Just Cant Get Enough (1981)
DAVE GAHAN: I was maybe 18, almost 19.
EW: Was that your first real music video?
It’s hard to tell if those are your real girlfriends, or just good casting.
Credit: Anton Corbijn
DG: I think it was, yeah.
The video leaves a lot to be desired.
When I look at it I’m like,[covering his eyes]“Oh my God.”
But that’s kind of what videos were thenlow budget.
And the little performance parts are kind of cool.
The acting stuff’s terrible of course.
And it probably was true!
I think that song has kept him in cornflakes for many years.
We supported Elton John at a number of big stadium shows.
And Rod Stewart, which was bizarre, but the song became a no.
We were growing up, and it was all happening in the spotlight.
Too much fun, actually[laughs].
DG: With [1987’s]Music for the Masses, we were being pretty arrogant.
It was like a cult following.
[Legendary documentarian D.A.]
DG: He became like the visual side of what we did.
You’re gonna wear a crown.
Just a piano and these very slow, ballad-y couple of verses.
They said, “Get out of the studio and come back in two days.”
Then he said “Dave, go sing,” and I did.
We literally recorded it in a couple of days.
DG: I think so.
England is our home country and we’ve had continued success thereto a limit.
And Brits are weird, they don’t really forgive you for those early shortcomings[laughs].
Is that just a legend?
It’s a great line!
EW: John Lennon famously caused a firestorm when he said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
Was there any blowback from you taking the Lord’s name in vain, so to speak?
DG: There was definitely some mutterings of complaint.
And we were like,“Where are yourmindsat?
You talk about us being weird this sexual suggestion of a horse’s ass…"[laughs].
I don’t know what they were thinking.
There were some shots that were removed, but some of them stayed.
That’s like Elvis asking, of course you let him do it!”
And it’s a great version, just fantastic.
But it really propelled the song to another dimension, and so did Manson’s version of it.
Barrel of a Gun (1997)
DG: This was a weird time for me.
I wasn’t feeling particularly confident during the making ofUltra, and I had some rough times during it.
That was kind of the beginning of the end for me.
And I do want to be here."
Martin was spot-on with his lyrics.
We didn’t go on tour with that album, thank God.
I think I would have died.
At that point I was struggling just to sing.
So I was allowed that time to get it together, and I’m grateful for that.
you might’t live in New York without being part of it.
I could step into it, and step out.
Heaven (2013)
EW: This was a no.
DG: It’s a great phrase.
The line really spoke to me.
That’s what it is: Enjoy what you have here.
You’re not going to be here forever, but the songs stay forever.
Wheres the Revolution (2016)
EW: This one is pretty overtly political.
No, of course not, it’s never gonna happen."
Where’s the revolution, and what does it mean to you?
What are your choices?"
And that’s what New York is, a melting pot for all these different races and religions.
We all live on this little island together and somehow get on, some days.
But most of the time it’s proven to have worked, right?
So I don’t know what the fk he’s talking about.
I feel a little bit of shame as well.
Was I going to help her?
Of course I’m going to help her!
And then she smiled at me.
I see it on the subway, too.
It’s just shameful to me.
And of course the majority of people are all feeling the same.
I don’t see that kind of hatred or racial intimidation.
But you have to call it what it is, and not paint it as something else.
