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THE
WHEREHOUSE
3/20/90
[Sire/Reprise/Mute PRO-C-4329]
" I haven't seen anything like this before. Girls are crying. Boys are hurling themselves at the limo. "
Summary:
An instore band appearance in Los Angeles to promote the release of Violator
drew such a phenomenal crowd that the area was brought to a standstill and
police were obliged to close the event in the interests of public safety. As a
consolation to the thousands of disappointed fans, the organisers made this
cassette available: the story of the event, narrated by K-ROQ DJ Richard Blade
and composed of snippets of band member interview and news broadcasts as the
drama unfolded. An outstanding and historically essential item, you can taste
the mounting excitement on the original. [3438 words]
A transcript only captures half of it: copies of the cassette are on sale here and I strongly recommend it.
Try
also: "Faith,
Hope And Depravity" [Select, December 1990]
"Strangers"
Introduction
This
piece is part of the Devotion Trail [previous
item] [next item]
[Note: Bold text is Richard Blade's narration. Italics are radio and TV news soundclips.]
Tuesday March 20th 1990 was initially just an ordinary day. Apart from it being the first day of spring the only other item of distinction was the fact that Depeche Mode were releasing their latest album, Violator. To coincide with that release the boys in Depeche decided to get together with their record label Sire/Reprise, K-ROQ FM radio in Los Angeles, and the Wherehouse record store, across from the Beverley Centre, in order to meet their fans. That's when Tuesday March 20th 1990 ceased being just another day and earned itself a place in rock history.
- Depending on who you believe, up to ten thousand young people showed up last night to see the British band Depeche Mode at a record store promotion. [1] It started peacefully, but it got out of hand when restless fans started pushing and shoving. LAPD called in almost one hundred officers before it was over, and they were dressed for battle.
- Los Angeles city councilman Zev Yuroslovsky is furious that K-ROQ, the radio station that promoted the band's appearance, let so many kids stand in line. The city wants between twenty and thirty thousand dollars for police time, paramedics who were on the scene, and the cost of clean-up. This place was a mess when it was all over.
But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves right now. This event actually had its roots back in October 1989 when Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode called K-ROQ to talk about finishing the new album in London.
DAVE: We've been basically working on it since early April, we were out in Milan for a few months, and then we went off to Denmark for a couple of months, and we're finishing up in London, we hope to finish the album just before Christmas. But it's sounding really good; we're just finishing up at the moment mixing the next single, and may hopefully get the album out around, sort of, March.
The album's release date turned out to be March 20th 1990. Prior to the album coming out, Depeche Mode released two singles. The second was Enjoy The Silence; the first was Personal Jesus, which featured no less than five different mixes.
DAVE: With a song like Personal Jesus, we took it as far away as possible from the foot stomp sort of beat that the song's got, the very bluesy feel that the song's got, and we done some remixes with Francois Kevorkian from New York and some dance mixes, and he sort of basically turned the whole thing around, and we wanted to get it completely away. And also, of course, the acoustic version that Martin and I knocked out in three minutes, or something.
BLADE: Are you pleased with that acoustic version?
DAVE: Yeah, I mean it was just - the song lends itself to that, and that kind of approach. And that's, I'm sure, how the song was originally written. That's something that was done like an afterthought really, and Martin and I just went in the studio, and he strummed away while I was singing. I think it's a really good feel, actually - it's the song at it's bare minimum. And a very different sort of sound of Depeche Mode as well.
With two hit singles - Enjoy The Silence and Personal Jesus - Sire/Reprise got together with K-ROQ and arranged for Depeche Mode to meet their fans at the Wherehouse record store across from the Beverley Centre.
- K-ROQ bring Depeche Mode to the Wherehouse record store at Beverley, La Cienega, across from the Beverley Centre.
- Tuesday night March 20th at 9pm: Come out and meet the band, plus be part of the K-ROQ exclusive live broadcast as Richard Blade interviews Depeche Mode.
- Come meet Depeche Mode on the first day you can buy their new album at the Wherehouse record store at Beverley in La Cienega. From 106.7 K-ROQ.
With the announcement made, the excitement began to build...
BLADE: ...A couple of members of Depeche Mode in the studio, we have Andy Fletcher and Alan Wilder, good to have you guys in studio. Kind of a surprise, we didn't really want to announce it on radio because we're doing the thing on Tuesday - -
ANDY: But you were hinting, weren't you? [laughs]
BLADE: Yeah, a few little hints here and there, you know! Just a mention that maybe - -
ANDY: A few casual - -
BLADE: Yeah [laughs]. Well you guys certainly deliver on the CD as well, and it's going to be nice for you to meet the fans. On behalf of K-ROQ, thankyou for agreeing to do that on Tuesday. It's going to be a little crazy, don't you think Jed?
JED: I ran into these guys last night, downstairs, and they said they're going to stay as long as they can on Tuesday night. If it was up to them they'd spend the night there.
ANDY: Yeah, we're having our sleeping bags taken down.
BLADE: In the instores that you've done in England etc, have you got any tips for the fans listening now, what they should have with them, or - -
ALAN: Yeah, we will only sign one thing per fan - -
BLADE: YEEAAHH!!!
ALAN: It's unfair to sign a whole bunch of things because then, other people don't get a chance, so that's it really. And just to keep moving through, because there's obviously going to be a big turnout. Well, hopefully, and we won't have time to do everybody.
ANDY: And no body-signings either! [laughs]
BLADE: OK, no body parts, right, like "Sign my chest...."
ANDY: Certain body parts we might consider.
[laughter]
BLADE: There are some very excited ladies listening right now, I'll tell you, at this very moment.
- [News reporter]: How long have you been waiting in line?
- [Fans]: Since Sunday morning.
- [News reporter]: Why do you do that?
- [Fans]: Because they're gods! It's Depeche Mode they are the best [...] We've been sleeping - we slept the first night we were here, we slept outside the hotel in our car.
Fans came from all over the south land, and some from even out of state.
- [Fans]: We came all the way from Arizona...we heard about it, over the radio, the new album, and it was definitely worth the ride.
As the evening of March 20th approached, Depeche Mode became the top story on the news.
- Traffic has been congested near the Beverley Centre for hours.
- And not because of a traffic accident, but a group from England. It took ten years and twenty-two singles, but Depeche Mode is now the word in music hall progressive techno-pop. Tonight the band is appearing in person for an autograph party at a west Los Angeles record store. It has attracted thousands of fans waiting to see their music idols, some who have been lined up since last night.
- If you were anywhere near the Beverley Centre today or tonight, you probably saw a lot of people there, it's all turned into a human gridlock. And you're probably wondering, "What's this about already?" Well, it's about a group called Depeche Mode.
- Would you believe that there are ten thousand teenagers here? You can hear the screaming all over the Beverley Centre area. A line of teenagers fifteen blocks long, like the swooning over Sinatra and the ecstasy over Elvis and the fainting over the Fab Four, Depeche Mode is definitely today's hot act.
- 106.7 K-ROQ, K-R-O-Q, take it away Richard.
BLADE: Alright Katy, we are once again inside the Wherehouse Store, Depeche Mode are just saying Hi to a few people in the back room and getting their breath. To all the folks listening in line, just pass it on that they're going to start signing in about five minutes, that's when I'll be opening the doors and letting people come in to meet the band. But I'll tell you, it feels like a jock meeting here, I almost think we're going to get fired or something! We've got more DJs in the store tonight than we have had for a long time - we've got Paul Mann, we've got Scott Mason, we've got Jed the Fish, we've also got Kevin and Bean. So this is your first, like, huge K-ROQ promotion with a major band; I know we've had the world tour, what do you think of it so far?
KEVIN: Incredible, we thought we were going to die, we were outside when the limos pulled up, we got rushed, we played security guards, we held the throngs off...and we almost got killed.
BLADE: Let me ask you, Bean, if this is alright: How does this compare with having Tony Orlando in the studio this morning?
[laughter]
BEAN: Well, ah, that's a tough comparison to make, really, to be honest, but let me just say that we didn't really have any security problems this morning with old Tone!
- Behind me right now is probably every teenager in town, and they're all screaming in my ear. The group Depeche Mode is very hot. They started out as a dance band and they just built. They sold out the Rosebowl. Just a few minutes ago they arrived by limo at the Wherehouse here in the Beverley Centre area, and I haven't seen anything like this before. Girls are crying. Boys are hurling themselves at the limo.
- The LAPD just called out a tactical alert, which means plain squad cars are on the way to the Beverley Centre.
- The band is called Depeche Mode, the latest post-modern group to retake the US by storm. [2] Tonight thousands of fans jammed the streets surrounding the Wherehouse music store which is across from the Beverley Centre trying to get autographs. The private security force couldn't handle them all, and police had to be called. Twenty units arrived initially, but that wasn't enough. One person fainted after fans began to crowd in, and she was taken to a local hospital. These fans were going to any lengths to get a peek of their favourite stars.
When we come back, we'll talk with Depeche Mode and find out what happened inside the Wherehouse. Plus, a world exclusive: an unreleased new version of a Depeche Mode single.
[intermission]
[1] - One of the most nerve-jangling aspects of this cassette is the way that virtually every time a figure for the number of fans queueing is given, it creeps higher and higher. [continue]
[2] - It speaks volumes about the way Depeche Mode were received in the USA that the various newscasters have such difficulty in describing their genre. So far we've had 'dance', 'rock', 'post-modern', and 'music hall progressive techno-pop', whatever that might be. Evidently, America had never known anything like them. [continue]