Anton Corbijn – Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (hardback book)

In November 2020, Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Accepting the honour, Dave Gahan remarked: “I’d like to thank Anton Corbijn, who, thank God, came in at the right time and actually made us look cool.” Just weeks later, Taschen released the limited-edition “Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (81–18)” — signed by the band and by Corbijn — which became one of the fastest-selling collector’s editions in the publisher’s history.

Spanning more than three decades, the book gathers over 150 photographs from Corbijn’s archive, including formal and informal portraits shot in Madrid, Hamburg, the California desert, Prague, and Marrakech; intimate, behind-the-scenes moments; and arresting live images from every Depeche Mode tour from 1988 through 2023. It also acknowledges the contributions of the band’s long-time tour and documentary photographers, including Brian Griffin and Kevin Westenberg, whose work helped define the group’s visual world alongside Corbijn’s.

Created with full collaboration from Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher, “Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn” reveals how Corbijn’s stark, modernist aesthetic became inseparable from the band’s identity — shaping their photography, music videos, album artwork, and stage design. As Corbijn writes in the introduction:

“A lot of it came down to me, and I wanted it to be right for them. I wanted to think for them. To be great for them.”

The result is a definitive tribute to one of the most influential photographer-band collaborations in modern music. As Gahan notes:

“Anton was able to give the DM sound, that we were beginning to create a visual identity.”

(images: Taschen)