Master and Servant

"Master and Servant" is a song by the English electronic band Depeche Mode, released on 20 August 1984 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Some Great Reward (1984). Its sexual subject matter caused some controversy, leading some radio stations to refuse to play it. It was a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, and charted in the US on both the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Like the other tracks on the album Some Great Reward on which it was included, "Master and Servant" was recorded mostly in West Berlin to Hansa Studios in early 1984. The band was working to deliberately shed the "teenybopper" image they'd acquired with the first album and early singles, and used the "big" sound produced at Hansa combined with their improved songwriting and evolved image to be taken more seriously as musicians. "Master and Servant" continued with the socially- and politically-conscious themes of the songs they'd written over the past two years. According to songwriter Martin Gore, "it's a song about domination and exploitation and we use the sexual angle to get that song across." Similar to their previous single, "People Are People", the band included sampled sounds on "Master and Servant", such as the whip effect, which is based on producer Daniel Miller standing in the studio hissing and spitting. According to the band, they tried to sample a real whip, but "it was hopeless". Other sampled sounds included band member Andrew Fletcher spanking Martin Gore.