Master and Servant about the song includes a mixing duration of seven days, and after all the reworking and final mastering of the mix, they realized they left the channel with the snare drum muted during the last chorus. Some of the sounds on "Master and Servant", such as the whip effect, are based on Daniel Miller standing in the studio hissing and spitting. According to the band, they tried to sample a real whip but "it was hopeless". The "Slavery Whip Mix" was the longest 12" Depeche Mode song at the time, with the outro being turned into a swing version of
Master and Servant Act issued verbal calls challenging an employer's hiring practices such as only using non-union workers. A revised Master and Servant Act was passed in 1867, which supposedly limited imprisonment to "aggravated" breaches of contract (where injury to persons or property was likely to result), but it was clear that only workers were subject to its provisions. Imprisonment, even for non-aggravated breaches of contract, continued when working people failed to comply with court orders for specific performance or for non-payment of monetary damages and fines. Between 1858 and 1875 on average 10,000 prosecutions a year took place under the Act in Britain.