Precious (Depeche Mode song)
| "Precious" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Depeche Mode | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Playing the Angel | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Free" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 3 October 2005 11 October 2005 (12") |
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| Format | 12", CD, DVD, digital download | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | January–July 2005, Sound Design (Santa Barbara, California) |
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| Genre |
Alternative dance, synthpop, electronic rock ("Precious") Dance-pop, electronica ("Free") |
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| Length | 70:22 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Mute | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Martin Gore | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Ben Hillier | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Depeche Mode singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Precious" is Depeche Mode's forty-first single, and the first single from the album Playing the Angel. It was released on 3 October 2005 in the UK by Mute Records and 11 October 2005 in the US by Sire/Reprise. The single reached No. 4 in the UK, No. 71 on the Hot 100, and No. 23 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.
It was the band's first single of original music in more than three years. "Precious" was released to international radio stations and as a digital download on 22 August 2005. Since its live debut, "Precious" has been played at every Depeche Mode concert between 2005 and 2014.
Although the meaning of almost all of Depeche Mode's songs are not revealed because Martin Gore prefers people to find their own meanings for each song, he made an exception with "Precious", revealing that the song is written about his children and what they must have been going through when he was getting a divorce from their mother.
To accompany the new single and album, a program called the Depeche Mode Receiver was released. The video for "Precious" received its worldwide premiere via this program on 12 September 2005.
An early version of the video (with unfinished rendering and many sketch placeholders) was leaked to the internet long before the song was even out, so most fans were able to listen to "Precious" about two months ahead of the release. In fact, the digital download may not have even been released if not for the leak, which was widespread within days.
The music video for "Precious" features the band performing on an empty, computer-generated cruise ship, before walking out into an alien-looking (also CG) forest. The video was directed by Uwe Flade, who directed the "Enjoy the Silence 04" video. It is streamable for free on the Depeche Mode website in the archives.
"Free" is the B-side to "Precious". It's a techno beat with an old school feel. It was unavailable in the US, aside from importing, but is now available on iTunes. It also appears as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Playing the Angel. There is no remix of the song, aside from an early version that was heard at the Touring the Angel press conference, as shown on the Playing the Angel Electronic Press Kit, however, the full/stand-alone version is not available for download or purchase at this time.
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