Personal Jesus

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This article is about the song by Depeche Mode. For the album by Nina Hagen, see Personal Jesus (album).
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"Personal Jesus"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Violator
B-side "Dangerous"
Released August 29, 1989
Format Vinyl record (7" and 12"), CD
Recorded May 1989
Genre Alternative dance, New Wave, ethereal wave
Length 3:44 (7"/single version)
5:51 (12" version)
4:55 (album version)
Label Mute Records
Writer(s) Martin Gore
Producer Depeche Mode and Flood
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Little 15"
(1988)		 "Personal Jesus"
(1989)		 "Enjoy the Silence"
(1990)

"Personal Jesus" is Depeche Mode's 23rd UK single, released on August 29, 1989, and the first single from the album Violator. The single reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart[1] and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Since then, the title song has been covered by numerous artists including Gravity Kills, Marilyn Manson, Jerry Williams, Lollipop Lust Kill, Nina Hagen, and Johnny Cash. It is the band's most known song along with Just Can't Get Enough and Enjoy the Silence.

In 2004, "Personal Jesus" was ranked #368 in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[3] and in September 2006 it was voted as one of the "100 Greatest Songs Ever" in Q magazine.

"Personal Jesus" was re-released as a single on May 30, 2011 for the new Depeche Mode remix album Remixes 2: 81–11, with the leading remix by the production team Stargate.

In Germany, the single is the band's longest charting one, staying on the country's Singles Chart for 27 weeks.[4]

Contents

[edit] Inspiration

The song was inspired by the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley. According to songwriter Martin Gore:

It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships; how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?[5]

[edit] Background

In mid-1989, the band began recording in Milan with record producer Flood. The result of this session was the single "Personal Jesus", which featured a catchy bluesy riff and drum-based sound, radically different from anything the band had released thus far. The song became a big hit across the world, and is one of Depeche Mode's most successful songs, along with the following single, "Enjoy the Silence". Whilst not the first Depeche Mode song to feature guitar parts (Behind the Wheel and their cover of Route 66 featured a guitar; Love in Itself from Construction Time Again featured an acoustic guitar), it was the first time a guitar was used as a dominant instrument in a Depeche Mode song.

Prior to its release, advertisements were placed in the personal columns of regional newspapers in the UK with the words “Your own personal Jesus.” Later, the ads included a phone number one could dial to hear the song.[6] The ensuing controversy helped propel the single to number 13 on the UK charts, becoming one of Depeche Mode’s biggest sellers. The single was particularly successful commercially thanks to the fact that it was released six months prior to the album it would later appear on. Up to that point, it was the best selling 12" single in Warner Brothers history.[7]

"Personal Jesus" has a plethora of remixes, almost unprecedented for Depeche Mode at the time. While most other Depeche Mode singles prior to "Personal Jesus" usually had band-made extended mixes, Depeche Mode started to invite more DJs and mixers to the fold, which would become the mainstay for all future Depeche Mode singles. François Kevorkian (who did the mixing for the Violator album, in general) mixed the single version, the "Holier Than Thou Approach", the "Pump Mix", and the lesser-known "Kazan Cathedral Mix" (which was not available on any of the singles), while producer Flood mixed the "Acoustic" version and the "Telephone Stomp Mix" as well as the single version and "Sensual Mix" of the single's B-side "Dangerous", a more disco-electronic track. The "Hazchemix" and "Hazchemix Edit" of "Dangerous" were mixed by Daniel Miller.

The back-cover of "Personal Jesus" features one of the band members and the back-side of a naked woman. The band member she is with depends on whether it is the 7" Vinyl (Martin Gore), the 12" Vinyl (David Gahan), the Cassette (Andrew Fletcher), or the original CD (Alan Wilder). On some copies she does not appear at all, such as the 2004 CD re-release, and on promo copies. On some limited releases, like the GBong17, all four pictures are available.

The Anton Corbijn-directed music video for "Personal Jesus" is his first Depeche Mode video in colour, and features the band in a ranch (suggested to appear as a brothel), placed in the Tabernas Desert of Almería, in Spain. MTV edited out some suggestive mouth movements of Martin Gore during the bridge and replaced it with some other footage from the video.

[edit] Track listings

All songs written by Martin L. Gore

7"
Mute / Bong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus" – 3:44
  2. "Dangerous" – 4:20
7"
Mute / GBong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus" – 3:44
  2. "Dangerous (Hazchemix Edit)" – 3:01
  3. "Personal Jesus (Acoustic)" – 3:26
12"
Mute / 12Bong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach)" – 5:51
  2. "Dangerous (Sensual Mix)" – 5:24
  3. "Personal Jesus (Acoustic)" – 3:26
12"
Mute / L12Bong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)" – 7:47
  2. "Personal Jesus (Telephone Stomp Mix)" – 5:32
  3. "Dangerous (Hazchemix)" – 5:34
CD 3"
Mute / CDBong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach)" – 5:51
  2. "Dangerous (Sensual Mix)" – 5:24
  3. "Personal Jesus (Acoustic)" – 3:26
LCD 3"
Mute / LCDBong17 (UK)
  1. "Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)" – 7:47
  2. "Personal Jesus (Telephone Stomp Mix)" – 5:32
  3. "Dangerous (Hazchemix)" – 5:34
CD
Mute / CDBong17X (EU)
  1. "Personal Jesus" – 3:44
  2. "Dangerous" – 4:20
  3. "Personal Jesus (Acoustic)" – 3:26
  4. "Dangerous (Hazchemix Edit)" – 3:01
  5. "Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach)" – 5:51
  6. "Dangerous (Sensual Mix)" – 5:24
  7. "Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)" – 7:47
  8. "Personal Jesus (Telephone Stomp Mix)" – 5:32
  9. "Dangerous (Hazchemix)" – 5:34

This CD is the 2004 re-release

CD
Sire/Reprise / 21328-2 (US)
  1. "Personal Jesus" – 3:44
  2. "Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach)" – 5:51
  3. "Dangerous (Hazchemix)" – 5:34
  4. "Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)" – 7:47
  5. "Personal Jesus (Acoustic)" – 3:26
  6. "Dangerous (Sensual Mix)" – 5:24
  7. "Personal Jesus (Telephone Stomp Mix)" – 5:32
  8. "Dangerous" – 4:20

US single released September 19, 1989

[edit] Mixes

Francois Kevorkian (Personal Jesus)

  • Single/7" Version
  • Holier Than Thou Approach (12" version)
  • Pump Mix (instrumental)
  • Kazan Cathedral Mix (instrumental)(only available on the limited 4-disc edition of Remixes 81-04)
  • Album Version

Flood (Dangerous)

  • Single Version
  • Sensual Mix

[edit] Charts

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Danish Singles Chart[8] 15
Dutch Singles Chart[9] 62
French Singles Chart[10] 27
German Singles Chart[11] 5
Irish Singles Chart[12] 7
Italian Singles Chart[13] 4
New Zealand RIANZ Top 40 Singles Chart[14] 14
Swedish Singles Chart[15] 17
Swiss Singles Chart[16] 5
UK Singles Chart[17] 13
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 28
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[18] 12
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[18] 3

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Personal Jesus 2011

"Personal Jesus 2011"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Remixes 2: 81–11
Released April 18, 2011
Genre Alternative dance, ethereal wave
Length 3:56
Label Mute Records
Writer(s) Martin Gore
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Fragile Tension / Hole to Feed"
(2009)		 "Personal Jesus '11"
(2011)

"Personal Jesus 2011" is the remixed version of the single, released May 30, 2011. The digital single was released in the UK on April 18, 2011. It was released a day later in the US.

[edit] Tracklistings

CD (Bong43)

  1. "Personal Jesus" (The Stargate Mix) - 3:56
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) - 5:54
  3. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) - 7:25
  4. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) - 5:22
  5. "Personal Jesus" (Sie Medway-Smith Remix) - 6:25

12" vinyl

  1. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) - 5:54
  2. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) - 5:22
  3. "Personal Jesus" (The Stargate Mix) - 3:56
  4. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) - 7:25
  5. "Personal Jesus" (Sie Medway-Smith Remix) - 6:25

Digital Download

  1. "Personal Jesus" (The Stargate Mix) - 3:56
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix Edit) - 3:27

Beatport Exclusive Digital Download

  1. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) - 7:26
  2. "Never Let Me Down Again" (Eric Prydz Remix) - 7:01

Promo CD (PCDBong43)

  1. "Personal Jesus" (The Stargate Mix) - 3:56
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix Edit) - 3:27
  3. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) - 5:54
  4. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) - 7:25
  5. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) - 5:22
  6. "Personal Jesus" (Sie Medway-Smith Remix) - 6:25

[19] [20]

[edit] Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[21] 73
Czech Republic (IFPI)[22] 83
Hungary (Single Top 10)[23] 5
Slovakia (IFPI)[24] 88
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 73
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 119

[edit] Cover versions

[edit] Johnny Cash cover

Johnny Cash recorded "Personal Jesus" for his 2002 album American IV. Producer Rick Rubin asked Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante to re-work an acoustic version of Martin Gore's song, which featured a simple acoustic riff that stripped down the song to a blues style. Frusciante plays guitar on the track, along with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Cash's version of the song was also used as the theme song for the professional wrestler Austin Aries.

[edit] Marilyn Manson cover

"Personal Jesus"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album Lest We Forget: The Best of
Released October 4, 2004
Format Vinyl record 7", 10", CD
Recorded 2004
Genre Industrial rock
Length 4:06
Label Interscope/Nothing
Writer(s) Martin L. Gore
Producer Marilyn Manson and Tim Skold
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
(s)AINT
(2004)		 Personal Jesus
(2004)		 Against All Gods Remix
(2005)
Music sample
"Personal Jesus"

Marilyn Manson's 2004 cover version of "Personal Jesus" appears on the band's best-of compilation, Lest We Forget: The Best of, and was that album's lead single. It was recorded by Marilyn Manson with instrumentation and arrangement by Tim Skold at Manson's studio, Doppelherz Blood Treatment Facility, and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent, a veteran producer who had also frequently worked with Depeche Mode.

The cover does not deviate in any large degree from Depeche Mode's original version, apart from additional guitar distortion. The single was accompanied by a music video directed by Manson and Nathan "Karma" Cox, which features the band members in tableaux vivants accompanied by rear-projection images depicting various images of political figures such as John F. Kennedy, Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, George W. Bush and Fidel Castro.

Like the original version, this 2004 cover was also remixed by other artists. The "Personal Jesus Rude Photo Motor Mix" was produced by Felix Da Housecat, Brian Black and Olivier Grasset, and appears as a b-side on the vinyl versions of the single.

Manson's version of the song is also used as the theme song for professional wrestlers Austin Aries, "Miracle" Mike James, Necro Butcher and Volador Jr..

This version was featured in the trailer to promote the sixth season of Dexter.

[edit] Track listings

Enhanced CD single
  1. Personal Jesus - 4:06
  2. mOBSCENE Replet (Mea Culpa Remix by Bitteren Ende) - 4:35
  3. Personal Jesus (Rude Photo Motor Remix) - 5:50
  4. "Personal Jesus" video
German 3" CD single
  1. Personal Jesus
  2. This Is the New Shit (remix by Sergio Galoyan)
UK 10" and UK 7"
  1. Personal Jesus (LP version)
  2. Personal Jesus (Rude Photo Motor Remix)
UK Enhanced CD single
  1. Personal Jesus - 4:06
  2. This is the New Shit (Invective remix by Obiter Dictum) - 4:25
  3. mOBSCENE Replet (Mea Culpa Remix by Bitteren Ende) - 4:35
  4. "Personal Jesus" video

[edit] Jamelia sample

Singer-songwriter Jamelia recorded "Beware of the Dog" in 2006. The song was based upon a sample of "Personal Jesus". "Beware of the Dog" peaked at No. 10 on the UK charts.

[edit] Hilary Duff sample

Actress and singer Hilary Duff recorded "Reach Out" in 2008. The song was also based upon a sample of "Personal Jesus". "Reach Out" later became No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

[edit] Other covers

[edit] References

  1. ^ Single information from Depeche Mode discography depechemode.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits
  3. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" Rolling Stone; December 9,, 2004
  4. ^ German chart positions for Personal Jesus
  5. ^ Fox, Marisa (4 July 1990). "Pop a la Mode". Spin 6 (4). http://www.tuug.utu.fi/~jaakko/dm/spinmode.html. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  6. ^ "Depeche Mode Personal Jesus" The Inspiration Room. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  7. ^ Personal Jesus 12" single at allmusic.com
  8. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". DanishCharts.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Discografie Depeche Mode". DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Discographie Depeche Mode". LesCharts.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Depeche Mode / Single". MusicLine.de. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  12. ^ Irish charts search. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 August 2011. Note: Type 'Personal Jesus' to "Search by Song Title" to retrieve the single info from the database.
  13. ^ "Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (Song)". ItalianCharts.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  14. ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Depeche+Mode&titel=Personal+Jesus&cat=s
  15. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Discography Depeche Mode". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  17. ^ "Chart Stats: Depeche Mode". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  18. ^ a b "Depeche Mode > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  19. ^ Personal Jesus '11 release information (in Spanish) ondasynthpop.blogspot.com. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  20. ^ Personal Jesus '11 release information shout.ru. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus 2011 – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  22. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201117 into search. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  23. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 10 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  24. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201117 into search. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  25. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus 2011 – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 June 2011.

[edit] External links

Depeche Mode
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"Dreaming of Me" · "New Life" · "Just Can't Get Enough" · "See You" · "The Meaning of Love" · "Leave in Silence" · "Get the Balance Right!" · "Everything Counts" · "Love, in Itself" · "People Are People" · "Master and Servant" · "Blasphemous Rumours"/"Somebody" · "Shake the Disease" · "It's Called a Heart" · "Stripped" · "A Question of Lust" · "A Question of Time" · "But Not Tonight (US)" · "Strangelove" · "Never Let Me Down Again" · "Behind the Wheel" · "Little 15" · "Strangelove '88 (US)" · "Everything Counts (Live)" · "Personal Jesus" · "Enjoy the Silence" · "Policy of Truth" · "World in My Eyes" · "I Feel You" · "Walking in My Shoes" · "Condemnation" · "In Your Room" · "Barrel of a Gun" · "It's No Good" · "Home" · "Useless" · "Only When I Lose Myself" · "Dream On" · "I Feel Loved" · "Freelove" · "Goodnight Lovers" · "Enjoy the Silence '04" · "Precious" · "A Pain That I'm Used To" · "Suffer Well" · "John the Revelator"/"Lilian" · "Martyr" · "Wrong" · "Peace" · "Fragile Tension"/"Hole to Feed" · "Personal Jesus 2011"
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