I went to school with fletch he was a great bloke very funny and quite clever too and fun to be around a bit geeky really he was popular with his class mates
That's bloody awesome! I met him a few times at other gigs but only got to speak to him at Back to the Future where we were hanging out with people like Spizz! Andrew seemed so nice.
It was a gig in London at the Troxy. That was the name of the event and it had Daniel Miller DJing, John Foxx, Mirrors, Gary Numan live... Quite a night! A friend of mine had just remixed a track by John Foxx at the time, and had free VIP tickets but couldn't go so I happily took his place :) @@Ultra1997DM.
I was there from day one, and a MASSIVE fan. I even bought a synthesizer and then learnt how to read and write music because of DM. Ultra ended up being my favourite album...or the album I play the most. As a teenager my friends called me John Depressed Mode...one I was very depressed, and two I was obsessed with DM. I got to see them live during the Violator tour in the 90's. Very impressive. Dave's voice has changed a lot (which is completely normal), and I'm not so interested these days, but their music is still fresh and will be rediscovered by many people in the future.
Interesting about Dave’s voice , is it his tone has changed with age or how he sings these days ? I miss his live SGR ,black celebration MFTM tour voice
This is a brilliant piece of DM history. I had this recorded on VHS. I was only reminiscing about it yesterday and it shows up non RUclips! I love it when Dave talks about Mart's dress sense. Kudos to Martin!
Had this on VHS myself . Remember it very well Was around the time I got into DM and the most underrated band in the history of British music although the landscape has changed
“The ambiciuos person was Vince”. That’s right. And then that ambiciuos person was Alan. That is why Depeche Mode continued to climb to their pinnancle and to push their limits. RIP Andy 🌹
This is a superb, superb Depeche Mode doco. So enjoyable to see and hear from the band members how they evolved. Great music video/live concert excerpts. ❤️🔥🎹📢
Strange how two out of two lead musicians in Mode both left because they felt they were doing the bulk of the work (really) & because their ideas weren't being fully supported!
+Paul S - true. What is it exactly that Fletcher did / does outside of play keyboards? Losing Alan was a massive blow. Having said that they are still a great band.
Depeche moved on, Alan moved on... get over it. You still have your favourite DM albums to enjoy. And no matter how we feel about each next album after Alan left, Depeche still age decently and while their albums don't hold a candle to their earlier (superior) work, a few songs always pleasantly surprise which is still a big plus. Same goes for Alan. And blaming Fletch constantly to be the "problem", saying he was "doing nothing" - how can you be so sure of that?! Were you there? Did you work with them?! While the pressure was indeed way bigger on Alan and Martin in terms of their artistic roles within the band, I wouldn't diminish the roles of the other two, being Dave and Fletch - from what I understood Fletch was mostly dealing with PR and all that - which is also quite demanding a job. And speaking of Alan departing, his reasons were very probably dealing with Martin and Martin alone. between them, there was probably a continuous rift ever since Alan joined them. No band suffers with several leaders in it. It always ends in tears. Now it may seem like Fletch was there all the way "doing nothing", kept in a band for mere decoration of a "childhood friend" posing on stage with his synth never plugged in - but there is also a story, Fletch was the reason they all actually stayed together during their crucial years when pressure and expectations hit on. And while I respect Alan to bits, I doubt him staying in Depeche after "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" would change anything in the way Depeche continued to develop (or, again, not). Alan also seems stuck musically with Recoil - ever since "Unsound Methods"; you can tell his obsessions with blues and trip hop sound were just as dragging along as Depeche did, walking up a rocky road turning into "U2" as many prefer to say. But if that's the progression they wanted, it's their own way of dealing with it - their DNA is still evident, regardless of how weak or not their ideas are these days. One thing they remain decent about is their media personality - provoking interest with every next record of theirs but staying out of the spotlight (apart from the one they feel best in - that of a music stage).
@antunivanovic Your reflection hit the target. Is the most precise thinking about aaaaall the reviews I read About DM and Alan's renounce. In my opinion, Depeche is doing well, they carry on even though Alan's departure than (for me) was incredibly traumatic. They did the best: Surrounded themselves by another producers and musicians and keep on with their DNA as you said. The fact that they released "Ultra" with all the problems, was almost heroic. I absolutely love Alan's music and his obscure and intuitive way of composing, but I also think he is stuck. Depeche aged well, their "cover me" last single give back to my gloomy memories and beautiful feelings. That's why I'm right here on youtube, rediscovering their earlier albums and seeing first concerts, (like Hammersmith 1982). They were incredibly fresh, cool and shy in those days. Love them! Cheers!
@@antunivanovic Who is the leader of Depeche Mode? It is Martin Gore. He was the driving force behind the band after Vince left. Songwriter, composer - the most important functions in the band. Only in the arrangement layer Alan was able to show his skills. Dave was the voice, face and hairstyle of the band. Fletch? Fletch was and still is the best friend of Martin, the band's leader, that's why he is still a member of Depeche Mode, not Alan. Friendship won. Noble. Does the band exist thanks to Fletch? I do not know. It seems to me that they still exists thanks to Daniel Miller who was able to mobilize them for the next entry into the studio. He chose famouse producers. Thanks to them Depeche Mode acquired a characteristic, industrial sound in the mid of the 80s (Gareth Jones) and create the epic pop album Violator (Flood) on the begining of the 90s. What would happen if Alan still played with Depeche Mode? Good question. Certainly, the concert's face would be much more interested. What I hear now while live performances it's a drama.
What Dave is talking about not having managers??? They had a whole bunch of managers, advisers and others from start of pro career on. Human League was heavily under-managed heavily but DM still has the same group of guys managing and producing.
@@allanroney - I beg to differ. Alan joined DM early 1982. Yes, he did tour with DM, but was also involved in the studio that same year. And, early the following year, Construction Time Again was released.
@@lolam.9291 allanroney is correct in his statement; Alan (I think) did perform on the album, but he was not even mentioned on the sleeve credits. As Dave said at 9:21 they wanted to proof (to whom?) that they didn't need Vince to continue as a band. For years afterwards, Alan was not concidered a permanent member in Depeche Mode, proven by the fact they paid him a fixed salary for the first few years. (I believe 200,- per week).
![Flood talks about Enjoy the Silence [Soundedit 2011]](/img/1.gif)
My fave Fletch tale: after performing “Just Can’t Get Enough” on TOTP, Andy went to work the next day!
RIP Andrew Fletcher
Rest in Peace, Andrew
I went to school with fletch he was a great bloke very funny and quite clever too and fun to be around a bit geeky really he was popular with his class mates
That is soo cool.....what were your thoughts when he was having all this success during 80's-90's?
That's bloody awesome! I met him a few times at other gigs but only got to speak to him at Back to the Future where we were hanging out with people like Spizz! Andrew seemed so nice.
@@theoriginalblueywhat was back to the future ? Besides the movie
It was a gig in London at the Troxy. That was the name of the event and it had Daniel Miller DJing, John Foxx, Mirrors, Gary Numan live... Quite a night! A friend of mine had just remixed a track by John Foxx at the time, and had free VIP tickets but couldn't go so I happily took his place :) @@Ultra1997DM.
I was there from day one, and a MASSIVE fan. I even bought a synthesizer and then learnt how to read and write music because of DM.
Ultra ended up being my favourite album...or the album I play the most.
As a teenager my friends called me John Depressed Mode...one I was very depressed, and two I was obsessed with DM.
I got to see them live during the Violator tour in the 90's. Very impressive.
Dave's voice has changed a lot (which is completely normal), and I'm not so interested these days,
but their music is still fresh and will be rediscovered by many people in the future.
I hope you've checked out their new album, it's awesome 😎👌 Fletch has now passed but they seem really good still as a duo 🙏
@@d4nny-san130 yes. new album is awesome.
Interesting about Dave’s voice , is it his tone has changed with age or how he sings these days ? I miss his live SGR ,black celebration MFTM tour voice
Told You So may be the most underrated DM track of all-time.
I was just thinking that. Amazing song.
This is a brilliant piece of DM history. I had this recorded on VHS. I was only reminiscing about it yesterday and it shows up non RUclips! I love it when Dave talks about Mart's dress sense. Kudos to Martin!
Had this on VHS myself . Remember it very well
Was around the time I got into DM and the most underrated band in the history of British music although the landscape has changed
Yeah but they are one of the most popular bands of the world so fuck uk.....
“The ambiciuos person was Vince”. That’s right. And then that ambiciuos person was Alan. That is why Depeche Mode continued to climb to their pinnancle and to push their limits.
RIP Andy 🌹
My heart is melting when Dave talks, cause he comes across a bit shy😍😘
Dave: the beautiful skin and lips, the voice and above all The Sweetness!
Che belli 🥰 ❤️
Love Dave's white denim era :D
That was soo cool back in the 80's...strangre...but is coming back in fashion...
Yeah ..the white denim really cool.
This is a superb, superb Depeche Mode doco. So enjoyable to see and hear from the band members how they evolved. Great music video/live concert excerpts. ❤️🔥🎹📢
had this on VHS many years ago, thanks for the upload :)
Such great insightful interviews here!
Strange how two out of two lead musicians in Mode both left because they felt they were doing the bulk of the work (really) & because their ideas weren't being fully supported!
Fletcher being the problem !
+Paul S - true. What is it exactly that Fletcher did / does outside of play keyboards? Losing Alan was a massive blow. Having said that they are still a great band.
Depeche moved on, Alan moved on... get over it. You still have your favourite DM albums to enjoy. And no matter how we feel about each next album after Alan left, Depeche still age decently and while their albums don't hold a candle to their earlier (superior) work, a few songs always pleasantly surprise which is still a big plus. Same goes for Alan.
And blaming Fletch constantly to be the "problem", saying he was "doing nothing" - how can you be so sure of that?! Were you there? Did you work with them?!
While the pressure was indeed way bigger on Alan and Martin in terms of their artistic roles within the band, I wouldn't diminish the roles of the other two, being Dave and Fletch - from what I understood Fletch was mostly dealing with PR and all that - which is also quite demanding a job. And speaking of Alan departing, his reasons were very probably dealing with Martin and Martin alone. between them, there was probably a continuous rift ever since Alan joined them. No band suffers with several leaders in it. It always ends in tears.
Now it may seem like Fletch was there all the way "doing nothing", kept in a band for mere decoration of a "childhood friend" posing on stage with his synth never plugged in - but there is also a story, Fletch was the reason they all actually stayed together during their crucial years when pressure and expectations hit on.
And while I respect Alan to bits, I doubt him staying in Depeche after "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" would change anything in the way Depeche continued to develop (or, again, not). Alan also seems stuck musically with Recoil - ever since "Unsound Methods"; you can tell his obsessions with blues and trip hop sound were just as dragging along as Depeche did, walking up a rocky road turning into "U2" as many prefer to say.
But if that's the progression they wanted, it's their own way of dealing with it - their DNA is still evident, regardless of how weak or not their ideas are these days. One thing they remain decent about is their media personality - provoking interest with every next record of theirs but staying out of the spotlight (apart from the one they feel best in - that of a music stage).
@antunivanovic Your reflection hit the target. Is the most precise thinking about aaaaall the reviews I read About DM and Alan's renounce. In my opinion, Depeche is doing well, they carry on even though Alan's departure than (for me) was incredibly traumatic. They did the best: Surrounded themselves by another producers and musicians and keep on with their DNA as you said. The fact that they released "Ultra" with all the problems, was almost heroic.
I absolutely love Alan's music and his obscure and intuitive way of composing, but I also think he is stuck. Depeche aged well, their "cover me" last single give back to my gloomy memories and beautiful feelings. That's why I'm right here on youtube, rediscovering their earlier albums and seeing first concerts, (like Hammersmith 1982). They were incredibly fresh, cool and shy in those days. Love them!
Cheers!
@@antunivanovic Who is the leader of Depeche Mode? It is Martin Gore. He was the driving force behind the band after Vince left. Songwriter, composer - the most important functions in the band. Only in the arrangement layer Alan was able to show his skills. Dave was the voice, face and hairstyle of the band. Fletch? Fletch was and still is the best friend of Martin, the band's leader, that's why he is still a member of Depeche Mode, not Alan. Friendship won. Noble.
Does the band exist thanks to Fletch? I do not know. It seems to me that they still exists thanks to Daniel Miller who was able to mobilize them for the next entry into the studio. He chose famouse producers. Thanks to them Depeche Mode acquired a characteristic, industrial sound in the mid of the 80s (Gareth Jones) and create the epic pop album Violator (Flood) on the begining of the 90s.
What would happen if Alan still played with Depeche Mode? Good question. Certainly, the concert's face would be much more interested. What I hear now while live performances it's a drama.
Not one mention of Alan .... wow. 😓 Still, a fantastic watch!
What Dave is talking about not having managers??? They had a whole bunch of managers, advisers and others from start of pro career on. Human League was heavily under-managed heavily but DM still has the same group of guys managing and producing.
🥰👍❤👍🥰
Missing mr fletch
9:21 I’m sorry, but it wasn’t just the three of you. Alan was already with the band!
He was, but only as a touring member by that point. He wasn’t involved in the studio recording.
@@allanroney - I beg to differ. Alan joined DM early 1982. Yes, he did tour with DM, but was also involved in the studio that same year. And, early the following year, Construction Time Again was released.
@@lolam.9291 allanroney is correct in his statement; Alan (I think) did perform on the album, but he was not even mentioned on the sleeve credits. As Dave said at 9:21 they wanted to proof (to whom?) that they didn't need Vince to continue as a band. For years afterwards, Alan was not concidered a permanent member in Depeche Mode, proven by the fact they paid him a fixed salary for the first few years. (I believe 200,- per week).
@@mauricedorreboom5388 Was it not obvious that I was being facetious?
@@allanroney - That is correct! :-)
Dave looks like he's about to cry. Where's the part 2????
fletch manages the group as well as being part of the line up.
He’s quite good at it too
He does nothing musically.
Gosh they are so different from Simply Red. But that is the variation in music for you. ❤❤❤❤❤
People are basically the same …
Dave looks like Ronaldo in the very first part of that video.
Meaning of love has to be DMs worst single
Hole to feed
It’s the most twisted nightmare of a video. I don’t understand what is going on at all.
Worse than its called a heart?
@@mobius273 Miles worse. It's cringe.
@@Vsevolod3788 meaning of love is still catchy and entertainingly bad though. Its called a heart is nothing.