Vince Clarke

Vince Clarke
Clarke performing with Erasure on 1 July 2011
Background information
Birth name	Vincent John Martin
Born	(1960-07-03) 3 July 1960 (age 56) South Woodford, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Synthpop, new wave
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, remixer, DJ, producer
Instruments	Vocals, synthesizer, guitar, violin, piano
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Mute Records Reset Records VeryRecords
Associated acts	Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly, Erasure, VCMG, Robert Marlow, All Hail the Silence
Website	Vinceclarkemusic.com
Notable instruments
Roland Synthesizers, Moog Synthesizers, Oberheim Synthesizers, Casio CZ-101

Vince Clarke (born Vincent John Martin; 3 July 1960) is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since 1985, and was previously the main songwriter of several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly.

Vincent John Martin was born in South Woodford, London and then he moved to Basildon, Essex. He initially studied the violin and then the piano, but he was inspired to make electronic music upon hearing Wirral synth band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Along with OMD, other early influences included The Human League, Daniel Miller and Fad Gadget.

In the late-1970s, Clarke and schoolmate Andy Fletcher formed a short-lived band called No Romance in China. In 1980, he teamed up with Robert Marlow and Martin Gore to form French Look. Another band, named Composition of Sound, followed in 1980 with another addition of Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher. Clarke provided vocals until singer Dave Gahan joined the band, which was renamed Depeche Mode. At that time, he adopted the stage-name Vince Clarke, by which he is currently known. The band initially adopted a slick synthesized electropop sound, which produced the album Speak and Spell and the Clarke-penned singles "Dreaming of Me", "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough" in 1981.