“A Question of Lust” by Depeche Mode

"A Question of Lust" was lifted from Black Celebration, Depeche Mode's fifth studio album, in 1986, and it put Martin Gore at the microphone on a single for the first time since 1984. Gore wrote it and sings it, one of four songs he took the lead on across the album, and his fragile voice is the whole point.

The sessions were fraught, the band racing deadline after deadline, and the song was cut around 19 November 1985, begun at Westside Studios in London and finished at Hansa in West Berlin, with Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller producing alongside the band. You'd never guess the strain from the result: a hushed, aching ballad, cold synth sheen wrapped around a warm, old-school melody. Gore later likened it to a classic pop song from a bygone age and called it a great one to play live. It reached 8 in West Germany.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.