"People Are People" is Depeche Mode's 10th UK single, and was recorded at Hansa Mischraum in West Berlin, and released on 12 March 1984. It was their first hit single in the US and the first single from the Some Great Reward album.

"People Are People" was written by Martin Gore, but the dancy, pop feel of the song may be credited to Alan Wilder. Wilder wrote the B-side, "In Your Memory". Each song has an extended remix, the "Different Mix" and the "Slik Mix" respectively (although the "In Your Memory" mix is often incorrectly called the "Slick Mix" or "Silk Mix"). It was one of the first songs recorded for the album when sessions began at the Hansa Mischraum studio in January 1984.

The Clive Richardson-directed "People Are People" video was released in 2 versions. The original video was made for the single version, but an alternate video was made with the "Different Mix". The music video featured footage of various military scenes from the Cold War, mixed with footage of the band aboard the HMS Belfast. The "Different Mix" video appears on Some Great Videos and Video Singles Collection.

Despite the song's success, Martin Gore considers it one of his least favourite songs. He prefers his songs to have subtle metaphors to allow people to find their own meanings to his songs, and feels "People Are People" does not fit that description. It has not been played live since 1988.

A compilation album titled People Are People was released in the US, featuring several songs not previously available. The single itself was released in the USA on 11 July 1984, though it did not reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart until May 1985, and initially was played only on modern rock and college radio. The single would eventually peak at no. 13. In the UK, the single reached number 4, which was at the time the band's highest singles chart position in their homeland. Since then, "Barrel of a Gun" (1997) and "Precious" (2005) have also reached number 4 in the UK.

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