Depeche Mode producer James Ellis Ford, who put his spin on the band’s latest album ‘Memento Mori,’ opened up to NME about Dave Gahan and Martin Gore‘s relationship that flipped after Andy Fletcher‘s passing. He recalled:
“My favorite memory was working on the last record [2023’s ‘Memento Mori’], which was weird to make because we’d all signed on and heard the demos, and unfortunately, Andy Fletcher [keyboardist] passed away unexpectedly, which was a big shock for everyone involved. I wasn’t expecting the record to happen, but Martin [Gore] and Dave [Gahan] thought the best thing to do was to carry on making the record.”
Martin and Dave realized that they would never fully be over ‘Fletcher’s passing from an aortic dissection and needed to mend their relationship to finish the album in honor of their late friend. Ford added:
“It was a very bittersweet, interesting experience in the light of a brush with mortality. Martin and Dave were repairing their often-fractious relationship, and it felt like long-lost brothers. They were catching up and reminiscing and talking directly to each other – they even wrote a song together.”
Speaking to MOJO back when they were promoting their new album, Dave shared that Fletcher was almost like a mediator between him and Martin and his passing was a wake-up moment to make amends. He shared:
“I think Fletch’s presence forced Martin and I, too, maybe this is the wrong word, but compete, and it created a certain atmosphere of being a bit spiky. So Martin and I have had to find a different way. We had to find a way of communicating, becoming friends.”
You can read the interview here. You can listen to ‘Memento Mori’ below.