“Blasphemous Rumours” by Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode’s “Blasphemous Rumours” is a tale of bad luck, irony and religion. The central character is a sixteen-year old girl who, at the beginning of the track, slits her own wrists in an attempt to commit suicide. Upon realizing that she was unsuccessful, she thanks God that she is still alive. Later in the song, we find that she is now eighteen and committed to “Jesus Christ”. During this time she is so severely injured in a car accident that she ends up on life support. This boil downs to the singer spreading “blasphemous rumours” based on his belief that the Most High is some type of a prankster who derives pleasure from people’s misfortunes.
Facts about “Blasphemous Rumours”
This song was released via Mute Records on 29 October 1984. It is actually one half of a double-A side, along with another track entitled Somebody. And the tune was written by Martin L. Gore.
Meanwhile the producers of “Blasphemous Rumors” are the entirety of Depeche Mode, alongside Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller.
This song is featured on the 1984 Depeche Mode album Some Great Reward. And it was made public by Mute Records.
The reason this track was released as a double-A side is due to the controversial nature of the lyrics. In other words, Depeche Mode experienced backlash, specifically from some religious folk, when they let it be known that this track was coming out as a single.
Clive Richardson directed the music video to “Blasphemous Rumors”, which did in fact come out in 1984 but wasn’t uploaded to Depeche Mode’s YouTube account until late 2018.
