9.2bn all-time streams (9 May '26)

Pioneering English band Depeche Mode took the underground electronic club sounds of the early '80s and expanded them to stadium-sized levels within a decade, becoming one of the best-selling international groups in the process.

One of the first acts to establish a musical identity based completely around the use of synthesizers, they debuted with a bouncy electro-pop spirit which gradually developed into a darker, more dramatic synth-rock style that ultimately positioned them as one of the most quintessential alternative bands of their era.