Dave Gahan

David Gahan (/ɡɑːn/ GAHN; né Callcott; born 9 May 1962) is an English singer best known as the lead singer of electronic music band Depeche Mode since their formation in 1980. Noted for his commanding stage presence and unique baritone voice, Gahan was ranked at No. 73 on Q magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Singers" and No. 27 on its list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen". As a member of Depeche Mode, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Gahan's solo albums include Paper Monsters (2003) and Hourglass (2007). He also contributed lyrics and sang lead vocals on the Soulsavers albums The Light the Dead See (2012), Angels & Ghosts (2015) and Imposter (2021).

Gahan was born David Callcott on 9 May 1962 in Epping, Essex, the son of working-class parents. His mother, Sylvia, was a conductor on London buses,^{[citation needed]} while his father, Len Callcott, was a bus driver of Malaysian descent. When he was six months old, his father left the family; his parents divorced two years later. His mother moved him and his older sister Sue (born 1960) to Basildon, Essex, after marrying her second husband, Shell Oil administrator Jack Gahan; Jack adopted Susan and David. Gahan has two younger half-brothers named Peter (born 1966) and Phil (born 1967). While growing up, he and his sister were under the impression that their adoptive father was their biological father.

When Gahan was nine years old, Jack Gahan died. Later, Gahan met his biological father, Len Callcott. In a 1987 interview, Gahan recalled this experience: "I'll never forget that day. When I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mum's house. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad. I remember I said that was impossible because my father was dead. How was I supposed to know who that man was? From that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again, forever this time."

While attending Barstable School in Basildon, Gahan started skipping school, getting into trouble with the police, and was suspended from school before ending up in juvenile court three times for offences ranging from joyriding and graffiti to criminal damage and theft. He enjoyed the thrill of stealing cars, driving them, and then setting them on fire. He said of this time in his life, "I was pretty wild. I loved the excitement of nicking a motor, screeching off and being chased by the police. Hiding behind the wall with your heart beating gives you a real kick – 'will they get you?'"

During his final year of school, Gahan applied for a job as an apprentice fitter with North Thames Gas. His probation officer told him to be honest during the interview, leading him to tell the interviewer that he had a criminal record but claim he was a "reformed character," which resulted in him being refused the job. He then trashed his probation officer's office in retaliation, for which he was ordered to spend every Saturday for several weeks at an attendance centre in Romford for one year. He recalled, "You had to work. I remember doing boxing, stuff like that. You had to have your hair cut. It was every weekend, so you were deprived of your weekend and it seemed like forever. I was told very clearly that my next thing was detention centre. To be honest, music saved me."

In March 1980, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke formed the band Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals and guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. Clarke and Fletcher soon switched to synthesizers. The same year, Gahan joined the band after Clarke heard him perform David Bowie's "'Heroes'". The band was soon renamed Depeche Mode, a name suggested by Gahan after he had come across a fashion magazine called Dépêche-mode. A new wave/synth-pop pioneer of the early 1980s, Depeche Mode have released 15 studio albums, four greatest hits compilations and two remix albums. The band has achieved global sales in excess of 100 million records. Four of the band's singles have reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart: "Enjoy the Silence" (1990), "Policy of Truth" (1990), "I Feel You" (1993), and "Walking in My Shoes" (1993).

In a 2003 interview, Gahan shared that "During the making of Exciter, sometimes I felt a bit frustrated that there was a lack of experimentation." This led him, in 2004, to tell his bandmates that he wanted to write half of the songs on their next album, and there was "no way" he could be involved in the band without contributing as a songwriter. Eventually, there was a compromise, and three of Gahan's songs appeared on 2005's Playing the Angel: "Suffer Well" (nominated for a Grammy award), "I Want It All" and "Nothing's Impossible". "Suffer Well" was released as a single in 2006, reaching No. 12 in the UK. Gahan also wrote the lyrics to the B-side "Oh Well", although the music was written by Martin Gore. It was their first writing collaboration.