When punk rock first emerged on the music scene in 1976, Fletcher was 15 years old. Bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, Kraftwerk, the early Human League, and early OMD impacted him at the time.
Fletcher joined the short-lived band No Romance in China with schoolmate Vince Clarke, in which he played bass guitar.
Martin Gore and Fletcher met in the Van Gogh pub on Paycocke Road in Basildon in 1980. The trio, now all on synthesizer, created Composition of Sound with Clarke.
Clarke remained as the band’s chief songwriter and lead vocalist until singer Dave Gahan was hired later that year, at which point they used the moniker Depeche Mode at Gahan’s suggestion.
Clarke quit the band in late 1981, shortly after their debut album Speak & Spell was released.
A Broken Frame, their follow-up album from 1982, was recorded as a trio, with Gore taking over songwriting duties.
Alan Wilder, a musician and producer, joined the band in late 1982, and the band remained a quartet until Wilder’s retirement in 1995.
The core trio of Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher stayed active from then until the release of Spirit in 2017 and the subsequent world tour.
Fletcher’s place in Depeche Mode was a hot matter of discussion. He played (electric and then synth) bass in the band’s early iterations.
Fletcher’s role altered as the band evolved after Vince Clarke’s departure in 1981, as each band member pursued interests that suited them and helped the group as a whole.
“Martin’s the lyricist, Alan’s the good musician, Dave’s the vocalist, and I bum around,” Fletcher said in a critical sequence in D.A. Pennebaker’s 1989 documentary film about the band.
Who Is Andy Fletcher Mother?
Joy Fletcher was Andy Fletcher’s mom
Who Is Andy Fletcher Father?
John Fletcher was Andy Fletcher’s dad.
