RIP Andy Fletcher
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emilystrange
- Above the Chemist
- Posts: 9021
- Joined: 03 Nov 2003, 20:26
- Location: Lady Strange's boudoir.
Depeche Mode posted news of his death in the last few minutes:
I just can't keep living on dreams no more
Sad news 
First Vangelis, now AF, synths are getting poorer day by day the last days
Rip to AF
First Vangelis, now AF, synths are getting poorer day by day the last days
Rip to AF
'Are we the Baddies?'...
"Someday! Someday, everything you need, is just gonna fall out of the sky..." -A.E. Reading 1991
"Don't forget that most of the judges in witches trials had harvard degrees."
"Someday! Someday, everything you need, is just gonna fall out of the sky..." -A.E. Reading 1991
"Don't forget that most of the judges in witches trials had harvard degrees."
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FireInReptileHouse
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
- Posts: 566
- Joined: 10 Oct 2021, 18:52
Devastated.
I haven't even got the words I really don't.
RIP, Andy Fletcher
I haven't even got the words I really don't.
RIP, Andy Fletcher
we will steal what we cannot buy when all is stole from us
That's terrible news.
Was he sick? This is really sudden
Was he sick? This is really sudden
Very sad news - couldn't believe it, him and Ray Liotta on the same day, both way before their time.
Unavoidably, it raises the question of the future of DM. From a purely band logistics point of view, sure, there's no reason why Dave and Martin couldn't continue as a duo. Indeed, if they did so they'd be honouring a long tradition of electronic music duos (from Suicide to OMD with plenty before and after.) Or they could invite one or more members of the extended DM family of musicians with whom they have been performing in the studio and live for many years to become full-time bona fide members of the band.
However, I recently read an interview with Dave, conducted about a year ago, where he said he had actually been thinking of leaving/ending DM. The reasons he gave were his age and wanting to spend more time with his family. I'm sure Andy's passing will have made the future of DM even more moot for Dave and possibly also Martin for such reasons. The death of someone close, especially of a similar age, is always a sharp reminder of one's own mortality and Andy's passing if anything will have exacerbated Dave's avowed concerns about his willingness to continue with DM. There are a couple of other factors that don't bode well. One is that Dave is now a fully-established semi-solo artist (with the Soulsavers) which gives him as much of a creative outlet as he could possibly want (often a pain point for Dave in DM.) Another is the crucial role that Andy played in the band, as the glue that held it together, as the manager in as much the football sense as in the music industry sense, who motivated the guys to embark on new projects and took care of all the boring but necessary 'non-artistic' side of things. With Andy gone, sure, it would be possible to get someone else to do the accounts, but that special quality he had that unified the band was something that only a friend with all that shared history could have.
Unavoidably, it raises the question of the future of DM. From a purely band logistics point of view, sure, there's no reason why Dave and Martin couldn't continue as a duo. Indeed, if they did so they'd be honouring a long tradition of electronic music duos (from Suicide to OMD with plenty before and after.) Or they could invite one or more members of the extended DM family of musicians with whom they have been performing in the studio and live for many years to become full-time bona fide members of the band.
However, I recently read an interview with Dave, conducted about a year ago, where he said he had actually been thinking of leaving/ending DM. The reasons he gave were his age and wanting to spend more time with his family. I'm sure Andy's passing will have made the future of DM even more moot for Dave and possibly also Martin for such reasons. The death of someone close, especially of a similar age, is always a sharp reminder of one's own mortality and Andy's passing if anything will have exacerbated Dave's avowed concerns about his willingness to continue with DM. There are a couple of other factors that don't bode well. One is that Dave is now a fully-established semi-solo artist (with the Soulsavers) which gives him as much of a creative outlet as he could possibly want (often a pain point for Dave in DM.) Another is the crucial role that Andy played in the band, as the glue that held it together, as the manager in as much the football sense as in the music industry sense, who motivated the guys to embark on new projects and took care of all the boring but necessary 'non-artistic' side of things. With Andy gone, sure, it would be possible to get someone else to do the accounts, but that special quality he had that unified the band was something that only a friend with all that shared history could have.
My understanding of modern day DM was that Fletch was the glue that kept Gahan and Gore together (albeit more loyal to Gore) so I'd guess that might be it unless there's anything recorded but not yet released.
Anger Is An Energy
Looks like DM are continuing.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/depeche-mo ... he-studio/
Mentally, I was fully prepared for them to, at some point soon, announce that they were calling it a day. It's been a few months now since Andy's passing and I'm imagining that the decision about DM's future was not an easy one to make. Otherwise, I think we would have heard something sooner. Well, now we know.
As for their next album, as if it wasn't bad enough losing such a dear friend and colleague, pile upon that the burden of fans' expectations of that being dealt with in a suitable manner artistically.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/depeche-mo ... he-studio/
Mentally, I was fully prepared for them to, at some point soon, announce that they were calling it a day. It's been a few months now since Andy's passing and I'm imagining that the decision about DM's future was not an easy one to make. Otherwise, I think we would have heard something sooner. Well, now we know.
As for their next album, as if it wasn't bad enough losing such a dear friend and colleague, pile upon that the burden of fans' expectations of that being dealt with in a suitable manner artistically.