Master and Servant Master and Servant "Master and Servant" is Depeche Mode's eleventh UK single (released on 20 August 1984) and the second single from the "Some Great Reward" album. Its subject matter is BDSM relationships, which caused some controversy. It reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart, number 49 in the American dance chart and number 87 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The overtly sexual, BDSM-themed lyrics of "Master and Servant" — complete with synthesized whip-and-chain sound effects — reportedly meant that the song was banned by many radio stations in the United States (although the song reached the "Billboard" Hot
Yōsui Inoue and led the group to fame. It reached the number-one on the chart in a following year and became a massive hit, selling more than a 600,000 copies. The song won the 26th Japan Record Award for "Gold Prize", and has been well known as a signature song for the group. Inoue also wrote the lyrics for some of the group's subsequent releases, including a song "Koi no Yokan" that became the second top-ten hit for the band. Also in 1984, Inoue contributed another number-one hit "Kazari ja nai no yo Namida wa" for a pop idol Akina Nakamori. In