Andy Fletcher

"We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," ...

The band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark tweeted Tributes to Fletcher began to pour in shortly after the band's announcement of his death. The announcement did not specify a cause of death.

Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, keyboardist and one of the founding members of iconic British electronic band Depeche Mode, has died. He was 60.

“As a rock star, you are a king for one night whenever you enter a town — especially in the States. For one night, we’d own the saloon, the gambling tables, the alcohol and the girls. I’m the only one left in the band who fancies a drink. Talking with Die Welt in 2009, Fletcher said the group had been a sedate one for many years. I always tell this story, but we had these accountants when we started to make a bit of money, and they drew up a plan — that we’d only last for two or three years. In a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Fletcher explained, “I’m the opposite of Dave. I’m a musician but on the street nobody will recognize me. We had offers in the beginning from major labels, and they promised us a lot of money, but instead we chose a man that was offering us no money.” “Fletch had a true heart of gold, and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a good laugh, or a cold pint,” the post reads. In America and Europe, they tend to be more loyal.” But, he added, “These days, most interviews we do, almost everyone seems to like us.” Within the band, I contribute the element of pop. And because I don’t push myself to the fore, many mistake me for the fifth wheel." There is this big misunderstanding that in guitar bands real men are working real instruments — evening after evening — while in a synthesizer band like Depeche Mode nobody works, because it’s all machines." "Sometimes a band can’t stand each other but that electricity makes for great music.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, the unassuming, bespectacled, red-headed keyboardist who for more than 40 years added his synth sounds to Depeche ...

With Gore, who Fletcher met at a pub in Basildon in 1980, they formed the trio Composition of Sound, with all three playing synthesizer. A fan of soccer team Chelsea FC with a penchant for chess, Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group. As usual, Fletcher let his bandmates do nearly all the talking. “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” the band's posts said. “Since we were 10,” Moyet tweeted Thursday. “Same estate. Gahan, Fletcher and Gore had to accept the honor remotely along with all the other inductees in the pandemic year.

LONDON : Andrew Fletcher, the keyboard player and founder member of British electronic pioneers Depeche Mode has died, the group said on Thursday.

"We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," the group said on Twitter. "We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," the group said on Twitter. Andrew Fletcher, the keyboard player and founder member of British electronic pioneers Depeche Mode has died, the group said on Thursday (May 26). He was 60.

On the other hand: Dave Gahan, the flamboyant, extroverted, extremely topless lead singer, never shy about preening in white jeans. Fletch was in the middle, ...

The gorgeous 2005 Playing the Angel is a top-five Depeche Mode album, with one of their loveliest singles in “Precious.” And they remained monstrously awesome as a live act. When Depeche Mode was inducted into the Hall of Fame, via long-distance video, Dave Gahan gave a speech thanking the group’s artistic heroes, like David Bowie, Iggy and the Stooges, the Clash. Fletcher chimed in, “The Eagles!” In the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary 101, fans follow the group on an American tour. “But you know, we do travel in a certain amount of luxury.” They always kept making great music in the studio—their last album, 2017’s Spirit, is a truly underrated banger. Fletch spends the whole movie looking slightly surprised, yet amused by all the fan hysteria around him, not to mention the melodrama in the group itself. As he told the NME right at the beginning, in 1981, “You don’t have to be a great musician to play and get a message out. On one hand: Martin Gore, the brooding songwriter, pouting “Understaaand me” to the camera in a leather jacket. “Traveling gets harder as we get older,” Fletch told me in 2009. “You don’t need to get four people together in some warehouse to practice.” For him, that set artists free for new kinds of creative liberation. He always seemed to have the same haircut, the same glasses, the same dry smirk. The group started off with in the London suburb Basildon, with synth wizard Vince Clarke writing the songs. Fletch, who died at age 60 of natural causes, was a founding member of the pioneering synth-pop sages, and a crucial element in their chemistry. The closest he came to the others’ theatrical decadence was lip-synching the screams in the “Master and Servant” video.

Born in 1961 in Nottingham, Fletcher befriended schoolmate Vince Clarke in the '70s and formed the band No Romance in China, in which he played bass. In 1980 he ...

Clarke departed the group in 1981, and Alan Wilder joined in 1982 (though he too left in 1995), though Fletcher remained in the group up until the present day. Born in 1961 in Nottingham, Fletcher befriended schoolmate Vince Clarke in the ’70s and formed the band No Romance in China, in which he played bass. “Our hearts are with his family, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and respect their privacy in this difficult time.”

Fletch” played for the British synth pop giants for more than 40 years.

“We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” the band’s posts said. His death leaves Gahan and Gore as the only permanent members of the band. Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group, his face never as familiar as those of his bandmates.

Fletch” played for the British synth pop giants for more than 40 years.

“We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” the band’s posts said. His death leaves Gahan and Gore as the only permanent members of the band. Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group, his face never as familiar as those of his bandmates.

Andy Fletcher, the keyboarding and co-founder of Depeche Mode, has died. He was 60.

Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Depeche Mode were officially founded in 1980, and the band would go on to release 14 studio albums with Fletcher playing on all of them. Andy Fletcher, the keyboarding and co-founder of Depeche Mode, has died.

Founding member of Depeche Mode Andy Fletcher has died, aged 60. No cause of death has yet been officially announced.

In 1980, he formed Depeche Mode – initially under the name Composition Of Sound – with schoolfriend Vince Clarke, with Clarke on guitar and vocals and Fletcher on bass. And in 2020, Fletcher, Gahan and Gore were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame during a virtual ceremony. “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher”, say the band in a statement.

Andy Fletcher, founding member and keyboardist of Depeche Mode, has died at the age of 60, the band announced.

Lol Tolhurst, drummer with The Cure, also paid tribute to the late keyboardist online, writing: “I knew Andy and considered him a friend. There, he met future Depeche Mode founding member Vince Clarke, with whom he formed a band called No Romance in China. After meeting Martin Gore, they formed a different group named Composition of Sound, changing their name to Depeche Mode in 1980 with the addition of Dave Gahan. Though Clarke departed the band following the release of their 1981 debut Speak & Spell, Fletcher remained an active member throughout their entire career, which spans 14 studio albums. Andy Fletcher, founding member and keyboardist of Depeche Mode, has died at the age of 60.

Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group, but was a uniting figure and often the tiebreaking vote in the squabbles of his more famous bandmates.

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Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group, but was a uniting figure and often the tiebreaking vote in the squabbles of his more famous bandmates.

With Gore, who Fletcher met at a pub in Basildon in 1980, they formed the trio Composition of Sound, with all three playing synthesizer. A fan of soccer team Chelsea FC with a penchant for chess, Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group. As usual, Fletcher let his bandmates do nearly all the talking. "We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," the band's posts said. "Since we were 10," Moyet tweeted Thursday. "Same estate. Gahan, Fletcher and Gore had to accept the honor remotely along with all the other inductees in the pandemic year.

Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group, but was a uniting figure and often the tiebreaking vote in the squabbles of his more famous bandmates.

With Gore, who Fletcher met at a pub in Basildon in 1980, they formed the trio Composition of Sound, with all three playing synthesizer. A fan of soccer team Chelsea FC with a penchant for chess, Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group. As usual, Fletcher let his bandmates do nearly all the talking. "We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," the band's posts said. "Since we were 10," Moyet tweeted Thursday. "Same estate. Gahan, Fletcher and Gore had to accept the honor remotely along with all the other inductees in the pandemic year.

For more than 40 years, he added his synth sounds to Depeche Mode hits like “Just Can't Get Enough” and “Personal Jesus.”

The oldest of four children, Andrew John Leonard Fletcher was born in Nottingham, England, on July 8, 1961. He also occasionally played bass in the band, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. A fan of soccer team Chelsea FC with a penchant for chess, Mr. Fletcher assumed a low-profile in the group.

Keyboard player and business brain of Depeche Mode who pushed the electronic band to long-lasting success.

Gahan became sober in the late 90s and the group resumed recording and playing live. Andy joined the Christian organisation the Boys’ Brigade and remained a member until he was 18, during which he became actively religious. He attended church seven days a week, and with fellow member Vince Clarke, preached in the Brigade coffee bar. The band’s musical direction was shaped by Gore, who had bought a then-revolutionary synthesiser, while their image, according to Fletcher, was “post-Blitz kids with frilly shirts”. He got a job as a clerk at SunLife Insurance, and stuck with it until he was fairly sure he could make a living from music. Fletcher was a keyboardist and passionate proponent of electronics, glorying in the synthesiser’s role in overturning the convention of music being made with guitars and drums. Without his tenacity, exercised over 42 years, Depeche Mode would have splintered long before they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Pet Shop Boys and Alison Moyet have paid tribute to Depeche Mode keyboardist Andy Fletcher following his death at the age of 60.