Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, keyboardist and one of the founding members of the popular British electronic band Depeche Mode, has passed away. He was 60 years old.
The news was announced via the official Twitter account of Depeche Mode, which broke the news on Thursday afternoon. “Fletch had a true heart of gold, and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a good laugh, or a cool pint,” the post read. The cause of death has not been confirmed.
– Depeche mode (depechemode) 26 May 2022
Fletcher formed Depeche Mode in 1980 with Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Vince Clarke, who was initially seen as the composer of the group before abruptly leaving after their debut album and leaving Gore as the lead songwriter ever since. Fletch was the outwardly less flashy of the primary trio, often wearing shadows while standing behind consoles while the more conspicuous Gahan and Gore roamed the stage, but still raised both arms to wake the mob.
Talking about his role on the set, Fletcher She said In an interview published in Electronic Beats, he said that he was “the tall guy in the background, without whom this international company called Depeche Mode would never work. There is a huge misconception that real guys in guitar teams work on real instruments – evening after evening – while in Synthesizers like Depeche Mode Nobody works, because they’re all machines. But that’s nonsense….apart from the singer, the audience doesn’t really know what role the musician plays within the group. But bands like Kraftwerk or Depeche Mode actually act as sections of work gatherings …the contribution of each individual remains invisible. Because I do not push myself to the fore, many mistake me for the fifth wheel.”
Over the course of Fletcher’s tenure with the group, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and had 54 singles on the UK Singles Chart. As a member of Depeche Mode, Fletcher was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
We are a democracy. Fletcher said in 2017, if someone doesn’t want to do something, we won’t Interview With The Skinny in the UK “Martin and Dave live in the US and I live here, but that doesn’t really affect our relationships. Martin and I are very close. Dave is more like a brother to me – if that makes sense. But what makes bands better are artists.” The single is the electricity that is generated.Sometimes a band can’t stand each other but that electricity makes great music.It’s the same with Depeche mode;We have moments when we don’t like each other, and moments when we love each other.It is the electricity that is generated between all of us that It produces good music.”
Fletcher talked about how the group wasn’t taken seriously by the press in the early days, and was dismissed as just another band until runs out at venues like the Rose Bowl forced the world to take Depeche Mode seriously — but until then, it comes Credibility sometimes more easily in America than in their country of origin.
“The UK is the country where we have received the most criticism. The press has never taken us seriously, apparently… until this album,” he said in 2017, when “Spirit” was the band’s last album to date. , is issued. The problem with Britain is that the press is always looking for the next big thing, and they forget about the last big thing. In America and Europe, they tend to be more loyal.” But, he added, “These days, most of our interviews, almost everyone seems to like us.”
In a 2009 interview with the German newspaper die feltFletcher explained, “I’m the opposite of Dave. I’m a musician but on the street no one would recognize me. Inside the band, I contribute a pop element. (Gore), who writes most songs, loves American blues and blues. Dave discovered jazz for himself. However, from I will likely feel forever loyal to the simple pop melodies and the lightness they represent.”
Fletcher spoke of their stamina, telling The Skinny that it was “a wonderful dream come true. I always tell this story, but we had these accountants when we started making a little bit of money, and they made a plan – that we’d only last for two or three years. And with So we kept gaining more and more popularity; we had to get rid of this plan.
“It looks like we’re more famous now than we’ve ever been. We’re not a big media band, and our ambition was never to be the biggest band in the world – it’s just the way it went. I think being at Mute Records has been a huge help. We had offers at first from the big brands, and they promised us a lot of money, but instead we picked a guy who didn’t give us any money.”
Fletcher shared a pre-recorded acceptance speech when Depeche Mode was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the pandemic in late 2020, but in his usual style of staying in the background, he didn’t have much to say for either Gahan and Gore. He has interjected to say “It’s a shame we don’t come to the concert” (usually part of the Hall of Fame extrapolation); that “You were still stealing cars, Dave” if the band hadn’t worked out; The exhilarating “to the pub!” At the conclusion of admission.
Speaking with Die Welt in 2009, Fletcher said the group had been dope for many years. “As a rock star, you are king for one night when you enter a city—especially in the States. For one night, we owned the saloon, gambling tables, alcohol, and girls. And the next evening another city was under our feet. … Everything changed. We all have a family and children now.” I’m the only one left in the band who loves a drink. Vice one by one goes overboard. You can’t go on with this lifestyle forever.”
[ad_2]
