Shake the Disease

"Shake the Disease"
Cover artwork by Tamara Capellaro
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album The Singles 81→85
B-side"Flexible"
Released29 April 1985
RecordedFebruary 1985
StudioHansa Mischraum (Berlin)
Genre
Length4:49
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody"
(1984) 		"Shake the Disease"
(1985) 		"It's Called a Heart"
(1985)
Music video
"Shake the Disease" on YouTube

"Shake the Disease" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as a single on 29 April 1985 and intended for inclusion on two their 1985 compilation albums, The Singles 81→85 and Catching Up with Depeche Mode.

Background

Depeche Mode had finished 1984 riding relative success, and had live performance commitments in March, April and July of 1985.[2] At the end of 1984, they knew they would be releasing a singles collection in 1985 instead of releasing an all new album, and as such went into Hansa Studios in West Germany in February 1985 to record a new single.[3]

Band member Alan Wilder felt this song captured the essence of the band, saying that "there's a certain edge to what we do that can make people think twice about things. If we've got a choice between calling a song 'Understand Me' or 'Shake the Disease', we'll call it 'Shake the Disease'. There's a lot of perversity and innuendo in our lyrics, but nothing direct."[4] Described at the time as one of the band's favorite of their entire repertoire, the production also saw the rise of some of the tensions between the band and their longtime producer Daniel Miller.[5]

Release and promotion

Released on 29 April 1985,[6] "Shake the Disease" reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart,[7] while charting within the top 10 in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and West Germany.[8][9] In France, it peaked at number 13, spending six months in the top 50.[10] The track also reached number 33 on the Hot Dance/Disco 12 Inch Singles Sales chart in the United States.[11] It reached number one on the KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1985.[12]

In the UK, Mute Records released the single on 7", 12" and limited 12" vinyl releases, with catalogue numbers 7BONG8, 12BONG8 and L12BONG8, respectively.[5] The single's b-side, "Flexible", was remixed by Flood and Miller.[5] The limited edition remix was done by John Fryer.[5] In West Germany, Intercord Records released the singles (catalogue numbers INT 111.827, INT 126.828 and INT 126.829, respectively), and first editions were pressed in red vinyl (7") and marbled grey vinyl (12").[13]

"Shake the Disease" was included on Depeche Mode's two "greatest hits" albums, The Singles 81→85, which was released in the UK, and Catching Up with Depeche Mode, which was released in the US.[14]

Depeche Mode performed "Shake the Disease" on the West German TV show Peter Illmanns Treff (P.I.T.) on 15 May 1985.[13]

In 2017, Billboard magazine included "Shake the Disease" on their list of Top 20 Depeche Mode songs, coming in at number 10.[15]

Music video

The music video is the first Depeche Mode video directed by Peter Care, and features a camera trick that makes the band members appear to slowly tip over.[16][17] It was shot in the Docklands area of London, prominently featuring the cranes that were still in situ at that time. Between May and July 1985 the video was performed on 10 television programs across Europe.[18]

The video was later released on Some Great Videos (1985) and Video Singles Collection (2016).

Later releases

The original studio version or remixes of the song appear on later compilation albums including Greatest Hits (Depeche Mode album) (1987), and The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006).

Live versions of "Shake the Disease" appeared on 101 (1989), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), Recording the Angel (2006), and on some releases of Recording the Universe (2009-2010).

Reception

AllMusic reviewer Dave Thompson praised the song, saying, "with its plump melody and stirring refrain, it's a haunting and soulful number that deserved better than its #18 chart position."[19]

Track listings

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b Bein, Kat (20 September 2017). "The 20 Best Depeche Mode Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  2. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 115, 422.
  3. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 115.
  4. ^ Doole, Kerry (July 1989). "The Class of 101". Music Express. Vol. 13, no. 138. pp. 40–44. ISSN 0848-9645.
  5. ^ a b c d Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 117.
  6. ^ "Depeche Mode: The Archives: Shake the Disease". Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Shake the Disease". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  12. ^ "List of KROQ Top 106.7 Countdowns". RadioHitlist.
  13. ^ a b Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 118.
  14. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 126.
  15. ^ Bein, Kat (20 September 2017). "The 20 Best Depeche Mode Songs: Critic's Picks".
  16. ^ Miller, Jonathan (5 November 2009). Stripped: Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-026-7. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  17. ^ Baker, Trevor (5 November 2009). Dave Gahan - Depeche Mode & The Second Coming. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN 978-1-78418-955-6. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. ^ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Shake the Disease : Depeche Mode". Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  21. ^ "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 24. 17 June 1985. p. 10. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  22. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  23. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Depeche Mode" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  24. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  27. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  • Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-593-4.
  • Thomas, Dave (1986). Depeche Mode. Bobcat Books. ISBN 0-7119-0804-4.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.