DEPECHE Mode frontman Dave Gahan knows that rock ‘n’ roll eats musicians the same way kids gobble candy corn on Halloween. Just 10 years ago, the singer was a major rock casualty – between rumors of a suicide attempt (which Gahan has denied) and a near-fatal overdose at his home in Los Angeles, Gahan’s heroin habit nearly crushed Depeche Mode.
“The ups and downs are part of life,” Gahan tells The Post from his Manhattan home, “but I can’t escape from it in the ways I used to.
“Something happened over the last five years. I worked my way out of the dark hole I was in, and I now can use that stuff that was holding me back. I’m channeling it into the music.”
While the lessons nearly cost him his life, he now says the experiences have opened him up. His new solo album, “Hourglass,” is out today.
Gahan, who moved to Manhattan when his life was in crisis, credits the city for forging his new self. “New York forces you to be part of life,” he insists.
That notion is at the heart of his new song “Deeper & Deeper,” one of today’s MPFrees. “To quote Iggy Pop, this song is about my lust for life and wanting to control my place in it … and the frustration of knowing deep down that control isn’t possible.”
That’s the highbrow interpretation. “Deeper & Deeper” is a very gritty number. “Sure it can be taken other ways – musically and lyrically it’s filthy, dirty and nasty. It’s very New York.”
Gahan, who’s fallen before, treads carefully, even in a song. “I wasn’t sure about this one, so I ran ‘Deeper’ past my wife. She listened and agreed it was filthy, but she said, ‘It has to be part of the album, that’s part of you.'”
Diehard Depeche fans don’t fret about Gahan’s solo record being the harbinger of a band breakup. The group has announced it’s heading back into the studio in the new year. “I just wanted to prove myself outside my day job,” Gahan confessed.