Martin Gore Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood and Early Life

British musician Martin Gore was born in Essex, England on the 23 July 1961. He has two half-sisters: Karen (b.1967) and Jacqueline (b.1968). He was raised by his mother and stepfather. Growing up, he believed that his stepfather was his biological father. Later in life, he discovered that he was fathered by an African-American GI whom his mother met when he was serving in the US Army in Britain.

Personal Life

Martin Gore's first wife was Suzanne Boisvert (m.1994 - div.2006). They share three children: Viva Lee (b.1991), Ava Lee (b.1995) and Kalo (b.2002). He married Kerrilee Kaski in 2014; they have two children: Johnie Lee (b.2016) and Mazzy Lee (b.2017). Gore is a recovering alcoholic. He currently lives in Santa Barbra, California.

Education

Martin Gore was a pupil at Nicholas Comprehensive School, in Basildon, Essex, England.

Rise to Fame

After leaving school, Martin Gore worked in a bank and in his free time played in an acoustic duo, Norman and the Worms (1978-1979) with school friend Phil Burdett. In March 1980, he founded a band named Composition of Sound with friends Vincent Clarke and Andy Fletcher. Gore played keyboards, Clare did vocals and played the guitar and Fletcher was on bass. They changed the band’s name Depeche Mode in 1981 and released their first album the same year, Speak & Spell (1981). Clarke left the bank in 1981 and Gore began writing most of the music and lyrics. Depeche Mode’s follow-up album, A Broken Frame was released in 1982.

Career

Depeche Mode went on to become successful with sales of over 100 million records. Other albums include Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1984) Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013) and Spirit (2017). In 2012, Vincent Clarke and Gore recorded Ssss, an electronic dance album, their first joint effort since 1981.

Awards and Achievements

Martin Gore won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors  Novella award in 1999. He has received five Grammy Award nominations: 2009 for Best Alternative Music Album: Sounds of Silence as well as Best Short Form Music Video for Wrong; 2006 for Best Dance Recording: Suffer Well; 2001 Best Dance Recording: I Feel Loved and 1994 Best Music Video, Long form for the video Devotional.