Fletch does play!!

[NigDub]

Idiot he is playing looped arp's! he just has to press the key on the right moment this is what most synth players do for bass

[TheUltrabar]

se equivoco...

[Buffy2403]

@ 3:11 Dave blew a kiss to somebody, they were very happy :)

[rwnshv]

ahahahah

[starktobak77]

Fletch is God! Love him!

[rat39]

That is not entirely true he did actually play the bass for It's No Good

[940home]

PS at exactly 1:20 fletch forgets to turn off one of the loops ;p

[940home]

Fletch I believe is a big part of the band, he helps people know when to clap and when to fold your arms. Great job fletch ;p

[19Bongo81]

Fletch RULEZZZZ hahahaah

[noxis93]

And I forgot to add one thing: Fletch is for DM what a DJ is usually for bands like Muse, etc... The problem is that the DJ in that case stays in the backstage and you don't see him. But he's there applying effects and things like that. Fletch does the same here...but with bass. If a bass guitar was doing bass in Depeche Mode he would be playing it all the time.

One other thing: he is the guy behind R-r-r-r- of Rich out and touch faith.

[noxis93]

Well he plays bass. Actually according to wikipedia he just starts the pre recorded bass and changes it during the song as it goes. His role is easy and most of the time he claps his hands but I can't imagine DM without him. He's part of the group and I love him as much as I love everyone else in that band.

[ergofobico]

@noxis93 Fletch doesnt play bass, he's not even a musician.

[noxis93]

@ergofobico So isn't Martin nor Dave...The only ones with an actual music school in there are Gordeno and Eigner...and in the past Wilder...but he's no more there.

[ergofobico]

@noxis93 all you're saying is true, but at least Martin and Dave have musical talent...and Fletch...well...i dont want to talk about him anymore xD

[distortionplayer]

yea, im convinced that andy does nothing lol... im sure his keyboard insn't even plugged in. Alan was the shit and definitely needs to return to the band. can you imagine the difference, music wise, their upcoming albums would be... jesus christ man! anywho, back to andy. well, i've noticed in a few dvds/performances he does some things, but half the time hes clapping or walking back and forth... or even eatting!

[nobleowl]

As far as I know- apart from his part in music composition/ playing /sampling AF is the group spokesman and took over a substantial chunk of group manager's responsibilities.

[kokaiini]

@nobleowl right

[moemode]

he was only in the band in the first place because he was friends with martin.thats all.nothing else.i was never a fan of andy.

andy probably couldn't play "chop sticks" if you ask him to .alan was right to be pissed off with the andy sitution, basically doing nothing and taking the money.i think most true dm fans miss alan wilder.final word on fletch is ,he is a waste of space.

[meavid]

For the most part he's probably just triggering the samples. I think you can call yourself a fan and still respectfully wonder how the Kool Aid is made!

[fiiicafica]

when you are a fan of someone (in this case DM) you either accept everything they bring to you (as a hole) or you dont call yourself a fan.

i dont question andy's role inside this band, what he should do or not, but do you think Dave, Martin, Alan etc what have want to share the profit with someone that is doing nothing (and we are talking about almost 30 years of music) ? i dont think so...

[zanatolica]

@fiiicafica hi, i am a chilean musican and devote of depeche mode, i was analising the fletch role in the band and he is the man who have to meke all the efects that the group use (and are a lot) and in some cases he make a bass, but his paper is so important

[MissNotion]

What are you talking about?! 

DM family= Martin+Dave+Andy and that's all, Amen. This is a a formula of miracle :)

[pauldays]

Well I miss ALAN...

[Buffy2403]

Fletch is the bands "spokesman" & "band manager" When DM needs to make an "appearance" ever notice that Fletch is always there,not so w/the others.Ok so Fletch isn't the "hot" one nor the "main song writer" but if he were not an important contrubuter then he would not be there.Think like this,if you had a band & their was somebody there "milking the millions" but did nothing more than "clap" or press a single repeated note then you wouldn't want them to be in your band very long, now would you

[rodolforequena]

Funny & sad 'cause Alan Wilder was the sound of DM. Poor Andrew...

[motr1912]

I would say Martin Gore had more musical input than many give him credit for.

[pauldays]

I agree

[btdtlol7]

Fletch might not write the songs like Martin does or produces music like Alan does or sings great like Dave does but he has an important role in the band as well......a backup dancer.

[maleada]

he writes all the songs of DM.. ALL OF THEM,

problem is, he uses claps and nobody can understand him hahaha

still <3 Fletch, can't imagine the band with the pro clapper!

[dmcanada66]

If you call pressing one note over and over playing! I love Andy, I feel sorry for him and his battles with depression, but seriously, I don't think he contributes all that much to the band.

[maleada]

is the keyboard plugged?

still, imagine the band without him!!

[timlikesdrums]

fletch is a nothing

[btdtlol7]

I wonder if DM have asked Alan to come back?

I also wonder if Fletch's keyboard is plugged in?

hmmm? LOL!

[btdtlol7]

Fletch is the one-finger keyboard player. Of course, he plays! LOL

[maleada]

NOT REALLY!

I saw Fletch once using 2 hands... that's gotta be ultrahard, specially if he is concentrating in the claps!

[oldirtydawson]

very funny. Fletch knows his place in the band and plays his role perfectly. He does smoke on stage sometimes. : )

[MissWilder]

LOOOOL ce mec est une légende !!! The branleur !!!!

[christopher6373]

...ah yes, one of the many great mysteries of the unknown. Who built the pyramids, The Theory of Atlantis, UFO's and,...does Fletch play the keyboard?

[amaister93]

i fell of ma chair laughing, when i read the comment :D

But don't make fun of him, cause he rocks!

[Snuffomatica]

Made him a cup of tea when I was doing work experience at Mute a few years ago.

[icj1980]

FLETCH IS THE BEST !!!

Dont mess with The Man .

[ergofobico]

¬¬ y eso es lo que pasa cuando lo dejan tocar...

[joseitsme]

God! I love this song, music for the masses is an awesome album and masterpiece album. Here, Dave sounds like back in the days with his baritone style. Dark, deep and spiritual.

[johntherevelator86]

Andy rocks and he IS necessary to the band, plus he was here when the band was created.

[amaister93]

YOU'RE BEHIND THE SYNTH...TONIGHT!!!

don't judge Fletch! He ROCKS

[KarmaNinja69]

Yo!! Who messin' with my man Fletch??

[Sledge101]

Whether he plays live or not is irrelevant when you consider that the band might - MIGHT - not still be together if it weren't for his negotation skills within the band. I'd still miss him if he went - but not nearly as much as I miss Alan.

[xxGABRIELxxLARSAxx]

Fletcher is also the "spokesperson" of the band

He is also said to be the member that brings the band together, as he was one of the main factors in helping build a compromise that settled the serious dispute between Gahan and Gore over songwriting duties for Playing the Angel.

[dukeon]

Alan didn't want to stay, probably because Martin is such an egomaniac he wouldn't let him have more control/credit. Much to both of their discredit... they were far better together than either has been since. Sad. Recoil isn't very good, and DM post-Alan is just sad. Ah well, good ride while it lasted. Nothing will beat the album sequence from Some Great Reward to Ultra, with the peak coming at Music For The Masses and Violator and trailing off either way in time (IMO).

[berlinsneakerz]

fletch is the lames ever- Alan Wilder was who should've stayed in the band!

[Zenon2006]

Fletch is the biggest hanger on in music

[Jurgenks]

Fletch plays Bass on keyboards....

[bondbug73]

Fletch is still the best on stage WHOAA clapper there. Who care's if his synth isn't plugged in. WHOAAA. .......Even I'm doing WHOOOOAAA now.

[amaister93]

who cares if his synth isn't plugged in...

THAT WAS HILARIOUS :D

But Fletch is a legend EITHERWAY

[bevoexciter]

yo vi a andy tocar el bajo,pero aun no se que hace realmente con el sintetizador. I want to know what he does in DM. i'd like to see him playing and singing.....he should do it.

[SyntheticFilms]

Fletch is behind the synths, but he appears to be just triggering the samples, which consists of holding down a key or two. I think the last time Fletch played an actual melody on stage was probably the Broken Frame tour. ;-)

[HumanSoftware]

(LOL !) Well i think You are even TOO OPTIMISTIC ...! Did Fletcher EVER play live ? Take a look at very old videos(take the last gig with Vince Clarke, for example) : He used to stay behind a MOOG SOURCE, a famous monophonic synth from early '80s...Monophonic=ONE NOTE at a time, NO CHORDS...BUT he clearly seems to play WITH BOTH HANDS pressing many keys at the same time ... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE with that kind of keyboard !!! Hmm ... I suspect that its instrument was SWITCHED OFF ...:-) !

[416billy]

the real proof that he is playing live is that (in this clip) he plays his part at the wrong time in one instance. if you listen to one of the bremen recordings he even screws up a note, which is human, but proof that he is playing.

[daisicooper1]

I wouldn`t say he had no work in the Depeche Mode.Clearly i know that he used to be the one,who did a lots of meetings and hearings what the others hated to do.I only wanna say,he should put out much more on stage.And if my opinion hars about him,just read what Dave Gahan said about him in the book of Depeche Mode Stripped.

[darwleg]

Fletch: You are behind the synth!!!

[joseph1985]

And by the way, that's a strange angle, who took this video? And where was this performance?

[gunterbutt]

@joseph1985:

I saw the concert from the same angle in munich - that happens if you need to buy tickets right in front of the concert hall ;). You have a very good view on what Fletcher is doing from there. And to be honest, it isn't much. He may be a brillant piano player in secrecy but never shows in concerts - I've seen them back in 1982 and 1984, and it was the same even at that time. I'm not quite sure what Fletcher is doing at DM, but he's not there because of his brillant playing.

[ascaing]

Andy is a great musician, but he was very underestimate.

[daisicooper1]

Oh,yeah?Just look for shake the desease live-with martin.And that was the last tour!!Why a guess musician played behinde of him that really easy tune?Andy could show some contribution to the fans.

[ascaing]

Yes, but in the last tour Shake The Disease, was played acustically by Martin Gore and Peter Gordeno, without Dave Gahan, Andy Fletcher and Christian Eigner.........

[electrologic]

that wasn't such an easy tune

[svenroser]

There is of course the consideration of an awful lot of keyboard and synthesisers here.They might even have to let certain parts of the original track.If it sounds good and it´s all used up to full effect,it doesn´t really matter that much. It does however, feels a bit odd, with only Fletch up there.

[Giancarlik]

Andy is the best!!!And you are idiots!!Fletch Forever

[viomartyr]

yep, if you watch touring the angel live in milan, you can see snippets of fletch's fingers hitting the keys :P he's actually quite good at playing the keyboard (as seen on early vids), i wonder why he prefers to do almost nothing when he performs live

[veunson]

A lot of synth acts "fake" the live playing. The music runs off a sequencer and many acts "pretend" to play along. Electronic music, due to the fact that it is robotically sequenced, is very difficult to reproduce live due to the fact the timeing is so precise, and unless you are almost a machine, you are going to be a little out of time, after all, its part of being human. I do believe that DEPECHE DO PLAY Live ,and they are definatley the REAL DEAL !! LONG LIVE DEPECHE!! :-)

[svenroser]

All true!I noticed early on that Mr. Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran also more and more prefers to be a "button-clicker",rather than a player.Laptops make things even handier these days,as most keyboardists have their programming done by someone,allowing them play only their favorite parts,and "jam" along the basic tracks. Madonna has two key-men under the stage(they play on highly programmable Roland V-synths). Check out Jim Gilmour from Saga;he plays even his sequencer stuff live!Do love Fletch!

[KDMatt]

You should see what Kraftwerk looks like live, heheh.

[TheColdspots]

yeah, 4 men standing behind a computer, writting e-mails and surfing on twitter :D

[tmf1977]

I concur. Long time DM fan here and I have seen this band on ever tour since Black Celebration and there have been some shows where the boys were off whereas Martin, Fletch and even the great Alan Wilder missed a few notes here and there and the song was thrown off a bit. There is no doubt whatsoever Dave and Martin do all of the singing live--absolutely no lip synch. Excellent band live.

[niunias101]

mr OFP- one finger player

[ne0nsurf]

fletch has always played on early records. he's better than most wannabe keyboardists. alan really is stellar though so it overshadows the rest.

[szumi37]

Rudy-klaskacz the best!!!chłopu ma nawet odłączony kibord!!!

[AxelVenturiano]

Fletch can play better than all of you dickheads

[InsaneCarrie]

+ 1

[ergofobico]

@InsaneCarrie Fletch doesnt play anything, its a fact.

[ergofobico]

very funny

[faithanddevotion]

It seems that peter can play the piano/keyboard well. I hope they incorporate him into the creative process for their next album which might help them pull more melody out of their music. I feel that is what they lack; that Alan contributed, a good melody line to each song. Has peter helped before in the studio, and is he going to help this time around? Anybody? Just my thoughts........

[jakubpetricek]

I think Peter has never taken part in the recording process, neithér he will this time around. Fletch definitely has his own tasks and role within the band but these don´t include any creative input. One of his biggest achievments has been sacking Alan. I don´t know..I don´t like him very much. Sorry to everybody who loves Fletch.

[tmf1977]

Fletch sacked Alan? Alan left on his own accord in 1995 in which there was a rift between Alan and Martin; absolutely nothing to do with Fletch at all. Dave and Alan are still good friends with each other. Alan also assisted in re-mastering DM's earlier records during this decade. You may not like Andrew for whatever reason (I won't knock you on that one), but your facts regarding Fletcher are completely wrong as far as Alan leaving the band.

[faithanddevotion]

Sorry too hear that they didn't sound good at the Bremen/Germany concert. That sucks, I consider myself lucky to have seen them in Denver Colorado and Salt Lake City Utah back to back. Ive never heard them better than they sounded in Slat Lake City Utah. Best of their last four shows Ivé seen. I was in the second or third upper most section, 3rd from the last row and they were phenomenal. So many variables to consider, I guess its hit and miss....Anyone else see them in Salt Lake City? thoughts?

[comunistguru]

yes he does play much more after the departure of wilder. and that gordeno guy... he's not a DM member

[depressedtoad]

he kind of is these days... lol

[101LiTtLe15]

XD

Mrs Andy Fletcheeeeeeeer!!!!

I Love that Man!!!He makes Me laugh!!...He is My Man!!!<3

[FelipeKenji]

hail to mr fletcher =)

1.20 - 1.17

mmm... se equivoco fletch, esa linea de teclado no iba ahi

saludos

[musicmanmel]

OK Fletch isnt beethoven i accept - but look at what hes done for Depeche in the last 25 years - playing a major part in the first couple of years of live work - management tasks and holding things together when there have been particularly difficult times - especially during the tension between gore/gahan during Playing The Angel decisions regarding tracks for album - Long Live The Fletch - And yes i do understand it was a joke :)))) mm

[ANDRES77]

Great video but you must to see 1010 rosebowl concert, or "live in hamburg" and look at Alan Wilder's hands...that is play the keyboards, Fletch is part of DM but not of their music, but anyway, its a god partof the mode.

[InsaneCarrie]

You didn't get the joke... right?

0_o

[DrearSkaa]

Lord Fletch! Fletch really rocks!!!

[brain0911]

I was there. At the fucking Bremen /Germany concert. It was so bad. Not Dm. They were great as ever and I have seen then for more than 15 times. But the sound in the Stadium was terrible. Never been in a DM concert before only 40 meters away from the stage and I could talk to all the other people like I was at home using my sound system. Hopefully next tour DM will make a concert inside a famous hall here in Northern Germany and I will be there again.

[BalletLipbalm]

were you there yourself?? on DM concert?? ohh, if you were lucky you!! fletch rocks :D

[martinVH1]

Fletch is god

[Celebok]

I wouldn't exactly consider his hands over the keyboard to be "proof" that he's actually playing it, but this was a great video clip nonetheless! I don't see too many DM concert clips from that angle! :-)