When Depeche Mode Visited Prague in 1988

In 1988, the Czech Republic was still struggling with the communist regime, and Depeche Mode was one of the first bands from the West to perform in the country.

The interest in the concert that took place on March 11th, was overwhelming and there were thousands of people coming from abroad. The capacity of the venue (Sportovni Hala) was 16,000 but there were about 90,000 plus ticket requests.

The people from the art agency Pragokoncert were afraid that the Sportovni Hala was going to be damaged by raging hordes of people, and that the concert would become regrettable. The ticket sale was enormous.

Overall, more than 250,000 people wanted to go to the concert.

Interesting amounts, considering that the Depeche Mode albums were not sold here and the music videos were not broadcast… However, the concert performance was absolutely free of trouble in the end.

Rudé právo added that the band was nothing really new, as German electronic band Kraftwerk was well-known, and German pop band Modern Talking had played in Prague and Bratislava a year earlier. The reviewer did note the black fashions but went on to praise the show.

“The clear and almost perfect sound in the hall space was enhanced by the play of light to the experience, not without a touch of pathetic tenderness,” the reviewer stated. They went on to say the faces of the audience members after the concert showed something not usually associated with rock music – “a kind of accessibility, tolerance, a mixture of enthusiasm and peace of mind.”

A few months later, the band visited Prague again. This time, Andrew John Fletcher, Martin Lee Gore, Alan Wilder and David Gahan did not perform on stage, they came just to… visit Prague!

Their photographer Anton Corbijn shot this incredible series of pictures.

World in Pictures (Svět v obrazech) said that the 90-minute concert was a revolution, and time would tell if we were winning.

“For the first time, we had the opportunity to see that they are neither before nor behind the pinnacle of their artistic career. Depeche Mode is truly one of the best and most sought-after [acts] in the world,” they said.

Pictures from the photoshoot show the band at the cafe and waiting room in Prague’s main train station Hlavní nádraží, at Franz Kafka’s grave, and other spots in the New Jewish Cemetery in Žižkov, at the winter stadium on Štvanice, on Charles Bridge, in front of a record store, at the tram tracks on Josefská Street, at a phone booth, and on the steps leading to Prague Castle.

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