Depeche Mode in Sanremo, the first time since the terrible death of “Fletch”

They will be i Depeche Mode tonight’s super international guests on the stage of the festival for the final of Sanremo 2023. The historic English band will give the Ariston audience the performance world premiere of “Ghosts Again”, first single from the new album “Memento Mori”, arriving on March 24th. And just the imminent release of the fifteenth studio album by the band, which will be followed by a world tour – the first in more than five years and the 19th in total – which begins in March and will arrive in Italy this summer with three dates (July 12 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome , on July 14 at the San Siro in Milan and on July 16 at the dall’Ara stadium in Bologna) may have “weighed” not a little in the band’s cachet.

Depeche Mode, what is the cachet for Sanremo?

For artists promoted with albums and/or tours, Sanremo represents an exceptional showcase. And this applies to both the big Italians and the international ones. And i record audience data and the interactions on the social networks of Sanremo 2023 confirm it. It is inevitable that, in addition to the “convincing qualities” of the artistic director and conductor Amadeus, the “Sanremo brand” has had a weight in shaping the cachet of a band that has over 40 years of history (it was founded in 1980 in Basildon) and gave away immortal tunes such as Enjoy the silcence, Just can’t get enough, People are People and Personal Jesus. So much so that for tonight’s participation in the festival there is talk of a figure that – according to well-informed people – would not exceed 100 thousand euros, also thanks to possible promotion deals with the band’s record label. The times in which Rai could afford stellar cachets for international super guests are certainly archived, as explained by the director of Rai 1 Stefano Coletta, dismissing the controversy over the remuneration of the Oscar winner Roberto Benigni, who in the past would have received around 300 thousand euros for a guest (“Stsometimes the figure for Benigni is much, much, much lower”). And this year, for the intervention on the Constitution in the first evening of the festival, he would not have gone beyond 100 thousand euros.

The cachets of Sanremo 2023, from Francini to the singers: this is how much they earn

Gahan and Gore: “Excited to share the song with everyone”

The members of the band themselves talk about the new album and the joy of being in Sanremo tonight. “For me Ghosts Again perfectly captures that balance that exists between melancholy and joy”, summarizes the frontman Dave Gahan. While the guitarist Martin Gore emphasizes the absolute novelty of the single: “It doesn’t happen often that we find ourselves recording a song that doesn’t get boring when I listen to it. I’m excited to be able to share it with all”.

Depeche’s first time without “Fletch”

“Memento Mori” (Columbia Records/Sony Music) it is the band’s 15th studio record and the first it sees Gahan and Gore alone, after the disappearance of Andy Fletcher, for all simply “Fletch”. Produced by James Ford, and with added production by Marta Salogni, the album was born during the early stages of the pandemic. The 12-track album explores a wide variety of feelings and emotions: from the somber opening to the final closing, the songs range from themes such as paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy. “Ghosts Again”, the first single from the new album, is available digitally from February 9th and will enter radio rotation on the 10th. The official video clip of the song is also online (directed by Anton Corbijn), which has all the typical characteristics of the group, the evocative words by Dave Gahan and the mesmerizing sound of Martin Gore’s guitar.

How did Andy Fletcher die?

On May 26, 2022 a grave mourning befell the band: Andy Fletcher, the historic keyboardist and one of the founders of the group (along with Vince Clarke), died at his home in London at the age of 60. The news leaves the fans and members of the band dismayed, and only a month later, at the request of the family, they reveal the causes of death. His wife Gráinne Mullan and the couple’s two children, Meghan and Joe, decide to have the band communicate the cause of death: a aortic dissection. Fletcher, they report, “died naturally and without prolonged suffering”. There aortic dissection it consists in the laceration of an internal wall of the aorta and the formation of a false passage for the blood. It is a vascular pathology that can be fatal if not treated promptly.

Four decades of success for the English band

Depeche Mode have crossed over four decades without losing their charisma. The original line-up included Dave Gahan (vocals), Martin Gore (guitar and keyboards), Andy Fletcher known as “Fletch” (keyboards, bass and spokesperson) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals, drum machines). The latter left the band in 1981 to found first Yazoo with Alison Moyet, then Erasure with Andy Bell. After Clarke’s departure, Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, backing vocals, bass, piano, percussion) joined Depeche Mode in 1982, but left the band in 1995, which continued as trio until Fletch’s sudden deathlast year.
Depeche Mode is here established on the British synth pop scene since the beginning, their fame has grown over the years also in the ability to range between different genres. Depeche Mode have embraced more than one musical genre with the use of electronics, with large concessions to pop rock and at noew wave, especially in the second phase, with a massive incursion into alternative dance.

“The quintessential 80s electronic music”

With over 100 million records sold worldwide, 14 studio albums, 4 live and 6 collections, Depeche Mode represent one of the most influential groups in the history of electronic music. Various bands and artists from all genres of music have been influenced by their work and have made numerous covers of their best-known songs. The well-known British music magazine Q called them “The most popular and longest running electronic band that the world has ever known”, while for Rolling Stone Depeche Mode represent “The quintessence of electronic music of the eighties”.

“Memento Mori”: the tracklist

The 12 tracks of “Memento Mori” explore a wide variety of feelings and emotions: from the somber opening to the final closing, the songs range from themes such as paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy, with all the infinite facets in between. This is the tracklist of the latest Depeche Mode album:

1. My Cosmos Is Mine
2. Wagging Tongue
3. Ghosts Again
4. Don’t Say You Love Me
5. My Favorite Stranger
6. Soul With Me
7. Caroline’s Monkey
8. Before We Drown
9. People Are Good
10. Always You
11. Never let me go
12. Speak To Me

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