Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the official Depeche Mode Day in Los Angeles, California yesterday (December 13) – check out the footage below.
The synth-pop duo – comprising Dave Gahan and Martin Gore – were honoured during a special event at LA’s City Hall, where Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez gave an impassioned speech.
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“I am so proud to be here on what we have officially declared in the city of Los Angeles as Depeche Mode Day in LA,” she told a crowd of fans who cheered and applauded in response.
“I wanna thank you all for coming out to honour a very treasured band that has meant so much to Los Angeles. Meeting us where we are with their lyrics and their musical stylings that helped to keep us whole when sometimes the world was falling apart.”
Rodriguez continued: “And I couldn’t be more proud to be here in solidarity with all of you to recognise a global sensation that has not only made an indelible mark in Los Angeles but around the globe.
“Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome Dave Gahan and Martin Gore – Depeche Mode!”
The band, who are due to play a show at LA’s Crypto.com Arena tomorrow night (December 15), then made their way down the City Hall steps before Gore took to the mic. “Well, this is incredible,” he said.
“We would like to thank Councilwoman Rodriguez for this momentous occasion, for this DM Day. I never thought I’d be saying that – ever. But… thank you for all coming; it’s very nice of you to turn up.”
Gore went on to talk about Depeche Mode’s longstanding “special relationship with Los Angeles”, adding: “Los Angeles and New York were the springboards, really, for our career in America.”
He then recalled the early support the group had received from LA radio station KROQ-FM, and said that their first-ever stadium headline concert “was here in Los Angeles”. Gore said: “So [that’s] another big part of our history.”
The musician also remembered a 1990 incident that saw the LAPD shut down the Wherehouse record store where Depeche Mode were hosting a signing event to promote their then-new album, ‘Violator’.
It is reported that approximately 17,000-20,000 people turned up at the 150-capacity venue, resulting in serious safety issues. In his DM Day speech, Gore described the in-store date as a “fiasco”.
“Sorry we didn’t sign the records,” he joked before explaining how the incident “helped our career a lot because we made nationwide news”.
Depeche Mode. CREDIT: Anton Corbijn
Gore told the fans in attendance at Depeche Mode Day that he and Gahan were “very, very honoured” by the nod. “We humbly accept DM Day,” he said. “Thank you.”
Gahan gave his thanks too, joking: “I could’ve done with this kind of support in the early ’90s as well. It would have been very helpful.” You can watch Depeche Mode being officially commemorated in the video above.
The duo recently played two headline shows at LA’s Kia Forum as part of their current North American ‘Memento Mori’ tour. They’ll close out the stint with a two-night billing at the city’s Crypto.com Arena this week (December 15, 17).
Depeche Mode are scheduled to embark on the UK and Ireland leg in January, with that run including a gig at The O2 in London. Further concerts will follow across Europe throughout February, March and early April. Find any remaining tickets (UK/Ireland) here.
Recently, Depeche Mode’s 15th and latest record ‘Memento Mori’ was featured in NME‘s ’50 best albums of 2023’ list. The single ‘Ghosts Again’, meanwhile, came in at Number 13 in our ’50 best songs of 2023′ rundown.
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