"Suffer Well" is a song by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

from their eleventh studio album, ''

Playing the Angel ''Playing the Angel'' is the eleventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was first released on 17 October 2005 by Mute Records in the UK, and a day later by Sire Records and Reprise Records in the United States. It w ...

'' (2005). It was released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2006 as the album's third single.

Background

"Suffer Well" is the first Depeche Mode single written by lead singer

Dave Gahan David Gahan ( ; né Callcott; born 9 May 1962) is an English singer best known as the lead singer of electronic music band Depeche Mode since their formation in 1980. Noted for his commanding stage presence and unique baritone voice, Gahan was ...

and their first single not written by

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English musician and songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the electronic music band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist and keyboardist, and occasiona ...

since " Just Can't Get Enough" in 1981, which was written by

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

. It is also the first Depeche Mode single that was co-written with non-Depeche Mode members (Christian Eigner and Andrew Phillpott wrote the music). The song is based on an experience that Gahan had where he was told by a friend of his to 'suffer well' while he was discussing his life and issues. The line had stuck to him, which inspired the idea of the song. He explained on M6's TV show ''Focus Rock'', "The song is about, in, what you believe to be suffering, is where you grow and learn about yourself." In the same interview he also states that the song was originally much slower in pace, but it was decided to go on to a more pop oriented route. The B-sides for the single are called "Better Days", a short song with an industrial-punk feel to it, and "The Darkest Star", which entered the national singles charts in Finland for one week, at number 16. The song "Suffer Well" was nominated in the category of " Best Dance Recording" at the

2007 Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

but lost to

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, '' FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQB.com. by ...

". The single version of the song adds a drum track to the song and is shorter.

Chart performance

"Suffer Well" reached number 38 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It reached number one on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, the band's seventh song to top this chart. "Suffer Well" was added to the playlist of

Xfm London Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

on 27 February 2006. However, it failed to make the playlist of any BBC Radio station. Despite this, it entered the UK charts at number 12.

Music video

The video was filmed by Anton Corbijn and was his first music video for the band, excluding tour projections and promo videos, since "Useless (song), Useless" in 1997. The video features a cameo appearance by Gahan's wife, Jennifer, once as the angel and once as herself. Another cameo is by the band's manager, Jonathan Kessler, who plays Gahan's limo driver. Other highlights include Gore as a bride and Fletcher as a groom. It also features the disco ball seen in the cover art of "Suffer Well".

Track listing

UK limited-edition 7-inch picture disc :A. "Suffer Well" (Metope (producer), Metope vocal remix) :B. "The Darkest Star" (Monolake remix) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Suffer Well" (Tiga (musician), Tiga remix) – 6:28 :A2. "Suffer Well" (Tiga dub) – 5:29 :B1. "Suffer Well" (Narcotic Thrust vocal dub) – 6:44 UK limited-edition 12-inch single :A1. "Suffer Well" (Metope remix) – 6:53 :A2. "Suffer Well" (Metope vocal remix) – 6:28 :B1. "Suffer Well" (M83 (band), M83 remix) – 4:31 :B2. "Better Days" (Basteroid 'Dance Is Gone' vocal mix) – 7:09 UK extra limited-edition 12-inch single :A. "The Darkest Star" (James Holden (producer), Holden remix) – 7:47 :AA. "The Darkest Star" (Holden dub) – 7:56 UK and European CD single # "Suffer Well" – 3:50 # "Better Days" – 2:28 UK limited-edition CD single and US digital download # "Suffer Well" (Tiga remix) – 6:30 # "Suffer Well" (Narcotic Thrust vocal dub) – 6:42 # "Suffer Well" (Alter Ego remix) – 6:09 # "Suffer Well" (M83 remix) – 4:34 # "Suffer Well" (Metope vocal remix) – 6:28 # "Suffer Well" (Metope remix) – 6:52 UK DVD single # "Suffer Well" (video) – 3:50 # "Suffer Well" (Alter Ego dub) (audio) – 8:53 # "Better Days" (Basteroid 'Dance Is Gone' vocal mix) (audio) – 7:09

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode website
{{Authority control Depeche Mode songs 2006 singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Hungary Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Mute Records singles Song recordings produced by Ben Hillier Songs written by Dave Gahan