Few people realize that one of Depeche Mode’s most enduring songs traces its origins to Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me. The book, which charted Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis from her teenage years through their marriage, gave songwriter Martin Gore the emotional blueprint for what would become the band’s U.S. breakthrough single.

“Personal Jesus” centers on the idea of being someone’s anchor — a source of hope, guidance, and devotion in another person’s life. Gore has explained that the song was drawn directly from how Priscilla described Elvis in the memoir: her man, her mentor, the figure she turned to for everything. That kind of singular, all-consuming bond — where one person becomes almost a spiritual lifeline for another — is exactly what the lyric captures.

The connection adds a layer to both the song and the story. What Priscilla wrote as a personal account of her years with Elvis wound up shaping a piece of 1980s pop culture she had no hand in creating. Her words, her experience, her relationship — absorbed by a songwriter an ocean away and transformed into something entirely new.

Love Productions’ Priscilla Presley tribute act brings that same remarkable life to the stage, celebrating a woman whose story has touched far more corners of culture than most people ever realized.