RockLists.com
Cover of Some Great Reward by Depeche Mode
Cover: Some Great Reward

Song · Depeche Mode

“Blasphemous Rumours” by Depeche Mode

From the album Some Great Reward (1984)

“Blasphemous Rumours” by Depeche Mode appears on 62 radio countdowns from 17 stations between 1984 and 2026. It was first released in 1984 on the album Some Great Reward. Its best result is #1 on the KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #45 alternative song of 1984, #108 alternative song of all time and #134 of the '80s.

62countdowns
17stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
2top 10 finishes
1984–2026years charted

Watch

Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (DepecheModeVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Blasphemous Rumours" was the third single from Some Great Reward, the 1984 Depeche Mode album on Mute, and it's the moment the band pointed their machines at heaven and asked some very awkward questions. Martin L. Gore wrote it and Dave Gahan sang it, with the band producing alongside Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller.

Worries that its religious theme would stir up trouble meant it went out as a double A-side with "Somebody" to soften the blow. It made the UK top 20 anyway, the band's twelfth British single. Musically it's electronic rock with a clenched jaw: cold, clanking synth-pop that sounds like it was built in a foundry, with Gahan delivering Gore's bleak words in a voice that refuses to wink.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1984 13 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 37 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 206 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 61 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 12 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 285 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 31 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 78 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 39 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 23 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 69 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 221 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 23 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 223 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 65 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 195 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 33 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 36 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 5 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 191 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 248 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 1 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 12 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 261 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 113 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 118 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 820 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 340 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 579 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 499 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 232 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 579 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 234 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 580 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 297 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 580 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 285 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 352 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 580 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 38 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 580 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 413 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 581 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 894 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 63 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 76 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 11 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 437 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 66 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 497 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 80 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 496 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 358 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 509 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 520 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 535 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 539 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 547 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 848 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 424 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 539 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2026 886 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

Also listed as: Blasphemous Rumors.

Charting alongside it in 1984

Best songs of 1984 →
  1. 1Two TribesFrankie Goes to Hollywood
  2. 2Pride (In the Name of Love)U2
  3. 3RelaxFrankie Goes to Hollywood
  4. 4The Wild BoysDuran Duran
  5. 5The Killing MoonEcho and the Bunnymen
  6. 6TendernessGeneral Public

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Blasphemous Rumours" by Depeche Mode.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.