Heaven (Depeche Mode song)

"Heaven" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as the lead single from their thirteenth studio album, Delta Machine (2013). Written by Martin Gore and produced by Ben Hillier, the song was world-premiered on KROQ's morning show Kevin and Bean on 30 January 2013.^[4] The single was released digitally in most territories on 31 January 2013, and physically on 1 February.

"Heaven"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Delta Machine
B-side	"All That's Mine"
Released	31 January 2013 (2013-01-31)
Genre	Synth-rock[1] soft rock[2]
Length	4:03
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)	Ben Hillier
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Personal Jesus 2011" (2011) "Heaven" (2013) "Soothe My Soul" (2013)
Music video
"Heaven" on YouTube

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

In the United Kingdom, "Heaven" was released digitally on 17 March 2013 and physically the following day. The B-side "All That's Mine" was written by Dave Gahan and Kurt Uenala. An accompanying music video for "Heaven" was directed by Timothy Saccenti and premiered on VEVO on 1 February 2013.

In June 2013, the single was certified gold by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI), denoting downloads exceeding 15,000 units in Italy.^[5] In the UK, by contrast, the single reached #60, the first initial single from a Depeche Mode album to fail to reach the UK Top 40.^{[6][lower-alpha 1]}

Background and composition

According to Martin Gore in an interview "'Heaven' was written on a piano. I had all the chords, and everything all worked out on the piano and the whole vocal melody, and the lyrics worked out before I went anywhere near a computer."^[7] Additionally, Andy Fletcher also says that the demo wasn't too different to the final and, "Pretty much, apart from Dave's voice instead of Martin's voice, the actual finished song is pretty similar [to the demo]."^[7]

Dave Gahan has expressed his appreciation to the song in the same interview, expressing, "Of all the incredible songs that Martin has written over the years that I have been lucky enough to sing and perform, once in a while a song comes along—hopefully I'll write one of those myself one day—that's something I have to sing. It's something I want to sing." He further states, "To me, 'Heaven' is one of the reasons why I still make music."^[7]

Music video

The music video for "Heaven" was directed by Timothy Saccenti and filmed in November 2012 at the Marigny Opera House, a former Catholic church in New Orleans's Faubourg Marigny.^[8][9] Previously, Saccenti had directed the "In-Studio Collage 2012" video for "Angel" that premiered at the band's press conference in Paris on 23 October 2012.^[10][11]

The video's look was inspired by Terrence Malick's 2011 film The Tree of Life, with its beautiful yet twisted, dark imagery. "Mainly it's a performance video, which we haven't done in a long time", Gahan stated.^[12] The video debuted on VEVO on 1 February 2013.^[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted

CD and iTunes single^[13][14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Heaven" (album version)		4:03
2.	"All That's Mine" (deluxe album version)	Dave Gahan, Kurt Uenala	3:23
Total length:			7:26

CD maxi single and iTunes EP^[13][15]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heaven" (album version)	4:03
2.	"Heaven" (Owlle remix)	4:48
3.	"Heaven" (Steps to Heaven rmx)	6:07
4.	"Heaven" (Blawan remix)	5:43
5.	"Heaven" (Matthew Dear vs. Audion vocal mix)	5:59

Limited 12" single^[16]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heaven" (Blawan dub)	7:14
2.	"Heaven" (Owlle remix)	4:48
3.	"Heaven" (Steps to Heaven voxdub)	6:11
4.	"Heaven" (Matthew Dear vs. Audion instrumental mix)	6:10

This is the first Depeche Mode single since 1982 to drop the "BONG" prefix.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.^[17]

• Christoffer Berg – programming
• Anton Corbijn – design, photography
• Flood – mixing
• Ben Hillier – production
• Rob Kirwan – mix engineering
• Ferg Peterkin – engineering
• Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering
• Kurt Uenala – additional programming, vocal recording

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Heaven" Chart (2013) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 22 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 50 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[20] 12 Denmark (Tracklisten)[21] 27 France (SNEP)[22] 27 Germany (GfK)[23] 2 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[24] 14 Hungary (Single Top 40)[25] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 84 Italy (FIMI)[27] 19 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 95 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[29] 11 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 18 UK Singles (OCC)[31] 60 US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)[32] 2 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[33] 43 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[34] 33 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[35] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Heaven" Chart (2013) Position Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[36] 92 Italy (FIMI)[37] 95 US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[38] 29

Release history

Release dates for "Heaven"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
France[39]	31 January 2013	Digital download	Sony Music
Germany[40]
United States[14][15]			Columbia Records
Germany[41]	1 February 2013	CD single CD maxi single	Sony Music
United States[42]	5 February 2013		Columbia Records
France[43]	18 February 2013		Sony Music
Germany[41]	22 February 2013	12" single
United States[16]	26 February 2013		Columbia Records
United Kingdom[44]	17 March 2013	Digital download	Sony Music
	18 March 2013	CD single CD maxi single 12" single

See also

• List of Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones of 2013

Notes

1. "Dreaming of Me", while charting at only #57, was not an "official" track on Speak & Spell

References

1. McCarthy, Zel (27 March 2013). "Depeche Mode - Delta Machine track-by-track review". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
2. Gieben, Bram E. (2 April 2013). "Depeche Mode – Delta Machine Album Review". The Skinny. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
3. Jeffries, David. "Heaven – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
4. Tilles, Jay; Sterling, Scott (30 January 2013). "[EXCLUSIVE] Depeche Mode Premieres "Heaven" From Forthcoming Album 'Delta Machine'". KROQ. CBS Radio. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
5. "Certificazioni" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2013. Select Online, Week 22, Year 2013, then press Avvia la ricerca.
6. Depeche Mode chart history
7. "Heaven - Depeche Mode Live Wiki". dmlive.wiki. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
8. Knight, David (4 February 2013). "Depeche Mode 'Heaven' by Timothy Saccenti". Promo News. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
9. Coviello, Will (29 November 2012). "The Marigny Opera House grows into an arts center". Gambit Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
10. Minsker, Evan; Pelly, Jenn (23 October 2012). "Listen/Watch: New Depeche Mode Song". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
11. Nelson, Michael (23 October 2012). "Listen To A New Depeche Mode Song". Stereogum. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
12. Tilles, Jay (31 January 2013). "Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan: "We're Still Kind Of The Biggest Alternative Band Out There."". KROQ. CBS Radio. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
13. "Depeche Mode New Studio Album 'Delta Machine' Set For Release March 26th on Columbia Records". PR Newswire. UBM plc. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
14. "Heaven – Single by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store US. Apple. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
15. "Heaven – EP by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store US. Apple. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
16. "Heaven (12" Single)". Amazon. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
17. "Heaven" (CD single liner notes). Depeche Mode. Columbia Records. 2013. 88765461572.
18. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
19. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
20. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
21. "Depeche Mode – Heaven". Tracklisten. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
22. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
23. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
24. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
25. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
26. "Chart Track: Week 06, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
27. "Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 13 del 2013". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2015
28. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
29. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
30. "Depeche Mode – Heaven". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
31. "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
32. "Hot Singles Sales : Feb 16, 2013". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
33. "Depeche Mode Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
34. "Depeche Mode Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
35. "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
36. "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 – radios – 2013" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
37. "CLASSIFICHE ANNUALI 2013 TOP OF THE MUSIC BY FIMI GfK" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
38. "2013 Year-End Charts – Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
39. "Heaven – EP by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store France. Apple. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
40. • "Heaven – Single by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store Germany. Apple. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
    • "Heaven – EP by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store Germany. Apple. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
41. "Depeche Mode – Heaven" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
42. • "Heaven (CD Single)". Amazon. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
    • "Heaven (CD Maxi Single)". Amazon. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
43. • "Heaven [CD single]: Depeche Mode" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
    • "Heaven [CD single, Single Maxi]: Depeche Mode" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
44. • "Heaven (Remixes) – EP by Depeche Mode". iTunes Store UK. Apple. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
    • "Heaven". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
    • "Heaven [Single, Maxi]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
    • "Heaven [VINYL]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2013.

External links

• Single information from the official Depeche Mode website