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Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher (picture from March 2017)
Photo:
John Carucci/ AP
Andy Fletcher, founding member of British band Depeche Mode, has died at the age of 60, the band announced on their Twitter account.
"We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness at the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy 'Fletch' Fletcher," the tweet read.
"Fletch had a true heart of gold and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a laugh or a cold beer," the band continues.
Hearts are with his family and we ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.
The band initially gave no information about the cause of death.
Fletcher co-founded the band in the south-east English town of Basildon, which was named Depeche Mode after a French fashion magazine.
In the 1980s and 1990s, they became the world's most successful synth-pop band, with hits including songs like "New Life" and "Just Can't Get Enough."
The magazine "Rolling Stone" once described the division of labor in the band as follows: "With Depeche Mode, the fronts have long since been clarified quite concretely: Martin Gore is the sensitive, ingenious songwriter, Andrew Fletcher the inventor and organizer, Dave Gahan the charismatic singer, who at some point also wanted to write songs.«
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