Black Sheep Hit: "Just Can't Get Enough" stands as this by the standards of Depeche Mode's later work, though even in the context of its parent album, it's unusually poppy and upbeat even compared to the other poppy and upbeat songs that precede it. Even today, "Just Can't Get Enough" remains one of Depeche Mode's best-known songs despite it being nowhere near similar to their usual oeuvre.
The members of Depeche Mode went on to hold Speak & Spell in poor regard, largely because it was more of a Vince Clarke solo album for the most part and didn't reflect what the band would ultimately turn out to be. Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher were particularly sour about "What's Your Name?", considering it their least favorite Depeche Mode song.
Dave Gahan, Vince Clarke, and cover photographer Brian Griffin all expressed disdain towards the album cover in retrospective interviews. Clarke stated that the cover didn't deserve to cost a thousand pounds to make, while Griffin, who Gahan says gave a "metaphoric" explanation for the photo back in the day, claimed that he didn't know what he was thinking when he made it.
False Credit: The songs were written by Vince Clarke of Yazoo at the time, with Dave and Martin singing on top. Speak & Spell is more like a Yazoo album with their voices taking the lyrics, as none of the songs sound anything like what the two would write on their later albums, since Vince was the only contributor. The album is credited as a Depeche Mode album regardless of this.
Refitted for Sequel: Vince Clarke would later rework a number of songs on the album in his later careers with Yazoo and Erasure. In particular, "Nodisco" would be reworked as Yazoo's "Don't Go", and "Boys Say Go" would become Erasure's debut single "Who Needs Love (Like That)".
What Could Have Been: The band's debut single "Dreaming of Me" was considered for inclusion on the album, but was cut from the UK release due to it nowhere near as successful as "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough". The single was, however, added to the US release by Sire Records, albeit in exchange for cutting "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead", and an alternate mix was included as a bonus track on Mute's initial CD release.
