Depeche Mode talk becoming “closer” after the death of Andy Fletcher

nme.com:

Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have spoken to NME about how the death of Andy Fletcher impacted their dynamic, and said that the loss brought them closer.The two surviving members were speaking as part of a new interview with NME when they opened up about how Andy Fletcher’s death last year impacted the band.

Frontman Gahan likened the loss of the keyboardist to that of The Rolling Stones’ late drummer, Charlie Watts.“With The Stones losing Charlie Watts, knowing about their longevity and how it’s fucking hard work to keep a band going for that long, you realise how it’s got to be losing an anchor,” Gahan told NME. “Fletch was part of what we knew as Depeche Mode for the last 40 years.”He continued, providing insight into the complex dynamic that the band had up until the musician’s death.

According to the frontman, both himself and Gore were relatively distant throughout the band’s four-decade tenure, however this changed following the loss, as recording upcoming album, ‘Memento Mori’ brought the two closer than ever.“Martin [Gore] described it as two long-lost brothers meeting for the first time and having to have a real conversation,” he said. “It was about getting to know each other in a different way.

Not that we don’t know each other well, but in terms of having a close friendship? That’s never really been the deal between Martin and I.”Gore agreed, explaining: “Me and Dave never had any big issues or problems with each other, but we tended to be kind of distant.