in the Beastie Boys original, this sample remains in use as a drum fill, appearing sporadically throughout the song.
		Heavy drum loop with built-in bass drum, snare, and programmed hi-hat sequence	Beastie Boys - Pass The Mic	1992	Confirmed	The heavy drum loop present in the brief instrumental break of the Beastie Boys' song Pass The Mic is sampled and streched via resampling to match My Joy's slightly faster BPM. Once matched for tempo, the sample is sliced into two bars, placing the part that originally plays in the second bar (which features a "slurred" quality on the first snare hit) into the first bar, and the remaining content is placed into the second bar. The results are then looped with some light processing added, creating the main drum bed of My Joy. For drum fills, the final beat of the first bar containing a snare hit is sliced and placed prior to the start of the loop. The drums were originally performed by Mike D. (Michael Diamond) during the recording of Check Your Head at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, CA. According to the late MCA (Adam Yauch) in 1999: One memorable thing about recording [Pass The Mic] was the drums. We had heard that [Led Zeppelin drummer] John Bonham had used a really long kick drum on something and thought it would be interesting to put his technique to the test. Taking full advantage of the size of the G-Son live room/basketball court, we wrapped a long piece of cardboard from a refrigerator box around the kick drum and then put a mic at the far end of it. Mike played the beat, and we looped it.
My Joy (Slow Slide Mix)	1993	Drum loop	James Brown - Funky Drummer	1970	Confirmed
		Drum loop	Dexter Wansel - Theme From The Planets	1976	Confirmed
In Your Room (Jeep Rock Mix)	1993	Drum loop	Skull Snaps - It's A New Day	1973	Confirmed
Walking In My Shoes (Extended Twelve Inch Mix)	1993	N/A	The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Language Of Violence	1992	Confirmed
Walking In My Shoes (Grungy Gonads Mix)	1993	Drum loop	Mountain - Long Red	1972	Confirmed
		Orchestral string passage	Ennio Morricone - In Chiesa, from the Ad Ogni Costo (film) soundtrack	1967	Officially confirmed	The string passage in the introduction to this orchestral piece was sampled by the late trip-hop pioneer Jonny Dollar and Portishead member Geoff Barrow for use in the Grungy Gonads Mix. The sample is stretched to match the tempo of Walking In My Shoes, with sixteen manual scratches on the third bar producing an exciting scratch effect. The sample appears in multiple Walking In My Shoes remixes from the period, and has commonly been employed in many performances of this song since its live introduction on the 1993 Devotional Tour. Credit to Christopher Baird for this discovery.
Walking In My Shoes (Random Carpet Mix)	1993	Orchestral string samples	Doctor Zhivago (film)	1965	Unconfirmed

Ultra

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Painkiller	1997	N/A	Vanessa Paradis - The Future Song	1992	Unconfirmed
Useless (Cosmic Blues Mix)	1997	"I want to hear you play some bass" vocal sample	National Lampoon's That's Not Funny, That's Sick (Sketch comedy album)	1977	Likely

Exciter

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Dream On (Remix)	2001	N/A	Kraftwerk - The Robots	1978	Unconfirmed
The Sweetest Condition	2001	N/A	Kraftwerk - Musique Non-Stop	1986	Unconfirmed

Playing The Angel

Playing The Angel does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Sounds Of The Universe

Sounds Of The Universe does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Delta Machine

Delta Machine does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Spirit

Spirit does not contain samples from any identifiable sources.

Recoil

Upon his departure from the group in 1995, Alan Wilder would expand upon the creative sampling techniques he developed through the years as a member of Depeche Mode for his Recoil music project, utilising samples from contemporary music, films, film soundtracks, and samples from his own past work with Depeche Mode.

1 + 2

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
1 & 2	1986	N/A	Depeche Mode – Any Second Now (Altered)	1982	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – If You Want	1984	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – The Sun & The Rainfall	1982	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – "Oberkorn (It's A Small Town)	1982	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – The Great Outdoors	1983	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – Shouldn't Have Done That	1982	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – Tora! Tora! Tora!	1981	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – Shake The Disease (Edit the Shake)	1985	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – Pipeline	1983	Confirmed
		N/A	Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours	1984	Confirmed
		N/A	Kraftwerk – Radioaktivität	1975	Confirmed
		N/A	Kraftwerk – Uran	1975	Confirmed
		N/A	Kraftwerk – Radioland	1975	Confirmed
		N/A	Duet Emmo – Or So It Seems	1983	Confirmed
		N/A	Duet Emmo – Heart of Hearts	1983	Confirmed
		N/A	The Hitmen – Shade in, fade out	1981	Confirmed
		N/A	Hard Corps - Je Suis Passée	1985	Unconfirmed

Hydrology

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Stone	1988	French vocal sample	French train announcer, unidentified source	?	Confirmed	Wilder confirmed in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site that Stone employs a vocal sample of a French train announcer, but he is unsure of its origin.

Bloodline

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Faith Healer	1992	Bell tree sample	Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes	1990	Confirmed	This sample was originally sampled for use in Depeche Mode's World In My Eyes, and is re-used to atmospheric effect in Faith Healer.
		Bell tree sample	Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman	1982	Confirmed	This sample was originally sampled for use in Depeche Mode's World In My Eyes, and is re-used to atmospheric effect in Faith Healer.
		Snare	Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes	1990	Confirmed
		Drum fill elements	Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus	1989	Unconfirmed
		Combination of Xpander 'zap' and Pro One bass sweep	Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence	1990	Confirmed
		"Eyes" vocoder sample	Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes (Dub In My Eyes Mix)	1990	Confirmed
Electro Blues for Bukka White	1992	N/A	David Bowie - Aladdin Sane	1973	Likely
		Bukka White vocal performance	Bukka White - Shake 'Em On Down	1937	Confirmed
Curse	1992	Diamanda Galás vocal sample	Diamanda Galás - Unidentified source	?	Unconfirmed
		Snare	Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance	1990	Confirmed
The Defector	1992	Anthony Hopkins "Closer...", "That is his nature", "No, no, no, no, no" vocal samples	Silence Of The Lambs (film)	1991	Likely
The Defector	1992	N/A	LFO - El Ef Oh	1991	Unconfirmed

Unsound Methods

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Incubus	1997	Percussion elements	Depeche Mode - Clean	1990	Confirmed	This percussive loop was originally recorded for use in Depeche Mode's Clean, and is re-used among other percussive elements for a rhythmic, tribal atmosphere in Incubus.
		Shouting vocal sample	Peter Gabriel - Rhythm Of The Heat	1982	Likely
Last Breath	1997	Ebow guitar sample	Depeche Mode - Walking In My Shoes	1993	Confirmed
		Drum loop	The Incredible Bongo Band - Last Bongo in Belgium	1973	Likely
		N/A	Ernest Gold and Pat Boone - The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine)	1960	Unconfirmed
Shunt	1997	Gated synth element	Piquet - Caress	1996	Confirmed
		Sub bass and bass drum element	Massive Attack - Better Things	1994	Likely
Drifting	1997	Gated synth element	Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas	1985	Confirmed
Stalker	1997	Ambient pads	Peter Gabriel - Birdy (film soundtrack) - Unidentified source song	1985	Unconfirmed
		N/A	The Last Seduction (film)	1994	Unconfirmed
Luscious Apparatus	1997	Introduction guitar chord	The Cure - Club America	1996	Likely
Control Freak	1997	N/A	Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By	1968	Unconfirmed

Liquid

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Black Box (Full)	2000	Orchestral string part	Symphony No. 3 (Górecki)	1992	Unconfirmed
		N/A	Plastikman - Consumed	1998	Unconfirmed
Want	2000	Drum loop	PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?	1998	Likely

SubHuman

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
Allelujah	2007	N/A	Tangerine Dream - Rubycon	1975	Unconfirmed
		Processed and double-tracked guitar "splang" chord sample	Depeche Mode - In Your Room	1993	Confirmed	Wilder describes the recording of this particular part in a Q&A on the official Recoil project site: Affectionately known (to me anyway) as 'Splang' rather than 'twoo, twaa and twee', the sound is derived from a guitar. Each chord was sampled individually and then double-tracked with a second but different guitar sound. There is also a string/choir pad (another backwards sound) playing the same chords in the background.
		Drum loop	Elbow - Fugitive Motel	2003	Unconfirmed
The Killing Ground	2007	Harmonica and drum elements	Talk Talk - The Rainbow	1988	Likely
99 To Life	2007	N/A	Digital Intervention - La Louve	2003	Unconfirmed

Recoil remixes (misc.)

Song	Song release year	Sample Description	Source of sample	Source release year	Status	Notes
In Chains (Alan Wilder Remix)	2011	Ambient pads	Depeche Mode - The Darkest Star	2005	Confirmed
		Orchestral string arrangement	Depeche Mode - I Am You	2001	Confirmed
I Am Undone (Alan Wilder Remix)	2011	Percussion elements	Scott Walker - Manhattan	1995	Unconfirmed
Inheritance	2012	Percussion elements	Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible	2005	Unconfirmed
Dum Dum Girl feat. Shara Worden	2012	Percussion elements	Depeche Mode - Nothing's Impossible	2005	Confirmed