It's Called a Heart

"It's Called a Heart"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album The Singles 81→85
B-side"Fly on the Windscreen"
Released16 September 1985
RecordedJune 1985
StudioGenetic (Streatley, England)
GenreSynth-pop
Length3:48
LabelMute
SongwriterMartin L. Gore
Producers
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Shake the Disease"
(1985) 		"It's Called a Heart"
(1985) 		"Stripped"
(1986)
Music video
"It's Called a Heart" on YouTube

"It's Called a Heart" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as a single on 16 September 1985. It reached number 8 in West Germany and 18 in the UK.

"It's Called a Heart", alongside their previous single "Shake the Disease", were both included on the 1985 compilation albums The Singles 81→85 (UK) and Catching Up with Depeche Mode (US).

Background

Depeche Mode had commitments to perform live in the first half of 1985, but had no plans to release a new album, instead choosing to focus on releasing their first-ever singles collections in the UK and US.[1] Under pressure from their label to produce another single after "Shake the Disease", the band went into Genetic Studios in Streatley, Berkshire in June 1985 to record "It's Called a Heart".[2]

Release and promotion

When it came time to release the song, member Alan Wilder disagreed with releasing "It's Called a Heart", instead suggesting that the song "Fly on the Windscreen" would be a superior choice.[2] Said Wilder, "I felt it ['It's Called a Heart'] was really going backwards, it was so poppy and trite."[2] However, the rest of the band outvoted Wilder, and "Fly on the Windscreen" was released as the single's B-side.[2] A year later, singer Dave Gahan admitted that "It's Called a Heart" was a poor choice,[3] and the band remixed and added "Fly on the Windscreen" to their follow-up album, Black Celebration.[4] In a 1998 interview, songwriter Martin Gore called the song "one of the worst things we've ever released."[5]

Both songs were produced by Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode.[6] The Slow Mix of "It's Called a Heart" and the Death Mix of "Fly on the Windscreen" were both produced by Gareth Jones at Hansa Studios.[6]

"It's Called a Heart", backed with "Fly on the Windscreen", was released as a single on 16 September 1985.[2] In the UK, Mute Records released the single on 7", 12" and "Double" 12" vinyl releases with catalogue numbers 7BONG9, 12BONG9 and D12BONG9, respectively.[7] Breaking with Depeche Mode's recent single tradition, there was no limited / L12BONG release of this record, instead a double / D12BONG release, which contained two 12" records released together.[8] Initial pressings of the 7" in the UK came with a fold-out poster.[6] In addition, a promotional 12" was released with a whitelabel to DJs with catalogue number BONG9.[8] In Germany, Intercord Records released the 7" and 12" vinyl singles with catalogue numbers INT 111.831 and INT 126.832, respectively.[2] Initial pressings of the German 7" were on red vinyl, and the 12" initial pressings were made on blue vinyl.[8] In addition, in Germany, "It's Called a Heart" was included on a promotional-only cassette release titled Hitaktiv 85/86.[8]

Cover design of the singles was done by Martyn Atkins and T+CP Associates with illustrations by English artist Tamara Capellaro.[6]

The song reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.[9]

Music video

A video was created for "It's Called a Heart", directed by Peter Care.[10] After leaving Depeche Mode in 1995, Wilder suggested that one of his few regrets during his time in the band was participating in the shoot for the video.[11]

The video was included on Some Great Videos (1985) and Video Singles Collection (2016).

Later releases

"It's Called a Heart" was included as one of two new tracks on the compilation The Singles 81→85 in the UK the same year, along with "Shake the Disease".[12][13] In the US, it was released on the compilation album Catching Up with Depeche Mode, also includes the B-side, "Fly on the Windscreen", which reappeared in a slightly different mix on the band's 1986 album Black Celebration.[2]

"It's Called a Heart" later appeared on the compilations album Greatest Hits (1987).

A remix of "Fly on the Windscreen" appeared on the compilation album Remixes 2: 81–11 (2011).

Live versions

A live version of "It's Called a Heart" has not been officially released. Live versions of "Fly on the Windscreen" were released on Devotional (1993), Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2010), and some versions of Recording the Universe (2009–2010).

Track listings

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore.

Charts

Chart performance for "It's Called a Heart"
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 31
Denmark (IFPI)[15] 2
Europe (European Top 100 Singles)[16] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 11
France (SNEP)[18] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 5
Italy (Musica e dischi)[20] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[21] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 47
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 7
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 18
UK Indie (OCC)[26] 1
West Germany (GfK)[27] 8

References

  1. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 115, 422.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 120.
  3. ^ "Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Wham". Number One Magazine. 22 February 1986. pp. 8–11. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  4. ^ Hallard, Ross (director); Lane, Phil Michael (director) (2007). Depeche Mode: 1985–86 (The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio) (DVD). Mute Records.
  5. ^ Olexova, Michaela (September 1998). "The Singles 86>98 by Martin Gore". Bong 37. No. 37. pp. 18–19.
  6. ^ a b c d Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 121.
  7. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, pp. 120–121.
  8. ^ a b c d Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 123.
  9. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1999). Rock Stars Encyclopedia. DK Pub. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-7894-4613-8. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  10. ^ Burmeister & Lange 2017, p. 129.
  11. ^ "SHUNT : The Official Recoil Website : Q&A : Depeche Mode : Life in DM". Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  12. ^ Bernhardt, Tonia (21 November 2007). Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult. GRIN Verlag. p. 4. ISBN 978-3-638-76757-6. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. ^ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8.
  14. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Top 3 in Europe". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 43. 28 October 1985. p. 16. OCLC 29800226.
  16. ^ "European Top 100 Singles". Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 41. 14 October 1985. p. 12. OCLC 29800226.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Depeche Mode". Sisältää hitin – Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 61. ISBN 978-952-7460-01-6.
  18. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It's Called a Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "It's Called a Heart" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  21. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Depeche Mode – It's Called a Heart". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Depeche Mode Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

Works cited

  • Burmeister, Dennis; Lange, Sascha (2017). Depeche Mode: Monument. New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-593-4.
  • Thomas, Dave (1986). Depeche Mode. Bobcat Books. ISBN 0-7119-0804-4.
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