RIP Andrew Fletcher 1961-2022
May 26, 2022 6:24 PM   Subscribe

Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher, founding member of Depeche Mode has passed away at age 60.
posted by JoeZydeco (74 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
As if today wasn't bad enough.

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posted by JoeZydeco at 6:24 PM on May 26, 2022 [8 favorites]


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Ou sont les violators d'antan?
posted by praemunire at 6:25 PM on May 26, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 6:28 PM on May 26, 2022


*deep sigh* We're going to see more and more of these, aren't we?

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posted by wenestvedt at 6:30 PM on May 26, 2022 [10 favorites]


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posted by slater at 6:36 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by kinnakeet at 6:46 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by riverlife at 6:48 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by tonycpsu at 6:48 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by churl at 6:50 PM on May 26, 2022


𝄽
posted by adekllny at 6:51 PM on May 26, 2022 [1 favorite]


Fuck
posted by SansPoint at 6:53 PM on May 26, 2022


Oof, this hurts.
posted by la glaneuse at 6:58 PM on May 26, 2022


Three in one day today…

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posted by Windopaene at 6:58 PM on May 26, 2022 [4 favorites]


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posted by May Kasahara at 7:05 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by TrialByMedia at 7:10 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by lalochezia at 7:13 PM on May 26, 2022


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Amazing talent, too soon.
posted by mmoncur at 7:18 PM on May 26, 2022 [1 favorite]


This one caught me off guard. I was shocked, I even gasped! But I was OK, this is just how things go.


Then Alison Moyet popped up in my twitter feed:

I have just heard the news. Since we were 10. Same estate. Class mates to label mates. He who kept faith with all the old gang and they with him. It doesn’t compute. Fletch. I have no words.


And it broke me.
posted by seraphine at 7:31 PM on May 26, 2022 [18 favorites]


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posted by photo guy at 7:44 PM on May 26, 2022


God's got a sick sense of humor.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:54 PM on May 26, 2022 [16 favorites]


You know, Depeche Mode was never a band that I followed but is a band that has been omnipresent in my life for decades. Their influence on me cannot go unnoticed. I hope his friends and family find solace and joy in this time of sorrow for them.

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posted by hippybear at 7:56 PM on May 26, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by genehack at 8:03 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by aneel at 8:04 PM on May 26, 2022


Although 'People are People' debuted almost 40 years ago, there is nothing in that song that is not applicable to today.
posted by Quonab at 8:05 PM on May 26, 2022 [16 favorites]


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posted by inpHilltr8r at 8:22 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by pompomtom at 8:27 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by interogative mood at 8:33 PM on May 26, 2022


This mashup of Adele and Depeche Mode captures my mood.
posted by interogative mood at 8:40 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by djseafood at 8:44 PM on May 26, 2022


> there is nothing in that song that is not applicable to today.

"In West Germany, the song was a no. 1 hit and was used as the theme to West German TV's coverage of the 1984 Olympics, alluding to East Germany's participation in the Soviet-led boycott of the games. "
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:56 PM on May 26, 2022


*deep sigh* We're going to see more and more of these, aren't we?

Consider, say, the 25 years in music from 1965 to 1990. Assume that one new band or act with legs or cultural significance emerges each month: 12 per year. Over 25 years there are about 300 such acts. Assume each one has on average four members, so 1200 members. In 2022, if they were 20 years old when they started to make an impact in their cohort arrival year (1965, 1966, ..... 1990), then these 1200 individuals now range between 52 and 77 years old..

Looking across the next 25 years, when the oldest will be 102 and the youngest will be 77, there are 1300 weeks.

I haven't bothered to look up actuarial tables, but if all 1200 are dead in 25 years that would be about 1.08 deaths of notable popular musicians per week, every week, until 2047.

Of course some of them are already dead, and some will live to be older, but also I suspect the 1200 individuals is a low estimate, as is the age of 20 for achieving public fame.

This may be the most morbid post I have made on this site.

And,

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posted by Rumple at 9:02 PM on May 26, 2022 [13 favorites]


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posted by Joey Michaels at 9:45 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by Kosmob0t at 11:00 PM on May 26, 2022


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I didn't expect this to hit me, but then I put on Some Great Reward and I was digging an old old favorite, and then Blasphemous Rumours started and now I'm bawling....
posted by LeRoienJaune at 11:07 PM on May 26, 2022 [1 favorite]


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posted by lazaruslong at 11:31 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by fregoli at 11:57 PM on May 26, 2022


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posted by lapolla at 11:57 PM on May 26, 2022


Jesus Christ, give us a fucking break, 2020!
posted by kirkaracha at 12:15 AM on May 27, 2022 [7 favorites]


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posted by Kattullus at 1:40 AM on May 27, 2022


here is nothing in that song that is not applicable to today

yes. also new dress. and so many other songs.

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posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:18 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by Faintdreams at 2:58 AM on May 27, 2022


This this makes me feel less sad and more Hollow. My sadness capacity is no more.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:59 AM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by cupcakeninja at 3:28 AM on May 27, 2022


Jesus Christ, give us a fucking break, 2020!

It’s now 2020 II.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:44 AM on May 27, 2022 [3 favorites]


The good news is that in seven months, with luck it will be 2020-free.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:45 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


My whole childhood is now stuck in my throat.

Thank you Fletch.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 4:13 AM on May 27, 2022



posted by Gelatin at 4:13 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by Mitheral at 4:27 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by acb at 4:28 AM on May 27, 2022


Although 'People are People' debuted almost 40 years ago, there is nothing in that song that is not applicable to today.

I realised a while ago that one could make a case for People Are People to be proto-New Jack Swing; it's not quite the whole package (the beats aren't quite syncopated enough), but it has the harmonic tension building up to the chorus and the eighth-note orchestra hits that the likes of L.A. Reid and Teddy Riley, and later the Swedish boy-band factories who copied them, used as trademarks. I wonder whether this is an accident, or whether it was one of the pieces of new-wave pop that had an impression on Black American pop in the late 80s.
posted by acb at 4:34 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by mersen at 4:49 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by drworm at 5:43 AM on May 27, 2022


I haven't listened to their music in a very long time, but from about 12-14 this was some of my favorite and I listened to those tapes all the time. This news saddens me on behalf of my teenage self, who would have been devastated.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:00 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


What can you say? But then... Words are very unnecessary.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:26 AM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


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posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:52 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by droplet at 8:03 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by dbiedny at 8:10 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by doctornemo at 8:13 AM on May 27, 2022


God's got a sick sense of humor.


Yep. He's laughing. Expectation met.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:57 AM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]


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posted by SonInLawOfSam at 9:04 AM on May 27, 2022


Fuck.

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posted by mephron at 9:07 AM on May 27, 2022


Fletch took a lot of flak for being "the guy that stands in the back, shows up for photo shoots and cashes the check" (and he even joked about it) but he was really the glue that kept that band going over all this time. And, jesus, who thought Andy would go before Dave?

If you're a synth nerd, it's still worth watching Just What Exactly Does Fletch Do?

And The Guardian has a nice writeup this morning honoring him.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:32 AM on May 27, 2022 [7 favorites]


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posted by filtergik at 9:43 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by mygothlaundry at 10:18 AM on May 27, 2022


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posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:11 PM on May 27, 2022


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posted by Julnyes at 12:22 PM on May 27, 2022


Late one night 40 or so years ago a local public radio station (3RRR?) played "Just can't get enough" stuck on repeat for what seemed like hours (presumably by accident) and teenaged me was delighted. Think I managed to get some of it on cassette tape actually.

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posted by Coaticass at 1:25 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]


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posted by eckeric at 1:38 PM on May 27, 2022


Played the Depeche Mode Essentials playlist while working today. Exquisite.

>but from about 12-14 this was some of my favorite

that's when they got their start!
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 1:44 PM on May 27, 2022 [4 favorites]


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posted by annieb at 4:07 PM on May 27, 2022


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posted by mfoight at 4:25 AM on May 28, 2022


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posted by luckynerd at 9:55 PM on May 28, 2022


My favourite band. Gutted.
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posted by Jubey at 3:27 AM on May 30, 2022


*deep sigh* We're going to see more and more of these, aren't we?

For reasons, I just read through the Wikipedia episode synopses of all 47 seasons of Saturday Night Live, where it usually sums up the notable points n two or three sentences: the musical guest played these songs, some past cast member turned up for a cameo in this sketch, this cast member accidentally swore during this sketch, whatever.

There have been 160 or so cast members in 47 years. One thing that becomes increasingly common as you go along is mentions of brief tributes to past cast and crew members go had died the week of broadcast. Starting in 1975, you can read for a while before you get to John Belushi cashing in in 1982. This last season saw four former cast members (Norm Macdonald, Gilbert Gottfried, Peter Aykroyd, Dan Vitale) dying. Add in off-camera crew and guest hosts and celebrated musical guests and the deaths really begin to mount up.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:22 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]


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