Yeah, THAT tour
I've been searching for some type of account of the end of the Songs of Faith and Devotion tour. I did find this bit:
For all their success on stage, however, Depeche Mode are more famous for their excess off stage. The two-year long tour supporting Songs of Faith and Devotion culminated with them travelling separately and living in different hotels....
"Ah, the infamous Songs of Faith and Devotion tour," laughed Andrew Fletcher from his record company office in Paris recently.
"The truth is, that was quite possibly the worst time for the band. I was depressed from all the touring, Dave was a drug addict and the whole band wasn't on speaking terms. Funnily enough, the only thing I remembered about that tour was our Singapore stop in 1994 when we played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
"It was a very good gig, even if we spent our times separately because it was a difficult time for us," added the affable 44-year-old. "It was sad the way things turned out eventually, especially with Alan leaving. I miss him terribly; he is a good friend. Those were very difficult times for the band."...
For long time Depeche Mode fans, one issue still persists: What exactly does Fletcher do in the band?
The 1989 tour documentary 101...revealed some stunning facts — Dave Gahan sings, Martin Gore writes, Alan Wilder produces and Fletcher, well, dances on stage and does very little else.
When I put the question to him, a loud roar of laughter echoes down the phone.
"The truth is, I don't write songs. I have no interest. I play a bit of keyboards but I took an interest in the business side of the band, dealing with the record label and our daily affairs," he said. "Martin and Dave are the backbone of the band, I suppose I'm the guy who brings them together."
Here's what Wikipedia says, briefly:
The 14-month "Devotional" world tour followed. Strains became apparent when Fletcher declined to participate in the second "exotic" leg of the tour.
In June 1995 after the tour Alan Wilder left the band citing "unsatisfactory internal working conditions"; he continued to work on his personal project, Recoil.
Contributing factors that have been suggested include the drug addiction issues of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore's admission of "battling his own demons" at this time, and growing tensions between Wilder and Andrew Fletcher. Wilder had stated that he contributed a lion's share of work while receiving the least credit on past albums.
And another allusion:
When Depeche Mode lead singer Dave Gahan strode to center stage at the Worcester Centrum Centre in Massachusetts Tuesday (Oct. 27) night, he did it with the confidence of a happy man. In fact, the band as a whole seemed to exude a relaxed confidence that shined through in the music, the vocals, the imagery... Everything said, "It's good to be back."
And if ever a band could appreciate the chance to wipe the slate clean, it would have to be Depeche Mode. As a group, the 18- year- old Depeche Mode has seen some trying times in recent years: Gahan's much- publicized battle with drugs, keyboardist Andy Fletcher's nervous breakdown, and the departure of longtime keyboardist Alan Wilder....
From a different page on the same site:
1993 saw them released a very un-Depeche Mode like album in 'Songs of Faith and Devotion'. The album overall has a rock edge to it. It debuts simultaneusly at the No.1 position on both the U.S. and U.K. charts, the first album by a band to have achieved such a feat ! which serves as a testimony to Depeche Mode's strong fan base. The fans besides noticing the change in sound, also noticed that the lead singer David Gahan has metamorphosised into a rock god.
Depeche Mode went on a lengthy tour which caused severe strains on their relationships. Before the end of the tour saw Martin Gore having seizures and Andy Fletcher having a nervous breakdown and David Gahan getting more and more into dangerous drugs. Shortly after the tour ended, key member Alan Wilder shocked Depeche Mode fans worldwide and to a lesser extent his bandmates when he announced his decision to quit the band.
Or from another perspective:
The band decided to do a HUGE tour, larger than any other they had done, to promote the album. During this time Andrew Fletcher, who also handled band finances, began to have a mental breakdown, leaving the tour half way through. To everybody near him, Dave was clearly self-destructing. As the tour winded down after over a year of touring, it was obvious Dave was not healthy. After the end of the tour, Dave attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. After a brief hospital stay, he was released. In 1995, Alan Wilder announced that he was leaving the group, citing the fact that he didn't get enough credit for the amount of work he did, and was tired of working within the confines of a band..
In 1996, Martin tracked down Dave, and the trio (Dave, Martin, and the healthy Fletch) proceeded to try to record new material for the next album, "Ultra." But due to David's continuing addiction to drugs, recording of vocals became practically impossible....
Moral - multi-year tours are a bad thing. So much was made of Dave and the SOFAD tour, but truth is that all four of the (then) members of Depeche Mode were adversely affected by the ordeal.
Comments