After Andy Fletcher’s Death: Depeche Mode Announces Album And World Tour As A Duo

Since the death of Andy Fletcher in May, fans of Depeche Mode have been concerned about the future of the band. Now it’s clear: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore will continue as a duo. The album “Memento Mori” will be released next spring and shortly after their world tour will start.

Today at noon, a number of press representatives and 200 fans gathered at the “Berliner Ensemble” theater to learn in person from Dave Gahan and Martin Gore how Depeche Mode will move forward after the death of Andy Fletcher. However, it was already clear Monday night when the band spread the first information via social media that it would go ahead.

At the press conference, the public didn’t learn too much from the 15-minute conversation with journalist Barbara Charone, presented by Live Nation boss Marek Lieberberg. Those expecting something very emotional due to the loss of Andy Fletcher were a little disappointed. Frontman Dave Gahan and songwriter Martin Gore almost routinely covered the recordings for the new album, the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Spirit’, which is due out in late March.

Anecdotal Memories of Fletch

The work first took place at Gore’s own studios in Santa Barbara and New York, where it will soon be completed. The fact that these are both places where Depeche Mode had never worked in the past probably made it a bit easier, the two musicians explain to Charone. It’s more anecdotal moments when Gore and Gahan miss their bandmate and old friend, such as shortly after their arrival in Berlin on Saturday when he wasn’t sitting at the hotel bar as usual.

The album title is “Memento Mori”, which means “Be aware of your mortality”. That may sound “morbid,” says Martin Gore. But you can also look at it positively. “When you realize that you have to die, you live your life to the fullest,” said the 61-year-old. However, the title was not created, as one might assume, after the surprising death of Andy Fletcher, who was just 60 years old, in May, but during his lifetime. Dave Gahan leaves open the public’s question about whether there will be a tribute to the keyboardist on the upcoming shows of their world tour.

As part of their tour, Depeche Mode will play six stadium concerts in Germany as a duo along with their traditional live musicians. On May 26 they will be at the Leipzig Festwiese, on June 4 and 6 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf and on June 20 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. On June 29, Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt am Main is on the agenda and on July 7 the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Presale starts next Thursday at 10 a.m. Telekom customers or other pre-sale partners can strike 24 hours earlier.

(This article was first published on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.)