Vince Clarke, Neil Arthur, Benge Form Synthpop Supergroup Doublespeak

Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure), Neil Arthur (Blancmange), and musician-producer Benge have formed the supergroup Doublespeak. Their self-titled debut album, out this Friday on London Records, features eclectic covers of ABBA, David Essex, the Carpenters, Glen Campbell, and Fad Gadget, all rendered with an analogue electropop feel. The project began informally almost a decade ago between Arthur and Clarke, who first met around 1981 when Depeche Mode toured with Blancmange. Benge, who had previously collaborated with Blancmange and Arthur on side project Fader, joined later. The first single is Fad Gadget's "Back to Nature," fittingly one of the first singles on Mute Records, Depeche Mode's original label. Clarke, unfamiliar with most songs, approached them like remixes. Arthur suggested many covers, while Benge and Arthur's manager proposed "End Credits" by Laptop and "Smoke and Mirrors" by the Magnetic Fields. Other tracks include Thomas Leer and Robert Rental's "Day Breaks, Night Heals" and the Sound's "I Can't Escape Myself." Doublespeak is primarily a studio project but has written two original B-sides and may record more original material.