The official Depeche Mode Day was celebrated in Los Angeles yesterday, as hundreds of people descended upon California to mark the occasion.
Depeche Mode who comprise of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, were recognised at this special event at City Hall, LA, with Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez paying homage to the pair in a speech.
“so proud”
Speaking in front of hundreds of Depeche Mode lovers in the crowd, Rodriguez hailed the synth-pop duo as a “a very treasured band”.
“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 the audience.
She continued, “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”.
“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”.
Introducing the band, Rodriguez signed off by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome Dave Gahan and Martin Gore – Depeche Mode!”.
“this is incredible”
After making their way down the City Hall steps, Depeche Mode were greeted by the fans, with Martin Gore taking 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 also spoke about the band’s “special relationship with Los Angeles”.
He also stated “Los Angeles and New York were the springboards, really, for our career in America”.
Gore also referred to the band’s first ever headline concert, which took place in Los Angeles. “So [that’s] another big part of our history”, he added.
“fiasco”
Elsewhere, Martin Gore also recalled an incident from 1990, which saw a signing event hosted by Depeche Mode shut down by the LAPD due to concerns over crowd safety.
The ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’ hitmakers were hosting this signing event, promoting their then-new album ‘Violator’, when approximately 17,000-20,000 people turned up at a 150 capacity venue, which led to major safety issues.
Describing this event as a “fiasco”, Martin Gore jokingly apologised to the fans, whose records they failed to sign that day.
“Sorry we didn’t sign the records”, he said, before going on to claim that this incident had “helped our career a lot because we made nationwide news”.
Gore also added that the band are “very very honoured” by this recognition.
“We humbly accept DM Day”, he said, “Thank You”.
He concluded, “I could’ve done with this kind of support in the early ’90s as well. It would have been very helpful”.
Depeche Mode are in the middle of their North American tour, where they will perform in LA tomorrow, their penultimate of four shows in the city. More on this here.
