Paper Monsters is the solo debut
album by
Depeche Mode's lead singer
Dave Gahan. It was released by
Mute Records on 2 June 2003 in
Europe. The album was produced by Ken Thomas, who is best known for his work with
Icelandic band
Sigur Rós. Upon its debut,
critical reception was generally mixed; while many complimented the album's personal subject matter, others described it as lacking depth.
Paper Monsters became a modest success in the UK where it debuted at number thirty-six on the albums chart, but it was a big success in the
German,
Swedish and
Swiss charts, reaching the
Top 10 there. In
North America, the album was released on 3 June 2003; however, it failed to make much of an impact on the mainstream charts, although the "Paper Monsters Tour" had some impact, especially on Depeche Mode fans. One concert of the tour, the one on 4-5.07 in Paris at the Olympia, was recorded and released on a DVD called "Live Monsters".