The depiction of the police attempting to shut down the video shoot due to safety concerns actually happened during filming , just as seen in the video . Hamlyn was almost arrested following a confrontation with the police . According to Avis , the events depicted in the video show what actually happened that day " almost in real time " , and that " getting busted was an integral part of the plan . " Band manager Paul McGuinness revealed in 2007 that much of the confrontation with the police was exaggerated ; the group were hoping to get shut down by the authorities in order to dramatize the music video , but the police continually gave them extensions for shooting the video . In the background of the video is a sign for The Million Dollar Hotel , which was rebuilt to create some interest , in case no one showed up at the film shoot . Although the video is of a live performance , the audio used is from the studio @-@ recorded version of the song . The video won the Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards .