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Depeche Mode Singles Tour Diaries

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Blog #20: Barcelona, Spain (Day Off)
Barcelona, Spain (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 14th, 1998

Well we are nearly finished with the European leg of the tour - wow it was tiring!! We finally left Germany yesterday to arrive in sunny Spain and are staying in a most beautiful hotel by the beach (many thanks to Mr. Franks, tour manager extraordinnaire).

Thanks for the questions for Fletch, he will have a look at them tonight and then send the responses.......remember the winning question (as chosen by Fletch) receives a personally signed tour book and merchandise.

The weather is beautiful, the sea looks lovely and we are flying this afternoon to Zaragoza for the first of our three Spanish gigs. We play Barcelona tomorrow night and then Tim will be DJ'ing at a local club. No doubt it will be a late one for some....

Will let you have an update on the bar football championships..... till next time
 

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Blog #21: San Sebastion, Spain (Velodromo De Anoeta)
San Sebastion, Spain (Velodromo De Anoeta)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 17th, 1998

Well this is our final gig for the European leg of the tour. The competition between crew/band members for the bar football is heating up. We flew to France today from Barcelona only to then drive back into Spain to San Sebastian, coz they close the airport early here. Gig is going great (they are performing It's Mo Good at the moment - sounding most excellent).

New camera going to be purchased in New York to get enable me to get better pictures for the US leg of the tour.

A very happy night......
 

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Blog #22: Boston, MA. (Day Off)
Boston, MA. (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 25th, 1998

We flew into Boston today, and were taking the day off to get used to the time change. Meanwhile our trusty and hard working crew are having a technical day to make sure all the equipment survived the trip accross the ocean so that the show can continue...
 

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Blog #23: Worcester, MA. (Centrum Centre)
Worcester, MA. (Centrum Centre)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 27th, 1998

Today is the first show of the american leg, and everyone is itching to get on stage.

(post show report) The show , as usual, was excellent and was definitely a great start to america. The audience were extra enthusiastic, and had all made a great effort to get there from Boston. Then we flew straight to NY after the show, squeezing all twenty of us into a little plane, which made for a very interesting and hairy flight.....
 

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Blog #24: New York, NY. (Madison Square Garden)
New York, NY. (Madison Square Garden)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 28th, 1998

Madison Square Gardens....We got to the "garden" at five and spent the soundcheck rehearsing the new arrangement for the song we're playing on LETTERMAN, tune in on monday to find out which song we're playing.... Any way, the show was a stormer, we played to a full house of 14,000, and it was the tightest show of the tour (in my opinion!) We got fantastic reviews in the NY Post, Hollywood Reporter, Daily News and Variety to name but a few. Photographs will be posted as soon as Tom (our money-man) takes me shopping for the new camera....
 

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Blog #25: New York, NY. (Madison Square Garden)
New York, NY. (Madison Square Garden)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: October 29th, 1998

Another tip-top, electropop-tastic show !!!!! Again another great night. Janet and Jordan premiered their new sexy silver catsuits, complemented by gliterry mules - top marks to Flo Guenand (wardrobe, and table football champ.) Picture to follow. We had an after-show party with Helmut Lang, at the very trendy LOT 61 club. Celebrity guests present were; label mate MOBY, SASHA, MICHAEL BOLTON ?!?!?, BILLY MYERS, and two scantily clad go-go boys. A late night, but we've got two days off. New York shops here we come!!!!!!!!!
 

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Blog #26: New York, NY. (Late Night With David Letterman)
New York, NY. (Late Night With David Letterman)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 2nd, 1998

Had to wake up late on Saturday, after dinner at the Tribeca Grill hosted by Reprise followed by our meeting up with our crew (a rare but very pleasant event) at the Bubble Lounge. It was a good party, but unfortunately it wasn't long before I had to retire to my bed - very tired after Madison Square Garden gigs.

Saturday, our fearless leader Mr. Andy Franks had to defy all odds by then trecking to VH-1 for the first of the many interviews for the forthcoming 'Depeche Mode - Behind the Music'. A great show.

This was Franksy's first ever full-on TV interview where he spilt the beans (and the pulses about DM). It must be said, there are a lot of beans.........

Please see picture of the main man, Mr. Andy Franks and his beautiful and luverly wife, Marla (after the interview - with an extremely cheeky grin on his face -I wonder why??).

Read here for broadcast dates.

Sunday came around very quickly, now its off to Philadephia to play at the Spectrum. Was a little bored in the morning so decided to run the marathon then left for the venue with the band at around 2 p.m., avoiding all the other runners.

Soundcheck and dinner. Everyone was very happy as we got our expresso machine back, so we now get some strong coffee...

Started taking pictures with the new camera - the one with the dinosaur and egg was a test picture from my hotel room.

Gig was good and the crowd were most receptive. VH-1 continued to shoot for their special and were very very happy.....

Jonathan, the band's manager was interviewed too and was looking extremely cool in his suit. No hints about his interview - just tune into VH-1 on the assigned date.

After a quick few games of bar football we drove back to New York to prepare for Letterman today........
 

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Blog #27: Toronto, CANADA. (Skytent / Toronto Skydome)
Toronto, CANADA. (Skytent / Toronto Skydome)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 5th, 1998

After returning extremely late from Philadelphia, we got up the next day to go to Letterman. Also on the show (as I am sure some of you may have) was Sir Anthony Hopkins and Buzz Aldrin.....

After a most excellent rehearsal (at which I couldn't take piccys - except of the TV in the dressing room), the band and crew went on to produce the best performance ever for TV by Depeche Mode. After receiving our complementary t-shirts we departed the building to be met by a good number of fans. Early night as big promotional day tomorrow....

Left at the unearthly hour of 10 a.m. to go to the MTV Studios to record 120 Minutes with Matt. It was a really really good co-host and the band had a good time. The show will air this Sunday 8th on MTV at midnight - make sure you tune in....

Dave recorded an interview with MTV News then it was onto the Kit Kat Club to do the interviews for VH-1's 'Behind the Music'. Dave went first, followed by Martin and then Fletch. They all gave brilliant interviews. Watch this space to find out the airing time.

Wednesday was a nice relaxing day, some of us went to see PJ Harvey in the evening - she was really good. Today, Thursday (Bonfire Night for us Brits), we flew to Canada on our new plane which is just amazing (understatement).

Arrived in Toronto (very cold) and went to the Skydome, where the band are on stage at this precise moment of typing ('A Question of Lust'). Will give full report of this gig, Montreal and Cleveland soon.

Pictures will shortly be posted for our MTV/VH-1 shoot and our fabulous new plane.........keep logging on
 

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Blog #28: Montreal, CANADA. (Day Off)
Montreal, CANADA. (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 7th, 1998

post Toronto - Woke up to snow in Toronto. Got on our beautiful big plane, and made our way to Montreal. Most interesting plane ride with various card games going on, game boy, dirty nappies (you had to be there) and great sandwiches.

Arrived in Montreal to the Molson Centre, which was so organised and poptastic - top marks to most excellent promoter and venue staff. Fletch did a great interview for Musique Plus, so watch out for that (if you live in Canada).

Check out the pictures to see how great the gig was.

We have a day off today in Montreal, and are going to see an ice hockey game tonight - should be good. Off to Cleveland tomorrow, will write soon.....
 

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Blog #29: Detroit, MI. (Day Off)
Detroit, MI. (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 10th, 1998

Cleveland - We boarded the plane and headed for cleveland, a bit of a rough landing, but we got to the venue safely. During soundcheck the band tried some semi acoustic versions of the songs - v. interesting. The show turned out to be a great performance, considering it was a sunday night. Lots of post show bar-football, and then back to the hotel for early bed!!!!!

Detroit - A short flight to detroit, the home of our security men. One of whom is leaving us today for ten days, so he can witness the birth of his child, so good luck to him and his wife. A great show in "Motown" for both Stabbing Westward and Depeche Mode. Back to the hotel for yet another quiet night....What is going on?...

Day off - I woke up, opened the curtains, and it was blowing a gale force wind with possibilities of a tornado. Great. So out with the briefcase and computer for a days work. Roll on Miami and the good weather...........BYE BYE
 

demoderus

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Blog #30: Miami, Fl. (Day Off)
Miami, Fl. (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 12th, 1998

Miami - We arrived in miami the night before the show and were greeted in the airport by some serious humidity. Had relaxing evening in preparation for the show.

Miami show day - We arrived at the venue only to see the new miami arena up in flames , it was in the middle of being built and apparently a welders torch set the scaffolding on fire. So everyone stood out side and watched the fire-engine-helicopter putting out the flames. I dont know if it was the weather, but the crowd went mad for the show, and as a result we had (as usual) another stormer of a gig.

Orlando (show day) - A few hours in the morning by the pool to start work on the suntans (Mr. Franks looking nice and brown) and then all aboard the Skylark for a quick sojourn into the skies and on to Orlando. As I sit next to Christian on the plane and ask him about the Orlando show he says- "I dont remember much except I we all rocked like animals!!!!!!! HA HA HA!!!!" After the show back to the giant hotel which was a cross between a train station and a shopping center. Not a particularily wild night..........

Tampa (show day) - For a change we drove to Tampa, a short burn up the highway. Tampa the excruciatingly hot city, played host to a fantastic DM show. Everyone was in top form and really got into it.The crowd once again went loony, especially on stage right (martins side). After the show there was much activity in the accountants office, and Tom came out rubbing his hands - he managed to look into a couple of openings that might bear fruit in the future-it must have been a good night all round. Then back to our lovely beach side hotel to prepare for two days of sun and fun.

Days off - Every one kicked back and got into beach life, and we all discovered our new passion - wave runners . Dave, jeff, myself and andrew were the first out hitting the waves and soon christian was out as well. We spent ages on them, and also on the nextday. Christian went out another three times - his butt is still hurting. Good food and swimming, chilling out and talking about things other than touring. Then we flew to Houston....

Houston (showday) - A short while by the pool and then we headed to the venue. A sold out night, we played to a seriously crazy, cowboy hat a wearin' 15,000 Texans. The result was another (you guessed it!) fab show. Great hip swinging by Dave, hand waving by fletch, and head banging from Martin!!!!!
 

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Blog #31: Chicago, Il. (Day Off)
Chicago, Il. (Day Off)
author: Jody Hardy
date posted: November 26th, 1998

As we left Miami, we found that we had inherited a new member on the tour, who introduced himself as Evil Bendy. This introduction happened over the tannoy of the aeroplane, and as you can see from the pictures, he was at the controls.

On arriving at the gig, he possessed Dave in the corrider and continued with the rest of the band and crew and then insisted on his own picture gallery on the website - this wish of course was granted. He also then took his place on the bar football league, challenging Fletch and Mart and of course beating them all (he must be female).

Evil Bendy comes from Seattle and has decided to join the remaining few weeks of the Depeche Mode Tour, he has his own dressing room, after show guests and even his own personal hotel room.(under the name Mr E. Bendy)

He embarked on a reign of total chaos, influencing the crowd for 'Never Let Me Down' during the arm waving, teaching Dave how to 'Reach Out and Touch Faith' and generally causing havoc - finally he finished the gig by standing on Christian's bass drum just to prove a point.

We hit New Orleans where Evil Bendy esconsed himself in Dave's dressing room. As we left the venue after another fantastic gig, he hid and therefore got to ride on the crew bus, giving him the opportunity to possess them too. Soon, many of his friends will be joining us, the Evil Bendy clan will outnumber the DM tour party.......so watch this space.

We came to Chicago for two excellent sell out gigs - Evil Bendy kept a low profile but I am sure will surface soon. Happy Holidays to all........
 

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Blog #32: Oakland, CA (Oakland Arena)
Oakland, CA (Oakland Arena)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 11, 1998

Drove up from Los Angeles to Oakland to catch the show (special thank you to the California Highway Patrol for the speeding ticket). I arrived at the Pan Pacific Hotel (San Francisco), and got to meet Jody (finally!). She gave me all the necessary passes for that night's show. After killing some time in SF, my friend and I proceeded to the Oakland Arena.

We got there just in time to hear Martin, Peter and Christian doing their soundcheck. They were going throught their final rehearsals for the KROQ Acoustic Christmas performance the next day. In a 14,000+ seat arena, to be the only ones in the venue (besides the crew) to be witness to this was something that pretty much left me speechless. They performed Sister Of Night, A Question Of Lust, and an instrumental version of Enjoy The Silence (David was not present at the sound check). All three tracks (plus a quick jam session on the old Fats Domino classic "Blueberry Hill") were "acoustic" versions, with Peter on piano, Christian on drums, and Martin on his electric guitar.

I didn't get much of a chance to see Stabbing Westward. I was backstage getting all the camera equipment ready, watching the "Meet & Greet", and receiving my final instructions from Jody. But, I did get to see their equipment on stage before the show. Mr. Bendy, and some of his relatives, took position on Stabbing's mic stand, keyboard and drum kit.

The actual DM performance was fantastic! The Oakland crowd was extremely loud. A very energized performance (see pictures). After the show, a huge amount of people crammed into the band hospitality area for the aftershow party. After the party, the band flew to Los Angeles. As for me, I drove back home to Los Angeles (obeying the speed limit this time). :)
 

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Blog #33: KROQ Acoustic Xmas, Los Angeles, CA (Shrine)
KROQ Acoustic Xmas, Los Angeles, CA (Shrine)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 12, 1998

A special night. DM occupied the headlining spot of the 9th Annual KROQ 'Almost' Acoustic Christmas show. The crowd was treated to an edited down version of the "Singles Tour" setlist, which included special "acoustic" versions of Sister Of Night (with Martin singing), A Question Of Lust and Enjoy The Silence. During Enjoy The Silence, the crowd took over singing the chorus when David stopped singing, without any delay. Very nice. The finishing touch of the hour-plus performance was the encore - Never Let Me Down Again, with guest guitar and vocals by Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.

After the show, the backstage area was packed! A large group of people trying to cram their way into the area where Depeche Mode was, including Anton Corbijn, Ben Stiller, members of Hole, Billy Corgan and a lot of KROQ employees and "label" people.
 

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Blog #34: San Diego, CA (Cox Arena)
San Diego, CA (Cox Arena)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 15, 1998

Loud - the only word that can possibly describe the show. The fans were in overdrive. A LOT of singing, and a LOT of screaming. One of the better performances that I have seen. Memorable aftershow moment...Andy popping in "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes in the CD player for the aftershow party music. Amazingly, people still stayed and hung out with him and Martin. ;)
 

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Blog #35: Los Angeles, CA (The Forum)
Los Angeles, CA (The Forum)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 18, 1998

The first Forum show. Crowd-wise, this was the night that the audience was more "into it". More singing, more screaming, more hand waving. Personal highlight after the show was playing table football in the band afterparty area (I had never played before). :)
 

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Blog #36: Los Angeles, CA (The Forum)
Los Angeles, CA (The Forum)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 19, 1998

The second of the Forum shows went very smoothly. The biggest surprises were the set change (the "acoustic" version of Sister Of Night - as performed at the KROQ Acoustic Xmas, and Stripped replacing Behind The Wheel), and Madonna in DM's dressing room after the show. A very loud crowd response overall, though not a lot of singing along.
 

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Blog #37: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA.
Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA.
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 20, 1998

Sadly, a lot of people at the show tonight were not prepared for the bone-chilling temperatures (high 30's / low 40's), which is not what California is really known for during the Christmas season. Many fans were shivering outside (or smartly waiting in their cars - with the heater on) waiting for the doors to open. Once inside, the packed crowd did their best imitation of a plane departing when DM hit the stage (read: they were LOUD). As expected, another great show.

After the show, in the Band Hospitality area, there was the usual crowd of fans, label people, and crew. Also on hand was Bon Harris (from Nitzer Ebb), who was hanging out with some of the DM tour crew. Meanwhile, Mr. Andy Franks ("tour manager extraordinare", to quote Jody), was getting down to finding the culprit who stole the table football ball. Sadly, it was not found (I wanted to play), so instead people were using the table as a coaster for their drinks (an obvious sacrilegious act in the eyes of Mr. Franks).
 

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Blog #38: End Of Tour/Christmas party at Union, Los Angeles, CA. (Day Off)
End Of Tour/Christmas party at Union, Los Angeles, CA. (Day Off)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 21, 1998

A party for the band, crew, and select invited guests. Basically, a lot of people crammed into a small place, drinking, and following Martin around. :)

When I got to the location (I was one of the first people there), I was surprised to find fans outside the building (so much for secret parties). Inside. the place was decked out with Christmas lights and balloons, including the light-trimmed "DM" that was backstage at the San Diego show . There was a DJ spinning classic 70's tracks (and some not-so-classic), a free bar (always nice), a generous helping of Chinese food, and a Korg keyboard sitting in the corner ready to be played (it never was while I was there, and I stayed most of the night). Martin, Andy, Peter Gordeno, Christian Eigner, Janet and Jordan were all in attendance (David did not make it), along with a lot of the touring personnel. Again, most of what I saw were people walking around (mainly following Martin), and chatting the night away, while smoking up a storm (my poor lungs). For a fan (like myself), hanging out in the same area as the band is cool, but it was otherwise kind of boring. But, the party did serve its purpose - a good party for the crew before the last show. It was not meant to humor any fans - it was for the band and crew. In that respect, it was a cool party! Plus, Santa showed up, and was making balloon creations for the people. Never knew Santa drank Jack Daniels. ;)
 

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Blog #39: Anaheim, CA (Arrowhead Pond)
Anaheim, CA (Arrowhead Pond)
author: Daniel Barassi (Webmaster)
date posted: December 22, 1998

The final show! I ended up missing the first song, because I was waiting for Jody to throw me in the sound pit area (my home for the night). When there, I enjoyed a great performance, with a few surprises. During Never Let Me Down Again, in the middle breakdown bit, Peter Gordeno slipped in a few bars of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (I only heard it when I played the tape back - I didn't catch it live). At the beginning of "Enjoy The Silence", David said "Merry Christmas, by the way", and during Personal Jesus, Chris from Stabbing Westward joined Janet and Jordan onstage (complete with feather boa) to sing backup vocals. The final treat happened before the second encore ("Just Can't Get Enough"). Fletch came to the microphone, and said:

"Thanks, ladies and gentlemen. (You've) been a great audience. We've enjoyed ourselves in Southern California. This has been one of the happiest tours for Depeche Mode for a long time, and there is a small chance we might be back. I'd like to thank the band. Christian Eigner on drums, Peter Gordeno, Janet and Jordan, and Mr. Andrew Philpott, who put together all the programming for the tour. The unsung hero. He likes to think he is, anyway. So, anyway, I'll pass you over to the real star of the show...me! (band laughter) Over to Dave."

After the show I went backstage. This time, I brought a six-pack of table football balls (at the first Pond show, someone had stolen the ball). I came to play! Sure enough, myself, my friend Chad, and two other backstage people joined up for a quick game (we won). After we finished, Martin walked over. He (and Chris from Stabbing Westward) kicked the asses of the guys we had just played (it should be noted that Martin chose to play with a yellow golf ball, instead of a standard table football ball).

After witnessing "the man" in action (Martin), there was no way I was going to play against him. Instead, Martin and Chris teamed up against Peter Gordeno and Christian Eigner for a final grudge match (again, using the golf ball - go figure). The game must have lasted at least ten minutes! It was very obvious that these four men have played this game a LOT during this tour. Best moments were when Martin was missing a few of his shots. It's very unusual to hear Martin Gore scream "Oh come on!", and watch him jump up and down. Damn cool though. ;) It should also be noted that Christian is a damn good goalie (he was blocking a lot of Martin's shots).

Another interruption for Martin was when his daughter walked over (very cute little girl), and start tugging on his shirt, and hugging his leg, while he was playing. Even with this handicap, Martin and Chris did win (even going so far as to do a jumping high five at the end of the game).

A great end to a cool show. The next day, the band and crew left for Christmas at home. Happy holidays to all!
 
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