With human frailty and judgement as its principal themes, this brooding second single is widely considered one of Martin Gore’s finest creations.
It’s clear the Depeche Mode of old had left the room.
The song reached No.8 in the UK and was the group’s highest-charting single worldwide. “We hoped it would surprise people and make them curious about the rest of the album.” And so it did.
“The main reason for the choice was that the track had attitude and was radically different to what we had done before,” stated Alan Wilder. Alan Wilder’s live drums were sampled, channelled through synthesizers and finally aligned into sequenced loops to exhilarating effect. From the ear-piercing synth that introduces the whole shebang to the grinding, ever-present blues-rock riff around which the track circles, this exhibited the new performance-weighted manifesto. Read more: Making Depeche Mode’s Speak & Spell Read more: Top 40 Depeche Mode songsĪ clear statement of intent, first single and album opener I Feel You initiated a new chapter for the band. Not only had the musical climate shifted considerably with the scuzzy guitars of grunge cranked up in their absence but, far more importantly, here stood four altered souls who’d barely crossed paths since emerging from the tour bus. For one, they faced a wall of intimidating proportions with the need to follow up – or even equal – the success of Violator. Understandably, the four human beings at the centre of the maelstrom had been run ragged by the whole affair.Īlmost two years later, when Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, Alan Wilder and Andy Fletcher reconvened in a London bar shortly before they were due to kick-start the whole process all over again, circumstances had changed considerably. My heart goes out to his family, bandmates, and DM fans.The album won triple platinum status and cemented the group as major-league stars. We crossed many of the same pathways as younger men. One of the first artists to pay tribute was Lol Tolhurst, founding member of the Cure, who said: “I knew Andy and considered him a friend. The band were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2020. In the 1989 documentary 101 by director D A Pennebaker, which was based around the 101th date of the band’s Music For The Masses tour, Fletcher was even more self-deprecating about his role, saying “Martin’s the songwriter, Alan’s the good musician, Dave’s the vocalist, and I bum around.” In 2013 he told an interviewer that he was “the tall guy in the background, without whom this international corporation called Depeche Mode would never work”. Not being the singer or the main songwriter, Fletcher was often regarded in later years by fans as the manager figure within the band, looking after the business side of a group credited with selling more than 100m records worldwide. He played on all of Depeche Mode’s studio albums, including Songs Of Faith And Devotion in 1993 and Ultra in 1997 which both reached No 1 in the album chart in the UK. They had huge international success in the late 80s and early 90s.įletcher leaves behind a wife, Grainne, to whom he was married for almost 30 years, and two children, Megan and Joe. With the departure of Clarke, who went on to form Yazoo and then Erasure, Gore became chief songwriter, and, with the addition of Alan Wilder, the band’s sound took a darker, more gothic turn. With the recruitment of singer Dave Gahan they changed their name to Depeche Mode, and the quartet went on to enjoy a spree of early eighties chart hits. Our heart are with his family, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and respect their privacy in this difficult time.”įletcher was born in 1961 in Nottingham, and moved to Basildon where in the late 1970s he formed the band Composition Of Sound alongside Martin Gore and Vince Clarke. The band went on to say in their statement “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. A statement issued by the band on social media said “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member, and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher.”įormed in Basildon in the late 1970s, the band has had 14 top ten studio albums in the UK, and international chart success with songs including Enjoy The Silence, Personal Jesus and Just Can’t Get Enough. Andrew Fletcher, keyboardist and founding member of British electronic band Depeche Mode, has died aged 60.