“People Are People” is Depeche Mode’s ninth single and one of their most successful songs.

It is tied with 2 other singles in the UK as their highest charting single, peaking at #4. It was the group’s first song to go gold in the US and appear on the Hot 100, peaking at #13, remaining their highest-charting US song until “Enjoy The Silence” reached #8 in 1990. The track was also used as the theme to West Germany television coverage of the 1984 Olympics, where the song then hit #1 – their first time reaching the top spot anywhere in the world.

Alan Wilder wrote its music and Gore wrote the lyrics. Despite its success, songwriter Martin Gore considers “People Are People” one of his least favorite songs, instead preferring less obvious lyrics with subtle metaphors to allow people to find their own meanings to his songs instead.

In 2017, a music critic explained on Billboard’s website that the song is:

…an ode to finding common ground in the face of hatred’s many forms, and the belief that men and women are truly good deep down.