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Andy Fletcher
Fletcher in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Andrew John Leonard Fletcher
Also known as	Fletch
Born	(1961-07-08)8 July 1961 Nottingham, England
Origin	Basildon, England
Died	26 May 2022(2022-05-26) (aged 60) United Kingdom
Genres	Alternative dance synthpop new wave alternative rock electronic rock industrial rock
Occupations	Musician manager spokesperson DJ
Instruments	Synthesizer keyboards bass sampler
Years active	1977–2022
Labels	Mute Records Toast Hawaii

Andrew John Leonard Fletcher (8 July 1961 – 26 May 2022), also known as Fletch, was an English keyboard player, DJ, and founding member of the electronic band Depeche Mode. In 2020, he and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life

Fletcher was the eldest of four siblings born to Joy and John Fletcher. The family moved to Basildon from Nottingham when he was two years old. He was active in the local Boys' Brigade from an early age, primarily to play football.

Career

Depeche Mode

Fletcher was 15 in 1976 when punk rock arrived on the music scene. He said this was "obviously the perfect age to experience it...we were very lucky in life". He was then influenced by bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, Kraftwerk, early Human League, and early OMD. Fletcher and schoolmate Vince Clarke formed the short-lived band No Romance in China, in which Fletcher played bass guitar. In 1980, Fletcher met Martin Gore at the Van Gogh pub on Paycocke Road in Basildon. With Clarke, the trio, now all on synthesizer, formed another group called Composition of Sound. Clarke served as chief songwriter and also provided lead vocals until singer Dave Gahan was recruited into the band later that year, after which they adopted the name Depeche Mode at Gahan's suggestion. Clarke left the group in late 1981, shortly after the release of their debut album Speak & Spell.

Their 1982 follow-up album, A Broken Frame, was recorded as a trio, with Gore taking over primary songwriting duties. Musician and producer Alan Wilder joined the band in late 1982 and the group continued as a quartet until Wilder's departure in 1995. From then on, the core trio of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher remained active, up to the release of their 2017 album Spirit and ensuing world tour.

Role

Fletcher's role within Depeche Mode was often a topic of speculation. In early incarnations of the band, he played (electric and later synth) bass. As the band evolved after Vince Clarke's departure in 1981, Fletcher's role changed as each of the band members took to the areas that suited them and benefited the band collectively. In a key scene in D.A. Pennebaker's 1989 documentary film about the band, Fletcher clarified these roles: "Martin's the songwriter, Alan's the good musician, Dave's the vocalist, and I bum around." In his review of 2005's Playing the Angel, long after Wilder's departure from the band, Rolling Stone writer Gavin Edwards riffed upon Fletcher's statement with the opening line: "Depeche Mode's unique division of labor has been long established, with each of the three remaining members having a distinct role: Martin Gore writes the songs, Dave Gahan sings them and Andy Fletcher shows up for photo shoots and cashes the checks." Fletcher was the only member of the band who did not receive a songwriting credit.

With the band having not always employed a full-time manager, Fletcher handled many of the band's business, legal, and other non-musical interests over the years. In the press kit for Songs of Faith and Devotion, he discussed being genuinely interested in many of the business aspects of the music industry that other performing musicians shy away from, and as such, he took over a lot of the business management aspects of the band. In later years, this included acting as the band's "spokesperson", with Fletcher often being the one to announce Depeche Mode news (such as record album and tour details).

He was also said to be the member who was "the tiebreaker" and the one that "brings the band together". According to interviews, Fletcher built the compromise between Gahan and Gore that settled their serious dispute following 2001's Exciter album and tour over future songwriting duties within Depeche Mode.

In the studio and during live shows, Fletcher contributed a variety of supporting synthesizer parts, including bass parts, pads, strings, and drone sounds, and various samples.

Fletcher was the only member of Depeche Mode who did not sing. Although he can be seen singing in videos of Depeche's past live performances, usually Fletcher's vocals were either mixed very low or heard only through his own stage monitors. From the band's 2013/14 Delta Machine Tour onwards, he no longer had a vocal mic at keyboard station.

Fletcher sang on the interlude "Crucified" on Violator. According to Alan Wilder, every band member participated in the choir on the song "Condemnation" from Songs of Faith and Devotion and Wilder confirms this on the press kit of the same album.

Toast Hawaii

In 2002, Fletcher launched his own record label, a Mute Records imprint called Toast Hawaii (named after the dish) and signed the band CLIEИT. He coordinated the recording of their eponymous 2003 debut and 2004's City, while also produced "extended remixes" for their subsequent singles "Price of Love", "Rock and Roll Machine", "Here and Now", "In It for the Money", "Radio", and "Pornography" (featuring Carl Barât of The Libertines).

CLIEИT left the label in 2006 and no further activity with Toast Hawaii was held or announced.

DJ career

Initially to support CLIEИT's live shows, Fletcher began touring as a DJ. Whenever he was on hiatus from Depeche Mode, Fletcher played occasional festivals and club gigs in Europe, Asia, South America, and "places where Depeche Mode haven't visited or been able to visit", and was known to include various exclusive Depeche remixes in his sets. A DJ set of Fletcher's from 15 February 2004 in Warsaw has been widely bootlegged, titled One Night in Warsaw.

In late 2015, Fletcher embarked on a small tour of European clubs.

Personal life

Fletcher was married to Grainne for almost 30 years. The couple had two children.

While Depeche Mode were touring with the band Blancmange in the early 1980s, Fletcher was renowned for his skill at chess. Neil Arthur of Blancmange has mentioned in interviews "never winning a game of chess with Andy Fletcher!"

During the 1990s, Fletcher owned a restaurant called Gascogne located on Blenheim Terrace in St. John's Wood, London.

He made a series of bad investments in the mid-1990s that led to a number of financial settlements involving Lloyd's of London and Daniel Miller.

According to The Independent, "Fletcher's deepening depression resulted, in the summer of 1994, in a full nervous breakdown."

Death

Fletcher died from natural causes at his home on 26 May 2022, aged 60.

Discography

References

1. ^ Dalton, Andrew (26 May 2022). "Depeche Mode founding keyboardist Andy Fletcher dies at 60". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
2. "Depeche Mode keyboardist Andy Fletcher dies". BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
3. Stone, Katie. "Watch Depeche Mode's Wholesome Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists.
4. "Andy Fletcher dies aged 60: Depeche Mode founding keyboardist passes away at UK home". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
5. "Depeche Mode's Andrew Fletcher dies aged 60". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
6. ^ Fletcher, Andrew (1 February 2011). "Interview: Andrew Fletcher". Modefan.com (Interview). Interviewed by Tomas. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
7. ^ "Depeche Mode's Vince Clarke and Martin Gore reunite in the name of techno". Fact Magazine. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
8. "Depeche Mode - the real meaning of the name (it's not Fast Fashion)". eightyeightynine.com. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
9. Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8.
10. Pearce, Sheldon (11 October 2016). "Depeche Mode Announce New Album Spirit, Upcoming Tour | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
11. Edwards, Gavin (20 October 2005). "Playing The Angel". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
12. ^ "Bohemian | Interview: Depeche Mode's Andrew Fletcher". Bohemian. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
13. ^ "Depeche Mode - Electronic Press Kit - Songs of Faith and Devotion".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. "Depeche Mode". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
15. "Shunt - The Official Recoil Website". Recoil.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
16. ^ "Andy Fletcher and Client - Release Music Magazine Spotlight". releasemagazine.net. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
17. "Fletch To Embark On DJ Tour". Depechemode.com. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
18. ^ "Depeche Mode's Andrew Fletcher dies aged 60". The Guardian. 26 May 2022.
19. "Neil Arthur, Interview with Chi Ming Lai (2012)". Electricity Club. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014.
20. "Deadlines clarified by court". The Lawyer. 4 July 1998. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
21. "Music a la Mode". The Independent. 2 May 1997. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2019.

External links

• Andy Fletcher discography at Discogs
• Andy Fletcher at IMDb

• 1961 births
• 2022 deaths
• 20th-century English musicians
• 21st-century English musicians
• British synth-pop new wave musicians
• Depeche Mode members
• English DJs
• English electronic musicians
• English new wave musicians
• English record producers
• English rock bass guitarists
• English rock keyboardists
• Male bass guitarists
• Musicians from Nottinghamshire
• People from Nottingham