“Home” is Depeche Mode’s thirty-third UK single, released on June 16, 1997, and the third single for the album Ultra. It is also the third (and most recent) UK single with Martin Gore on lead vocals, and the second stand-alone single with him on lead vocals (the others are “A Question of Lust” and “Somebody”, which was a double A-side with “Blasphemous Rumours”). Though it was planned to be released in the US, it ended up being scrapped due to some radio stations playing the song “Useless” instead, leading people in the US to believe that was the third single, when it was the fourth single. Reprise scrapped the US release of “Home”, despite there already being confirmed tracklists, and released “Home”/”Useless” as a double A-side single. “Home” is a ballad with haunting strings and other arrangements, and as a Martin Gore vocal track it’s a fan favourite. The single version of “Home” has an ambient intro, then the drum beat featured in the album version, yet is the same length as the album version. There are no actual B-sides for “Home”, just live versions of “Barrel of a Gun” and “It’s No Good” recorded during the Ultra Party concert in London. The music video for “Home” is the only Ultra video not directed by Anton Corbijn, but instead by Steve Green. It features an alien exploring an apartment complex, and uses a highly-shortened down version of “Home”. During the “Touring the Angel” world tour, “Home” was included in the setlist, and the “Air Around the Golf” arrangement was used for the first half part of the song.
New Music United 