Depeche Mode "The Singles 86>98"

The Singles 86>98 is a compilation album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 28 September 1998 by Mute Records. It serves as a follow-up to the band's previous compilation, The Singles 81→85, which was also reissued in the same year. The compilation covers the band's seven-inch single releases spanning five studio albums (from 1986's Black Celebration to 1997's Ultra), while including the new song "Only When I Lose Myself". It also includes "Little 15" (from Music for the Masses, released as a single in Europe) and the live version of "Everything Counts" (from the live album 101), which was released as a single in 1989. All tracks on The Singles 86>98 were newly remastered, as was the case with the re-release of The Singles 81→85.

The band decided to release the album as a close follow-up to Ultra, Depeche Mode's first studio album after Alan Wilder's departure and Dave Gahan's drug addiction and resulting health problems, to maintain interest in the band. The four-month The Singles Tour that followed marked the first time Depeche Mode had toured since the 1993–1994 Devotional/Exotic Tour, since they had declined to tour Ultra a year earlier, playing only a few songs at a handful of shows instead.

The Singles 86>98 has sold 500,000 units in the United States (double albums count as two units), achieving platinum certification. The album was also listed on Blender magazine's "500 CDs You Must Own: Alternative Rock" list.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin Gore.

Disc one

1. "Stripped" Black Celebration 3:51
2. "A Question of Lust" Black Celebration 4:31
3. "A Question of Time" Black Celebration 4:00
4. "Strangelove" Music for the Masses 3:47
5. "Never Let Me Down Again" Music for the Masses 4:22
6. "Behind the Wheel" Music for the Masses 4:00
7. "Personal Jesus" Violator 3:46
8. "Enjoy the Silence" Violator 4:16
9. "Policy of Truth" Violator 5:14
10. "World in My Eyes" Violator 3:57

Disc two

1. "I Feel You" Songs of Faith and Devotion 4:35
2. "Walking in My Shoes" Songs of Faith and Devotion 5:02
3. "Condemnation" (Paris mix) Songs of Faith and Devotion 3:23
4. "In Your Room" (Zephyr mix) Songs of Faith and Devotion 4:50
5. "Barrel of a Gun" Ultra 5:26
6. "It's No Good" Ultra 5:59
7. "Home" Ultra 5:46
8. "Useless" (remix) Ultra 4:53
9. "Only When I Lose Myself" Previously unreleased 4:41
10. "Little 15" Music for the Masses 4:14
11. "Everything Counts" (live) 101 6:38