BIOGRAPHYANDREW JOHN FLETCHER
Andrew John Fletcher called "Fletch", "Andy" or "An" - as Martin calls
him sometimes (I will use "Fletch" to avoid confusion between him and Alan
because of the same first letter) - was born on July 6, 1961 in Nottingham.
Fletch's father, John (passed in 2009), worked as an engineer, and his
mother, Joy, as a housewife. His sisters Karen and Susan were born in 1964
and 1966 respectively, and brother Simon in 1976. (I was unable to
find exact birthdates, only articles that mentioned their age).
Some sources mentioned that Karen died of stomach cancer in 1986 but there
aren't any quotations of Fletch about it, only some speculations and
rumours about Fletch's depressions basing on the manic-depressive psychosis of
his father and the early death of his sister. Official confirmation wasn't found
so no further speculation will be made.
In the early days of the band British journalists were so fixed on the
connection between DM and Basildon - as if it was some kind of wonder that a band
could be founded in this city - that they also were fixed on the idea every band
member had to be born there. In fact, Fletch was born in Nottingham though.
"We moved down to Basildon in Essex when I was 2 years old [1]", Fletch says in one of
many "who is who and where are you from?"-articles of the early days. "It was a job
for a house. If you could get a job, you could get a house.[2] My parents were among
the first to move to Basildon when it was still a very new town in the early 1960s.[3]
But in the Seventies it started to go wrong - the town expanded quickly, there were
no jobs left. When I was growing up we had fields, football, cricket, countryside -
but then it all went wrong economically.[4] As the factories closed down and
unemployment grew in the '70s it became a violent town.[5]"
Nevertheless he felt completely connected to Basildon and it took a long time
before he left it. Being a member of the church, he was strongly involved in
the social life of Basildon. "I became involved in the church by accident when
I was eight. Dad suggested I join the Boys Brigade so I could play football."
He was a member of the Boys' brigade till he was 17, 18 years old and went to
church almost every day. But it has to be mentioned that you had to go to church if
you wanted to take part in all these activities.
In 1985 he said: "I'm no longer a practising Christian but it remains
in the blood."[6]
He took religion very seriously for a long time though. "Me and Vince Clarke were
into the preaching side - trying to convert non-believers. Vince was number three
in the local hierarchy, although he's a total atheist now."[7]
Fletch knew Martin from school but really got in touch with him when he made him to
come to the Boys' Brigade, too. "I went to Nicholas Comprehensive and was in the
same sixth form class as Martin Gore and Alison Moyet."[8] He thought he might have
converted Martin but he had to realize that Martin just was interested in the
singing and the atmosphere, even though it has to be said that Martin must have
been influenced by this time strongly. Many of his lyrics have some kind of a
religious background.
(with friendly permission of © Jérôme Pouille
"It wasn't until I was 14 that I started to take music seriously, through church.
It was there that I picked up a guitar for the first time."[9]
Later from this the pre-Depeche-Mode-bands were formed. "Vince and I had a group
when we were 16 called No Romance In China which tried to be like The Cure.
We were into their Imaginary Boys LP. Vince used to attempt to sing like
Robert Smith. At that time we were going to a club called Van Gogh where Martin
was playing in a guitar duo called Norman And The Worms. Alison's group The
Vandals were also regulars. It was a good scene. Martin, Vince and I teamed
together and started rehearsing in Woodlands Youth Club. The earliest Depeche
songs like Photographic were written there."
Also the motives for Blasphemous Rumours stems from this time.
"There was a prayer list of people who were sick in some way and you'd pray for the
person on top of that list until they died. When Martin first played me
Blasphemous Rumours I was quite offended. I can see why people would
dislike it."[10]
In 1979 Fletch made his A-levels at politics and wanted to study but then he
began education at the Sun Life insurance company. Unfortunately, he never told
why he decided against university.
"People at work didn't take my group seriously until Dreaming Of Me got
into the charts followed by New Life. I was doing Top Of The Pops or playing
in, say, Leeds, and then working the next day. It got very awkward."[11]
In fact 30 years later he would still be some kind of pension quotations
clerk. "My whole life is dealing with numbers", he said in 1993, "I don't
find it very stimulating making music. I'm a useless musician. When I played bass,
I never had any ambitions to be a great bass player, and when I took up keyboards,
I never had any ambitions to be a great keyboard player. With the band, I still
find the whole job challenging and rewarding, the fact of creating something and
releasing it, the marketing, the promotion side of things. That's quite interesting,
selling our products."[12] His role led to some tensions within the band -
especially around SOFAD - and it splits fans into two groups. One
group can't imagine DM without him and also sees him as a musician, the other
asks what the man is good for since the band has a professional management
for the marketing and the promotion.
Despite all the debauchery during the meanwhile thirty years of DM it seems
that Fletch kept very down to earth. "My private life away from music is
simple and ordinary. If I go out I do things like play snooker or football or
hang out with friends. I go to see Chelsea when I can. I'm very patriotic,
very pro-British. I know some people think that's wrong but I can't help it."[13]
This quotation dates from 1985 but I think Fletch hasn't changed much basically.
Today Fletch is married to Grainne and lives in London. Daughter Megan was born
in 1991, son Joseph in 1994.
References:
[1] A Broken Frame Tour Programme, 1982. Words: Uncredited
[2] Just Can't Get Enough, Uncut, May 2001. Words: Stephen Dalton
[3] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
[4] Just Can't Get Enough, Uncut, May 2001. Words: Stephen Dalton
[5] Songs of Innocence and Experience, Mojo, November 2005. Words: Danny Eccleston
[6] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
[7] Hanging in the Balance, NME, 26th March 1983. Words: Matt Snow
[8] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
[9] A Broken Frame Tour Programme, 1982. Words: Uncredited
[10] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
[11] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
[12] Mope Now, Party Later, Musician, October 1993. Words: Jon Pareles
[13] Andy Fletcher: The Brigade Boy, No. 1, 18th May 1985
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