Never Let Me Down Again

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Notes

In this 1988 radio interview, Andy Fletcher says that, although he can't give too much away about the meanings of Martin Gore's songs, he does reveal that 'Never Let Me Down Again' is "just about innocence."

Martin Gore in Rolling Stone magazine, 1993:

"There was one instance regarding 'Never Let Me Down Again' when two separate people came up to me after a show one night and said, "I really like that song". One of them thought it was a gay anthem and the other one thought it was a drug anthem. They both loved the song, so that's fine by me."

Martin Gore in Bong issue no. 37, 1998:

"I think that 'Never Let Me Down Again' is one of our classic old time tracks."

Depeche Mode also said in the 2006 Music For The Masses Remaster DVD documentary:

Martin Gore: "'Never Let Me Down Again' was a stand-out track. It was especially effective when we played live."

Dave Gahan: "'Never Let Me Down Again' was a big song for us, and it still is live."

Andy Fletcher: "That was not a big hit, yet it became a real legendary Depeche Mode song."

Dave Bascombe: "'Never Let Me Down Again' was the one I was really, really pleased with. I was very involved with the drum sounds on that. The guitar intro, actually, was an accident. It was just down to the sequencers we were using in those days. That guitar was sampled, and it ran on the counting. That was the start of the track, but it wasn't supposed to be, and we just all went, "Oh, that's great!". So that was a happy accident. And I have always liked the track, and I was really pleased with the way it turned out."

Alan Wilder told Electricity Club in 2011:

Q: There was an article featuring producer Dave Bascombe which said that you used an EDP Wasp on 'Music For The Masses'?

A: Yes, that's true, it was used to create the famous bass sequencer parts in the Aggro mix of 'Never Let Me Down Again'. I think we used the Wasp and Spider sequencer and then probably sampled the result, as it isn't MIDI controllable. We may have been able to sequence it using cv/gate – I can't quite remember.

When Depeche Mode was interviewed about the songs on the '101' CD for the April 1989 issue of French magazine 'Best', Dave Gahan said (translated from French):

"For me, this is one of the most intense moments during the concert, firstly because this track has a very strong emotional charge, and every time I play it the waving goes well with the crowd. In addition, we were heading towards the end of the show and during this song, the stadium was on fire. When I saw the number of people there, I felt like crying. It was very moving."

Alan Wilder also wrote in his 86-98 editorial in 1998:

"Primarily programmed at Alan's house, the basic demo was restructured to emphasise the chorus in an attempt to improve the overall flow of the track. It displays a blend of distinctive musical components and devices - some old Mode and some making their debut. Most notably, 'Never Let Me Down' illustrated the inaugural use of sections of live performance as opposed to just single notes being sampled and manipulated - best demonstrated by the distinctive opening guitar riff, which was originally played by Martin then heavily processed using a number of effects. There was also significant use of real orchestral sounds such as strings and horns as well as Led Zeppelin drum samples to flesh out the backing. Says Alan: "It also stood out as an obvious single and suggested a 'Stripped'-like feel. It has a very definite anthemic quality which is especially demonstrated when the song is performed live and the whole audience wave their hands in unison at the end - a Depeche high-point I think.""

Fan Peter Harper wrote on the HOME forum in 2003:

"I once asked Martin Gore about the fact that [Never Let Me Down Again's] guitar intro was borrowed by the band 'Third Bass' on their track "Wordz Of Wizdom, Pt. 2". After Depeche Mode heard it they were impressed with the way that it had been reversed and distorted the way 'Third Bass' did. So Depeche Mode knicked it back off the 'Third Bass' record, and the new distorted and reversed sample was added to the version of 'Never Let Me Down Again' that was performed in 1990 [on the World Violation tour], and it works really well. To those who don't know what to look for: its in the aggro part of the song, it's quite loud in the mix - it's very staggered. You probably need to hear the 'Third Bass' track to really notice, it's very prominent on that."

Lyrics

Lyrics


Never Let Me Down Again

I'm taking a ride

With my best friend

I hope he never lets me down again

He knows where he's taking me

Taking me where I want to be

I'm taking a ride

With my best friend


We're flying high

We're watching the world pass us by

Never want to come down

Never want to put my feet back down

On the ground


I'm taking a ride

With my best friend

I hope he never lets me down again

Promises me I'm safe as houses

As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers

I hope he never lets me down again

We're flying high

We're watching the world pass us by

Never want to come down

Never want to put my feet back down

On the ground

We're flying high

We're watching the world pass us by

Never want to come down

Never want to put my feet back down

On the ground


Never let me down


See the stars, they're shining bright

Everything's alright tonight


Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©1987 Grabbing Hands Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dates with available recordings of Never Let Me Down Again

There are currently 767 recordings of Never Let Me Down Again available.

Dates where Never Let Me Down Again was played

1987-1988 Music For The Masses Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 101 times during this tour.

1990 World Violation Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 88 times during this tour.

1993 Devotional Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 96 times during this tour.

1994 Exotic Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 60 times during this tour.

1997 Ultra Parties

Never Let Me Down Again was played 2 times during this tour.

1998 The Singles Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 65 times during this tour.

2001 Exciter Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 85 times during this tour.

2003 Paper Monsters Tour (Dave Gahan solo)

Never Let Me Down Again was played 71 times during this tour.

2003 "A Night With Martin L. Gore" (Martin L. Gore solo)

  • Never Let Me Down Again was not played during this tour.

2005-2006 Touring The Angel

Never Let Me Down Again was played 123 times during this tour.

2009-2010 Tour Of The Universe

Never Let Me Down Again was played 104 times during this tour.

2013-2014 Delta Machine Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 107 times during this tour.

2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour

Never Let Me Down Again was played 132 times during this tour.