Little 15

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"Little 15"
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Template:Infobox song/link by Depeche Mode
from the album Music for the Masses
B-side
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Recorded1987
Studio
GenreNew wave[1]
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LabelMute
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Martin L. Gore
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]
  • Depeche Mode
  • David Bascombe
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"Behind the Wheel"
(1987) 		"Little 15"
(589) 		"Everything Counts (live)"
(1989)
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"Little 15" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released in May 1988 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987).

Influenced by the classical music composer Michael Nyman, "Little 15" was the only single released during Depeche Mode's time with Mute Records not to be assigned a "BONG" catalog number. Instead, it was assigned the catalogue number "LITTLE15", as it was released after their single "Behind the Wheel" (1987), designated "BONG15".

The song saw moderate chart success in some of the eight European countries in which it was released, the highest of which was number 16 in West Germany.

Recording

Depeche Mode's songwriter, Martin Gore, had prepared demos of songs he thought would be appropriate for their new album in mid-1986 at his home studio in London,[2] and among them was a demo of the song that would become "Little 15".[3] Although Gore wrote the demos for the album's songs, it was left to band member and music producer Alan Wilder to arrange, produce and record the songs into the final versions of the songs that would appear on the album.[3] "Little 15" was one of the last songs to come together during the recording sessions for Music for the Masses, as Wilder struggled to determine how to structure and arrange the track[4][5] until the band went to see the film A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), after which Wilder decided to try to arrange the song based on the film's soundtrack by Michael Nyman.[4] Wilder found that once he arranged the song in that style, the song came together easily.[4] Co-producer David Bascombe called the album version of the track "classic Wilder" in its use of orchestral samples,[5] which was quite different than the original demo.[3] Wilder described the musical sequence that pervades the song as "hypnotic".[4]

"Little 15" was recorded at Konk studio in LondonLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. and mixed at Puk Recording Studios in Gjerlev, Denmark.[6]

Release

Originally, the single was intended only to be released in West Germany and France,Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. but was instead released in eight European countries: the United Kingdom, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France.[7] Released by Mute Records on 7" and 12" vinyl, the song's title contributed to its special catalogue number of "LITTLE15".Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Up until that point, every Depeche Mode single release by Mute Records in the United Kingdom had been assigned a "BONG" catalogue number designation,Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. but the previous single, "Behind the Wheel", was released with catalogue number "BONG15" the year before.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The official release date of the single is slightly disputed: Depeche Mode's official web site lists the release date as 16 May 1988,[7] while the Depeche Mode biography Depeche Mode: Monument lists the release date as 18 May 1988.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Gore said that, when Mute France asked for the song to be a single, "we just looked at them and said 'You're mad, 'Little 15' is not a single', ... and was it a massive hit? No! Was it a hit? No!"[8]

"Little 15" saw moderate chart success: in the United Kingdom, it reached number 60;[9] in West Germany it hit number 16; in Austria it reached number 25; and in Switzerland it entered the Top 20 and reached number 18.[10]

There was no remix of the song at the time of release, however, there are two piano instrumental B-sides, both performed by Alan Wilder.[4]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The first is "Stjärna", Swedish for 'star', but it was mislabelled as "St. Jarna" on the label.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. In 1993, Gore called "Stjärna" his favourite Depeche Mode instrumental that he'd ever written.[11] The 12" single also contains a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata#14".Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. According to his website, Wilder did not intend for his performance to be recorded and released, as he was performing the song as a warm-up, but Gore stealthily recorded it.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Wilder did not perform the piece perfectly, with a slight error occurring near the end of the song.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

Music video

The music video for "Little 15" was one of the few not directed by Anton Corbijn from this period.[12] According to Wilder, they chose Martyn Atkins, who had designed many of their album and single covers to this point in time, to direct this video only because they thought it would be interesting to give the assignment to someone new.[12]

Reception

In a positive review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett highlighted the song's "subtle orchestrations" and "David Gahan's subtly impassioned performance" and also observed that "it's nowhere near as immediate or catchy as 'Never Let Me Down Again' or 'Behind the Wheel'."[13]

Other releases

"Little 15" appeared in its original form on The Singles 86–98 (1998) and as a remix on Remixes 81–04 (2004).

Track listing

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Charts

Weekly charts

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Chart (1988) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[14] 59
Italy Airplay (Music & Media)[15] 18
UK Indie (OCC)[16] 4

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top 40 New Wave Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bar-David, Gerard (October 1987). "Mode d'Emploi". Best. No. 231.
  3. ^ a b c Vaughn George and David Bascombe (Part 1) on YouTube
  4. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hallard, Ross (director); Lane, Phil Michael (director) (2006). Depeche Mode: 1987–88 (Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes) (DVD). Mute Records. OCLC 70210313.
  5. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Rowe, Felix (10 April 2025). "Making Depeche Mode's Music For The Masses". Classic Pop. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Music for the Masses (CD booklet). Depeche Mode (remastered ed.). Sire Records. 2006. R2 77591.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DM Archives | Discography / Singles: Little 15". depechemode.com. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Olexova, Michaela (September 1998). "The Singles 86>98 by Martin Gore". Bong 37. No. 37. pp. 18–19.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Depeche Mode Little 15". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ask Martin". Bong. No. 18. 1993. pp. 10–11.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Q+A / Depeche Mode / MFTM". Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  13. ^ AllMusic review
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 24. 11 June 1988. p. 23. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Playlist Report: RAI – Italy" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 27. 2 July 1988. p. 5.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Indie Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 June 1988. p. 22. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.

Works cited

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