Depeche Mode traditionally pay homage to Andrew Fletcher on their “Memento Mori” tour. The keyboardist, the founding member, died unexpectedly on May 22, 2022 and, despite his limited musical influence, leaves a big gap in the band – and among the fans. People loved Fletchy.
>>> order here: ROLLING STONE special issue “Depeche Mode”!
Fletch’s favorite song from the band was the 1990 Violator track “World In My Eyes,” and Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Christian Eigner and Peter Gordeno honored the deceased with a live performance of the song at the “Memento Mori” concert tour , and, more importantly, large screen overlays of Fletcher back in the day. Quite a few audience members had tears in their eyes during this song in the middle of the set.
At their concert in London’s O2 Arena (January 27, 2024), Depeche Mode broke with this – young – tradition. Instead of “World In My Eyes” they intoned another classic, “Behind The Wheel” from the 1987 album “Music for the Masses”. Initial surprise cheers were followed by astonishment – because “World In My Eyes” wouldn’t come later. Gahan dedicated “Behind The Wheel” to Andy (“for our friend Andrew Fletcher”), but for many it made a difference whether the “visuals”, like on “World In My Eyes”, the keyboardist “In Memoriam” style, or Dave Gahan’s Vespa clips in “Behind The Wheel”. Dave’s greeting to Fletcher at the end of the video is a bit bashful, along the lines of: He was there too, don’t forget!
The fans were correspondingly disappointed on social networks. “In my opinion they should have dropped ‘John the Revelator’ instead,” one wrote. Or: “Strange decision to replace ‘World in my Eyes’ with ‘Behind the Wheel’, considering ‘World in My Eyes’ is a homage to Fletch. I would have replaced ‘I Feel You’ or ‘In Your Room’ (especially the mix they use).” But one also writes: “Such crap! I missed ‘Behind the Wheel’ 😔 they didn’t play that Monday or Wednesday.”
Depeche Mode may have skipped “World In My Eyes” because their sets – no matter how transparent their song sequences are live – follow a dramaturgy. The beginning (songs from the new album) and the end (the mega hits) are set, but there can be variations in the middle field, i.e. from Martin Gore’s solo section to the regular end of the set.
The disappointment over Andrew Fletcher’s “expulsion” is understandable. No Andy on screen. However, Fletch also really liked “Behind The Wheel” and played the track during his DJ sets (here in Belgrade in 2011 in a Vince Clarke remix):