Andy Fletcher (musician)

Career

Fletcher, along with acquaintances Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, was in his mid-teens when punk rock arrived, which he called the perfect age to experience it. He and Clarke formed the short-lived band No Romance in China, where Fletcher played bass guitar. In 1980, Clarke and Fletcher formed Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass; they were soon joined by Gore. Influences on their work included Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, Kraftwerk, the Human League and OMD.

Clarke was chief songwriter and lead vocalist until Dave Gahan was recruited later in 1980, after which the band adopted the name Depeche Mode. Clarke left in late 1981 after the debut album Speak & Spell. The 1982 follow-up A Broken Frame was recorded as a trio, with Gore taking over primary songwriting. Alan Wilder joined in late 1982, making the group a quartet.

In 1989, while preparing Violator, Fletcher suffered from anxiety and depression, with a relapse in 1993 during Songs of Faith and Devotion. In 1994 he left the Exotic Tour due to a nervous breakdown, and the band played without him in South America and the United States. After Wilder left in 1995, the core trio of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher remained active through the 2017 album Spirit and its tour. Fletcher's role evolved over time; in a 1989 documentary, he described it as: "Martin's the songwriter, Alan's the good musician, Dave's the vocalist, and I bum around."

Personal life

Andy Fletcher and his wife Gráinne were married for about three decades and raised two children together. During a tour with Blancmange in the early eighties, Fletcher gained a reputation as a chess player so strong that the band’s Neil Arthur later recalled never beating him.

In the 1990s, he ran a London restaurant called Gascogne. A string of poor investments in the mid-nineties led to financial settlements with Lloyd’s of London and Daniel Miller. Fletcher linked his own mental health difficulties to an obsessive-compulsive disorder he said he inherited from his father, as well as to the death of his sister when she was in her early twenties.

Death

Fletcher died on 26 May 2022 at age 60 from an aortic dissection while at home. His bandmates Gahan and Gore said they were shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness, adding that he had a true heart of gold. Former member Alan Wilder called the news a real bolt from the blue. Lol Tolhurst of the Cure, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Alison Moyet, New Order, Gary Numan, Limmy, and Erasure (founded by former bandmate Vince Clarke) were among those who expressed condolences.

Did You Know?

• Fletcher was the eldest of four siblings and moved to Basildon from Nottingham at age two.
• He attended Nicholas Comprehensive and was in the same sixth form class as Martin Gore and Alison Moyet.
• After leaving school he worked as an insurance clerk.