Andrew Fletcher, a founding member of the British electronic band Depeche Mode, died on Thursday at the age of 60, the band confirmed.
“We are horrified and overcome with great grief by the sudden death of our beloved friend, family member, and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher,” the band stated on Twitter.
“Fletch had a real gold heart and was always there when you needed support, a good laugh, or a cold pint.”
Fletcher, who was born in Nottingham in 1961, was a keyboardist and one of the founders of electronic pioneers Depeche Mode.
Since its inception in 1980, the band has sold over 100 million records, winning over a global audience with classics such as “Personal Jesus” and “Just Can’t Get Enough.”
Depeche Mode had a string of hits in the 1980s and early 1990s, becoming synonymous with danceable synthpop before progressively transitioning to a darker sound.
In 2020, Fletcher and the other members of Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The band’s most recent studio album, “Spirit,” was released in 2017.
Members of the band told AFP ahead of the album’s release that they were happy to have drawn listeners from various genres, including rock enthusiasts who would never have entered a dance club.
“One of our legacies is to make electronic music accessible to the general public,” Fletcher added.
On Thursday, fellow musicians paid tribute to the musician online.
The drummer for The Cure, Lol Tolhurst, called it “extremely terrible news.”
“Andy was someone I knew and considered a friend. We travelled many of the same roads as younger men. My thoughts are with his family “He tweeted about it.
Fletcher is survived by his wife and two children.
