Of course, interviews about the new Depeche Mode album “Memento Mori” are always about Andrew Fletcher, who died in May 2022 – the third man who is now missed so much by the two remaining. Sometimes this also leads to difficult situations – which Dave Gahan, fortunately, easily resolves with his new nonchalance.
Why should one talk around it: It’s a certain irony of fate that Fletch was the first to die – the one who was considered the sensible one at Depeche Mode. Of course he also liked to party, of course he drank and took all sorts of things, but his excesses never went so far that he seemed to be in danger. While Gahan almost died of a heroin and cocaine overdose in 1996, and Martin Gore eventually had to quit all drugs (including alcohol), Fletch seemed to find it easier and easier not to break himself. How do you put that in such a way that … but then Gahan laughs out loud: “I know exactly what you mean! It’s funny that I’m still here and he isn’t. We had this internal saying about Fletch, even when Alan was still in the band he reminded me of that when we were talking after Fletch’s death: ‘He’ll outlive us all!’ Sure, he smoked and drank, he liked to sit at the bar, he was just this social guy, but nothing seemed to get to him. Martin and I had to change our lives years ago so that Depeche Mode could continue – and so that we could continue living at all.”
He shakes his head and obviously still can’t believe it. “So strange,” he murmurs. They had been so proud of all their ideas and were just about ready to open the door to Fletch and complete the album with him – then suddenly everything was different. “It makes me very sad that he couldn’t hear many of the demos anymore. I think he would have liked her very much. Most of them anyway. With some, he would probably have said: What’s the point of all this death stuff? To say we missed him is such an understatement. Without him everything else was. And at the same time: the album would have been different with him”. Another moment’s pause. Gahan struggles with the words. “For many, many years, actually since Alan (Wilder) left, Martin and I have been handling the creative process of producing the album with whatever team we choose. Whether it was Mark Bell or Tim Simenon, or Flood again, or Ben Hillier or Gareth Jones or James Ford and Marta Salogni. All of these people are very important, but the nucleus that creates what you hear is Martin and I. Fletch wasn’t very involved physically. He hardly played anything. But he had a firm opinion and that was important.”
You can read the entire Depeche Mode interview, which also deals with song lyrics, recordings in the bathroom and worries about the future, in the upcoming ROLLING STONE – on newsstands from March 30th or pre-order here.
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With the April 2023 issue of ROLLING STONE we are releasing another special collector’s item: An exclusive vinyl single with two songs by Depeche Mode – on the A side “Ghosts Again” from the new album “Memento Mori”, on the B side the famous song “Never Let Me Down Again” from the album “Music For The Masses” (1987).
With the April 2023 issue of ROLLING STONE, we are releasing another special collector’s item: an exclusive vinyl single with two songs by Depeche Mode – on the A side “Ghosts Again” from the new album “Memento Mori”, on the B-side the famous song “Never Let Me Down Again” from the album Music For The Masses (1987).
The 7″ single comes in a sturdy, carefully designed cardboard sleeve and on heavyweight vinyl.
It is only available with the German edition of ROLLING STONE and not in record stores.
Included in delivery: ROLLING STONE issue 04/2023 + exclusive DEPECHE MODE 7″ vinyl single.
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