"Little 15"
Single by Depeche Mode
from the album Music for the Masses
B-side
Released16 May 1988
RecordedFebruary–July 1987
Studio
  • Studio Guillaume Tell (Paris)
  • Konk (London)
  • Puk (Denmark)
Length4:15
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Martin L. Gore
Producer(s)
  • Depeche Mode
  • David Bascombe
Depeche Mode singles chronology
"Behind the Wheel"
(1987)		 "Little 15"
(1988)		 "Everything Counts (live)"
(1989)

"Little 15" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 16 May 1988 as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987).[1] The song was never intended to be a single; in fact, it barely made it onto the album, but a French record label wanted to release the song as a single, which became a popular import and reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

Release

The song's title, as well as its status as a minor release, contributed to its special catalog number "LITTLE15". In this vein, it can be seen as a "little" release between BONG15 ("Behind the Wheel") and BONG16 ("Everything Counts [Live]"). "Little 15" didn't chart in France, but finally was also released as a single in other countries becoming a success: in West Germany, where it hit #16, in Austria where it reached #25 and in Switzerland where it entered the Top 20 at #18.[3]

There was no remix of the song at the time of release (the 12" and 7" versions were the same); however, there are two piano instrumental B-sides, both performed by Alan Wilder. The first is "Stjärna" (Swedish for 'star') (mislabelled "St. Jarna"), written by Martin Gore. The 12" b-side also contains a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata #14". According to his website, Wilder did not intend for it to be a b-side, as he was merely performing it for fun, but Gore stealthily recorded it. Wilder did not perform the piece perfectly (his error occurs near the end of the song).[4]

The music video for "Little 15" was directed by Martyn Atkins, who had done previous design work for the band.[5] The music video was filmed in the Trellick Tower in London.

Reception

In a positive review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett highlighted the song's "subtle orchestrations" and "David Gahan's subtly impassioned performance" and also observed that "it's nowhere near as immediate or catchy as 'Never Let Me Down Again' or 'Behind the Wheel'."[6]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little 15"Martin L. Gore4:15
2."Stjärna"Gore4:28
12-inch and CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."Sonata No. 14 in C#m (Moonlight Sonata)"Ludwig van Beethoven5:37

Charts

Chart performance for "Little 15"
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 25
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[8] 59
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 60
UK Indie (OCC)[10] 4
West Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 16

References

  1. ↑ "Little 15". depechemode.com. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Depeche Mode Little 15". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Miller, Jonathan (2004). Stripped: A True Story of Depeche Mode. Omnibus Press. pp. 257–258. ISBN 1-84449-415-2.
  5. ↑ "Martyn Atkins". IMDb. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Allmusic review
  7. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Little 15" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 24. 11 June 1988. p. 23. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  9. ↑ "Depeche Mode – Little 15". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Top Indie Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 June 1988. p. 22. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Depeche Mode – Little 15" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
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