Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, the co-founder and keyboardist of celebrated synth-pop and New Wave legends Depeche Mode, died at the age of 60.
Fletcher’s bandmates announced his death Thursday on social media; Rolling Stone confirmed that the cause of death was natural causes. “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” the band said in a 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.”
Fletcher was a member of Depeche Mode for over 40 years, from their official formation in 1980 and their 1981 debut album Speak and Spell up through their most recent LP, 2017’s Spirit.
In 2020, Fletcher and his Depeche Mode bandmates—longtime members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore and former members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“The beauty of using electronics is that music can now be made in your bedroom,” Fletcher told Rolling Stone in 1990. “You don’t need to get four people together in some warehouse to practice. You don’t have to have four excellent musicians fighting among themselves. You can do it in your bedroom, and it’s all down to ideas.”
Tributes to Fletcher began to pour in shortly after the band’s announcement of his death.
The band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark tweeted that their concert Thursday night “will be touched by a great sadness as all of us say farewell to Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode. A beautiful person in an amazing band.”
“I knew Andy and considered him a friend. We crossed many of the same pathways as younger men,” tweeted Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of The Cure. “My heart goes out to his family, bandmates, and DM fans. RIP Fletch.”
