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Depeche Mode thank fans for “love and support” following Andy Fletcher’s death

Keyboardist and founding member of the group Andy Fletcher died last month from natural causes

Depeche Mode’s remaining members, Martin Gore and Dave Gahan have published a statement on the death of their founding member and keyboardist, Andy Fletcher.

The news of Fletcher’s passing was announced last month via a group statement.

In this new statement, they thank their fans for their “outpouring of love” as well as explain Fletcher’s cause of death being an aortic dissection also known as a tear in the main artery of the heart.

“We wanted to take a moment and acknowledge the outpouring of love for Andy that we’ve seen from all of you over the last few weeks,” they wrote on Instagram.

“It’s incredible to see all of your photos, to read your words, and to see how much Andy meant to all of you.

“As you can imagine, it’s been a strange, sad, disorienting few weeks for us here, to say the least,” they continued. “But we’ve seen and felt all of your love and support, and we know that Andy’s family has too.”

“A couple weeks ago we received the result from the medical examiners, which Andy’s family asked us to share with you now. Andy suffered an aortic dissection while at home on May 26. So, even though it was far, far too soon, he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering.”

Depeche Mode described the funeral as a “beautiful ceremony” that was attended by many of his friends and family along with “our immediate DM family”.

“We had a celebration of Andy’s life in London last week, which was a beautiful ceremony and gathering with a few tears, but filled with the great memories of who Andy was, stories of all of our times together, and some good laughs,” it states.

“Andy was celebrated in a room full of many of his friends and family, our immediate DM family, and so many people who have touched Andy’s and our lives throughout the years. All being together was a very special way to remember Andy and see him off.”

The post concludes: “So thank you for all of the love you’ve shown Andy and his family and friends over the last few weeks. It honestly means the world to all of us. Andy, you’ll be missed, but certainly not forgotten.”

Read Depeche Mode's full statement below.

Fletcher co-founded Depeche Mode with Martin Gore, Vince Clarke and Dave Gahan in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. after previously being a member of a band called Composition Of Sound that he had formed with Gore and Clarke earlier that year.

Depeche Mode became a definitive electronic act of the 1980s, with six UK Top 10 albums in that decade alone, along with Top 10 singles such as ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, ‘See You’, ‘Everything Counts’ and ‘People Are People’.

Depeche Mode became even more successful in the 90s, with albums ‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’ and ‘Ultra’ topping the charts in numerous countries, and have maintained a steady stream of Top 10 albums through to the present day.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter