By 1993, Depeche Mode had evolved from Basildon's synth-pop heroes into full-fledged globe-conquering rock and roll animals. The band's hard-partying ways were already legendary. Even notorious party people Primal Scream were shocked at the degree of excess in the Depeche Mode universe after opening for the band on The Devotional Tour that year.
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"The LP itself is really good… what was bad was the huge tour afterwards," Depeche Mode's Andy Fletcher told Uncut in 2016, referencing the group's eighth studio album, Songs of Faith and Devotion. "The whole period was a bit of a horror. I had a breakdown before the tour so it was tough for me. At the end, I finally said I can’t do it and left. I lucked out there, as I missed the notorious Primal Scream shows."
It was on The Devotional Tour when Depeche Mode headlined Denver's McNichols Sports Arena on November 2, 1993, with a night off before playing in Salt Lake City on November 4. The night off in Denver is when things went sideways.
"The night before I got arrested, I had a party in my room and there were about 50 people and it was really loud," Depeche Mode leader Martin Gore recalled to the magazine Pavement in 1997 (via DMLive). "The night of the arrest, it was me and a friend and the music was really quiet. They rang me and asked me to turn it down, so I turned it off. Next thing I know there's complete silence and the police knocked on the door. I stupidly opened it. They burst in, threw me on the bed and handcuffed me. There was no music whatsoever playing. I think they were out to get me for the night before."
The way Gore (barely) recalls it, his night in jail was just another tour after-party: "I can't remember much about it. I was really drunk at the time and it seemed like fun. The next day, when I sobered up, I realized why some of the people in there weren't too happy with me. I'd just been done in for disturbing the peace. If you've got this really jovial person in the cell next to you, singing and being really happy, and you're about to go down for 25 years, it's not that amusing. I had a good time, but I only had the one night, not 25 years."
In the end, Gore was fined a whopping $50 and sent on his merry way after spending 18 hours behind bars. MTV News was on the case.
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