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"Shake the Disease"
Cover artwork by Tamara Capellaro
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album The Singles 81→85
B-side	"Flexible"
Released	29 April 1985
Recorded	March 1985
Studio	Hansa Mischraum (Berlin)
Genre	Synth-pop dark wave
Length	4:49
Label	Mute
Songwriter(s)	Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)	Daniel Miller Depeche Mode Gareth Jones
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody" (1984) "Shake the Disease" (1985) "It's Called a Heart" (1985)
Music video
"Shake the Disease" on YouTube

"Shake the Disease" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as a single on 29 April 1985. "Shake the Disease" was one of two new songs on the 1985 compilation albums The Singles 81→85 and Catching Up with Depeche Mode, along with the band's subsequent single "It's Called a Heart".

Song information

Band member Alan Wilder felt this song captured the essence of the band, saying that "there's a certain edge to what we do that can make people think twice about things. If we've got a choice between calling a song 'Understand Me' or 'Shake the Disease', we'll call it 'Shake the Disease'. There's a lot of perversity and innuendo in our lyrics, but nothing direct."

Music video

The music video is the first Depeche Mode video directed by Peter Care, and features a camera trick that makes the band members appear to slowly tip over. It was shot in the Docklands area of London, prominently featuring the cranes that were still in situ at that time. Between May and July 1985 the video was performed on 10 television programs across Europe.

Commercial performance

"Shake the Disease" reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, while charting within the top 10 in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and West Germany. In France, it peaked at number 13, spending six months in the top 50. The track also reached number 33 on the Hot Dance/Disco 12 Inch Singles Sales chart in the United States.

It reached number one on the KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1985.

AllMusic reviewer Dave Thompson praised the song, saying, "with its plump melody and stirring refrain, it's a haunting and soulful number that deserved better than its #18 chart position."

Track listings

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore

Charts

References

1. Doole, Kerry (July 1989). "The Class of 101". Music Express. Vol. 13, no. 138. pp. 40–44. ISSN 0848-9645.
2. Miller, Jonathan (5 November 2009). Stripped: Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-026-7. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
3. Baker, Trevor (5 November 2009). Dave Gahan - Depeche Mode & The Second Coming. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN 978-1-78418-955-6. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
4. 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. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
5. ^ "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Shake the Disease". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
7. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
8. ^ "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
9. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
10. "List of KROQ Top 106.7 Countdowns". RadioHitlist.
11. "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
12. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 24. 17 June 1985. p. 10. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Depeche Mode" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
15. "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
16. "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
17. "Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
18. 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. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Shake the Disease" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
20. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

External links

• Single information from the official Depeche Mode website
• AllMusic review

• 1985 songs
• 1985 singles
• Depeche Mode songs
• Mute Records singles
• Song recordings produced by Daniel Miller
• Song recordings produced by Gareth Jones
• Songs written by Martin Gore
• UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles