Sub-culture of Depeche Mode fans in the Czech lands with a focus on the period 1987-1995

The aim of the diploma thesis is to extend the knowledge about the subculture of fans of the British music group Depeche Mode in the Czech lands, especially in the years 1987-1995, in the period of perestroika and transformation. The research focuses mainly on the main features of this subculture, how it was organized and what activities it carried out, both within the limitations of socialist Czechoslovakia and in the period after the Velvet Revolution. The whole work is based primarily on interviews with active members of the subculture. The interviews were conducted using the oral history method. In addition to interviews, research is based on resources and information from specialist literature, archive materials, and periodicals. The work brings new insights into how the subculture of depechies in CSSR and later in the Czech Republic worked. According to media estimates, this subculture has had up to 250,000 members in its peak period, it created its own organizational structure and its members were easily recognizable for their typical visual elements. The work also reveals how the state power of socialist Czechoslovakia influenced the everyday life of the subculture, as well as the deeper subculture's relationships and interactions with other subcultures and communities. In addition, the..