Born on July 9, 1961 in Nottingham, Andrew Fletcher met Martin Gore in Basildon at the age of eleven and the two became best friends. Dave Gahan also hung out in the area, but more with other people for now.
In the late 1970s, Fletch formed the band No Romance In China with his schoolmate Vince Clarke, where they played bass. Martin Gore joined in 1980, they now called themselves Composition Of Sound and concentrated on synthesizers. That should remain Fletcher’s place, even when a year later Dave Gahan joined as singer and the band was henceforth called Depeche Mode.
The man in the shadow
Clarke went, Alan Wilder came and went, Gahan became addicted to drugs and almost died, Gore moved to California, everyone settled down and seemed to get along better. Depeche Mode’s career is well documented, but Andy Fletcher remained a bit of a mystery, the man in the shadows.
For 41 years he was the calming influence at Depeche Mode, some said: the accountant. He stood stoically behind the keyboards while the others did the show. And he thought that was fine. When I visited Depeche Mode on tour in 2001, he seemed by far the most relaxed – and put himself this way: “Dave is this more macho character, Martin is the feminine guitarist and I’m the normal guy from the street. We actually represent everyone. We were one of the first boy bands.”
It was surprising how unglamorous it was backstage at one of the biggest pop bands in the world, but Fletch, who was happy to handle the business side of things, had a simple explanation: they didn’t want any junk. “There really isn’t anything we couldn’t do without. Besides, if you want flowers, great decorations and all that stuff – you basically pay for everything yourself!”
Clear words
While Gahan and Gore liked to gloss over the situation when they didn’t get along too well, Fletch always found clear words. The “Faith And Devotion” tour in 1993 was “hell” for him, he once said, and after Gahan’s drug withdrawal in 1996 he always appreciated that Depeche Mode had become so reliable. Nevertheless, he didn’t pretend that this trio was a gang of buddies: “I actually only talk to Dave when it comes to the band. That’s how it was from the start.” On the side, Fletch opened his own small label Toast Hawaii in 2002, whose only band remained Electropopper Client until 2006, and DJed from time to time.
When Gahan started writing songs as well, he and Gore became the linchpins of Depeche Mode, and yet they needed Fletcher. It doesn’t matter that he might not have contributed that much musically – he wasn’t just a founding member, he was an essential part of the band as a human being. It’s hard to imagine her without him as the balancing element between the two alphas, his humility and wry detachment from all the madness that superstardom entails.
“I don’t get the same attention”
“My role in this band is to be in the background,” he said in 2005. “Dave is the vocalist, Martin is the songwriter. I’m the backroom boy. I realize that the other two are more important to the fans, they are the heroes. I don’t get the same attention. This is my destiny. I’m like Larry Mullen or Adam Clayton, who are always overshadowed by Bono and The Edge. But the chemistry of the band is only right when all members are together.”
Andy Fletcher passed away on May 26th. He dedicated two-thirds of his life to Depeche Mode. He had been with and married to the same woman for more than 40 years – a rarity in this business, and they had two children. “Our career often seems like a dream to me. And I’m afraid to wake up and suddenly have to do a normal job,” he said a few years ago. So he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Fletch’s dream remains untouchable.
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