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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).

"Personal Jesus"
Song
B-side"Dangerous"

"Personal Jesus" is a song by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 28 August 1989 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, Violator (1990). The single reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart[4] and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] The song was the first single to make the US Top 40 for the band since their 1984 single "People Are People" and was their first gold-certified single in the US (quickly followed by the band's subsequent single, "Enjoy the Silence").[6]

In Germany, the single is one of the band's longest-charting songs, staying on the country's singles chart for 23 weeks.[7]

In 2004, "Personal Jesus" was ranked No. 368 in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[8] 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 30 May 2011 for the new Depeche Mode remix album Remixes 2: 81–11, with the leading remix by the production team Stargate.

Since its release, the song has been covered by numerous artists including Gravity Kills, Marilyn Manson, Sammy Hagar, Jerry Williams, Lollipop Lust Kill, Nina Hagen, Richard Cheese, Johnny Cash, and Mindless Self Indulgence.

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 Presley 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?[9]

Composition

"Personal Jesus" is written in the key of F♯ minor with a tempo of 130 beats per minute in 12
8 time. The vocals in the song span from A3 to F♯5.[10][11]

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 single "Enjoy the Silence". Although 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.[12] The ensuing controversy helped propel the single to No. 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.[13]

"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 (Dave Gahan), the Cassette (Andy 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 photos are available plus one photo of the full group (Martin is hugging the woman).

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.

Track listings

All songs written by Martin Gore

Mixes

Francois Kevorkian

  • Personal Jesus (Single/7" Version)
  • Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach/12" version)
  • Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)
  • Personal Jesus (Kazan Cathedral Mix)(only available on the limited 4-disc edition of Remixes 81–04 and Just Say Da (Volume IV of the "Just Say Yes" series))
  • Personal Jesus (Album Version)

Flood

  • Personal Jesus (Telephone Stomp Mix)
  • Dangerous (Single Version)
  • Dangerous (Sensual Mix)

Daniel Miller

  • Dangerous (Hazchemix)
  • Dangerous (Hazchemix Edit)

Charts

Weekly charts

Appearances

Personal Jesus 2011

"Personal Jesus"
Song
B-side

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

Track listings

CD (Bong43)

  1. "Personal Jesus" (The Stargate Mix) – 3:57
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) – 5:57
  3. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) – 7:26
  4. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) – 5:24
  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) – 3:57
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix Edit) – 3:27
  3. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) – 5:57
  4. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) – 7:26
  5. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) – 5:24
  6. "Personal Jesus" (Sie Medway-Smith Remix) – 6:25[31][32]

iTunes Store

  1. "Personal Jesus" (Alex Metric Remix) – 5:57
  2. "Personal Jesus" (Eric Prydz Remix) – 7:26
  3. "Personal Jesus" (M.A.N. Remix) – 5:24
  4. "Personal Jesus" (Sie Medway-Smith Remix) – 5:56

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[33] 73
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders Dance)[34] 32
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[35] 43
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia Dance)[36] 43
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[37] 62
Hungary (Single Top 40)[38] 5
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[39] 71
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 73
UK Singles (OCC)[41] 119

Cover versions

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. It appears as the B-side to another cover, Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt".

Marilyn Manson cover

"Personal Jesus"
Song

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 Sköld 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 Benito Mussolini, 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. It has been a staple of the band's live shows as well.

Track listing

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 Mini CD single
  1. "Personal Jesus" – 4:06
  2. "This Is the New Shit" (remix by Sergio Galoyan) – 4:28
UK 10" and UK 7" vinyl
  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

Jamelia sample

Singer-songwriter Jamelia recorded the song "Beware of the Dog" in 2006, which sampled "Personal Jesus". "Beware of the Dog" peaked at No. 10 on the UK charts.

Hilary Duff sample

Actress and singer Hilary Duff recorded "Reach Out" in 2008. The song was also based upon a sample of "Personal Jesus".[42] "Reach Out" later became No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Other covers

References

  1. ^ Cranna, Ian (April 1990). "Insidious". Q: 77.
  2. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 286. ISBN 978-1-8435-3105-0. Given that, by now. Depeche Mode had become a stadium phenomenon in the States. Violator seemed an oddly introspective way to sell six million units (the synth-rock single "Personal Jesus" was the exception to the rule).
  3. ^ Michaud, Sébastien (2001). Depeche Mode: Éthique synthétique (in French). Camion Blanc. p. 244. ISBN 978-2-9101-9626-4.
  4. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Depeche Mode – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. ^ Giles, Jeff (12–26 July 1990). "Depeche Mode Interview". Rolling Stone (582–583): 60–65.
  7. ^ "Depeche Mode – Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Musicline.de. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. ^ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500) at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 August 2006). Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Fox, Marisa (4 July 1990). "Pop a la Mode". Spin. 6 (4). Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  10. ^ "BPM for 'personal' by depeche". Songbpm. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Personal Jesus By Depeche Mode – Digital Sheet Music". EMI Music Publishing. Musicnotes. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  12. ^ Macleod, Duncan (26 July 2007). "Depeche Mode Personal Jesus". The Inspiration Room. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  13. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  14. ^ "Fw: ARIA Charts Peak". Imgur.com. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 6614." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9210." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ a b c "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Personal Jesus". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  20. ^ a b "I singoli più venduti del 1989" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  21. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  23. ^ "PERSONAL JESUS – Depeche Mode" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  24. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  25. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  26. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  27. ^ CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending MARCH 3, 1990 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 October 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  28. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". Tracklisten.
  29. ^ "Italian single certifications – Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2014" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Personal Jesus" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  30. ^ "American single certifications – Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus". Recording Industry Association of America.
  31. ^ mOEnias (1 April 2011). "News... Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus '11 (Bong 43) "2011"" (in Spanish). Ondasynthpop.blogspot.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  32. ^ Depeche Mode – "Personal Jesus 2011" at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 April 2011). Shout.ru. 5 April 2011.
  33. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus 2011" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  34. ^ "Ultratop 50 Dance – 04/06/2011" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  35. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus 2011" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  36. ^ "Ultratop 50 Dance – 07/05/2011" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  37. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 23. týden 2011 in the date selector. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  38. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  39. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201122 into search. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  40. ^ "Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus 2011". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  41. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  42. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (16 November 2008). "Hilary Duff Talks New LP, Depeche Mode Backstage At 'Total Finale Live'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
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