Martin Gore

Martin Gore (Martin Lee Gore, aka Martin L. Gore, M. L. Gore, b. 23 July 1961) is a British musician, vocalist, songwriter, recording artist and record producer best known as a member of Depeche Mode of which he is a founding member and the principal songwriter. As well as being with the band, together with Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher, since 1980 he has also recorded and released solo work and collaborated with other artists including former bandmate Vince Clarke.

After Clarke left the group in late 1981, Gore became Depeche Mode's main songwriter. The group's first hit single written by him was See You which reached no.6 in March 1982. He wrote all the songs for the band's second album A Broken Frame issued later in the year. Some songwriting was later contributed by new member Alan Wilder who joined the group for live work in 1982 and then as a full member from 1983. All the group's hits since 1982 have been written by Gore, with the sole exception of Suffer Well (2006) written by Gahan with Phillpott and Eigner.

Although most of the band's output has featured Dave Gahan as lead vocalist, Gore has also sung lead vocals to some of his own songs over the years. The first hit to feature him as lead vocalist was Somebody, a track taken form the 1984 album Some Great Reward and issued as a single in 1985. Other hits with Gore lead vocal are A Question of Lust (1986) and Home (1997).

As a solo artist, Gore has released recordings of cover versions, firstly as an EP Counterfeit (1989) and then as a full album Counterfeit² (1983). In 2015 he released an album of purely electronic instrumentals, entitled MG.