"Wrong" 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 ...

, released as the first single from their twelfth studio album, ''

Sounds of the Universe ''Sounds of the Universe'' is the twelfth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 17 April 2009 by Mute Records. The album was supported by the 2009–10 Tour of the Universe. Three singles were released from th ...

'' (2009). It was released to radio in February 2009 and became available for purchase online on 24 February 2009. The single was physically released on 6 April 2009. The 12-inch version of the single was released on 11 May 2009.

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"Oh Well" (which also appears on the ''Sounds of the Universe'' deluxe box set edition) is the first writing collaboration between

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 ...

(music) and

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 ...

(lyrics). Commercially, the single reached number one in Scotland and entered the top 10 in nine countries worldwide, including France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. In the UK, it is Depeche Mode's most recent top-40 hit, peaking at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. It also found some chart success in North America, peaking at number 64 in Canada and number one 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 ...

Dance Club Songs 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.

Chart performance

"Wrong" has received a positive response on United States alternative rock radio, becoming one of the 30 most-played songs in its first week of release. "Wrong" was added to the

BBC Radio 6 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

"B-List" playlist for the week starting 7 March 2009. However, a week after physical release in April 2009, it charted at number 24 (and currently remaining their last UK Top 40 hit), the lowest UK chart position for the initial single from a Depeche Mode studio album ("

Dreaming of Me "Dreaming of Me" is the debut single by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was recorded in December 1980 at Blackwing Studios and originally released in February 1981 in the UK via Mute Records. It was not commercially released in ...

", while charting at number 57 in 1981, was not an "official" track from the '' Speak & Spell'' album). By contrast, ''Sounds of the Universe'' itself reached number two in the UK upon release in late April, Depeche Mode's highest album chart position there since 1997. Likewise, "Wrong" was more successful in Scotland, topping the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

to become the band's first and only number-one single in that country. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 10 in several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. In North America, the song reached number 64 in Canada and number one on the US

chart.

Music video

The music video for "Wrong" was filmed in December 2008 and directed by

Patrick Daughters Patrick Daughters (born 1976 in Berkeley, California) is an American music videomaker and commercial director currently signed to Anonymous Content. Daughters is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. While still in colle ...

. It debuted on the band's MySpace page on 20 February 2009. The video depicts a

Ford Crown Victoria The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 until the 2012 model years. T ...

rolling backwards down a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

downtown street, seemingly with no driver at the wheel. A shot inside the car reveals a man in a latex mask lying unconscious in the front seat, played by Liars drummer Julian Gross. When the car bumps another car (but keeps rolling), the man is jolted awake. As he tries in desperation to stop the car, it becomes apparent that he is bound and gagged. The car rolls past the band (watching from a sidewalk) and hits a pedestrian, trash cans, shopping carts, and traffic cones. A

police vehicle Police transport refers to any form of transportation used by police in their duties. These primarily include methods for patrol and prisoner transport. Ground Motorized Four-wheels A police car is the description for a vehicle used by police, ...

begins pursuing the car. When the man finally manages to free his wrists and remove the mask, a white

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

crashes into the side of the car, bringing it to a halt. On 3 December 2009, the video was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Short Form Video. On the same day, ''Sounds of the Universe,'' the album of which the single appears on, was nominated for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

. The video was listed second on ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine's list of the "Five Best Videos of 2009" and was ranked 10th on "The 20 Best Videos of 2009" according to ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. ...

''.

Track listing

European CD single # "Wrong" – 3:13 # "Oh Well" (Black Light Odyssey remix) – 5:53 European limited-edition CD single (Remixes) # "Wrong" (original) – 3:13 # "Wrong" (

Trentemøller Anders Trentemøller (; born 16 October 1972) is a Danish indie artist , producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. History Trentemøller started music in the late 1990s with different indie rock projects. In 2006, follow ...

club remix) – 6:55 # "Wrong" ( Thin White Duke remix) – 7:41 # "Wrong" (Magda's Scallop Funk remix) – 6:21 # "Wrong" (D.I.M. vs

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ known for collaborations with artists including A$AP Rocky, Tommy Cash, and Frank Ocean (for ...

remix) – 5:11 European limited-edition 7-inch single :A. "Wrong" – 3:13 :B. "Oh Well" (edit) – 4:25 European 12-inch single :A1. "Wrong" :A2. "Wrong" (Thin White Duke remix) :B1. "Wrong" (Trentemøller club remix) :B2. "Wrong" (Caspa remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Single information from the official Depeche Mode website
{{Authority control 2009 singles 2009 songs Capitol Records singles Depeche Mode songs Mute Records singles Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Ben Hillier Songs written by Martin Gore Virgin Records singles