Who is the drummer for depeche mode

James Evans- "In The Fletch". His association with the band started over a decade ago, as the group's stage manager, before stepping into the role of Andy Fletcher! He's an invaluable asset in helping to recreate the live keyboard parts and harmony vocals performed during Depeche Mode's concerts with passion, intensity and showmanship.

He is a secret weapon in audience engagement and getting the crowds going every night! Chris Olivas- "Chris-tian O-gner". He is an in demand session, touring, and studio musician. It's good to get some new enthusiasm for the songs because I've already worked on them for maybe a month or two, while the rest of the band are really fresh, and are more likely to come up with new and inspiring ideas.

Even David is now joining in with that, which is good because he used to be just "the singer". Basically, we're a band without roles. Daniel Miller's role, especially, is an intriguing one. He might say, for instance: "This middle-eight is very good, perhaps we should start the song with it". We might start off a song with a single sound on a sequencer and as it progresses, bring in more sounds just to make it richer. We did that a lot on this album — making layers of sounds all play the same part to get a full and warm effect.

We could do that because we went track for the first time. Before we used track, which meant that we sometimes had to put three or four sounds on one track.

This time we could minimise that, which made things a lot easier when it came to mixing. This time we tried not to put too many effects on at an early stage. We put a lot of parts down very, very dry, and then worked on the effects when it came to mixing.

What about one of the dilemmas mentioned earlier, the one about playing sequencer-based music live? Well, one thing's for sure: the Basildon boys are no more enamoured of keyboard-playing skill now than they were when they first put fingers to synthesiser keys five years ago.

Of the four of them, Alan Wilder is probably the most gifted player, and that's only because he's had a vestige of formal training.

I'm not interested in being a great piano player any more. There are loads of good musicians around, all far better than me. If I'd auditioned for another band, they probably wouldn't let me in. But for me, it's shaping songs and sounds which is important. Even Dave is doing that now, and he used to be just 'the singer'.

In practical terms, the result of this attitude is that Depeche Mode have to resort to machines to re-create their sound live. A TEAC eight-track tape recorder plays most of the drum tracks, some basslines and a few other parts which are either too hard to play or can't be reproduced for technical reasons.

Wilder: 'We never use sequencers live because they go wrong too often. So what we do is take the studio tapes and re-edit them. Sometimes we'll change the structure of songs, or shorten or lengthen various parts because we might think something works better that way live. Then we'll play the different fill-in parts as it comes. We have no labour division there. And which song do they have programmed into a sequencer to fill in the gap caused by the tape change?

You've guessed: 'It Doesn't Matter Two', complete with the slowing-down at the end. Gore: 'Programming that was a real nightmare, because the Emulator sequencer is all at one speed. What we had to do was write in unjustified measures, because otherwise the sequencer would auto-correct the slight tempo deviations which we put in. But then, the sequencer is high-resolution so it's never totally unjustified.

In the end we made it, but don't ask me how. Martin Gore, in the third month of a world tour and facing several more months gigging in the States, replies tentatively.

It's getting to the point already now where I can almost go through the motions half-asleep. Now I automatically change disks at the right moment, without even thinking about it. It is quite boring, but we owe it to the fans to play live because the concerts always go down really well. The audiences love it. Live playing is only about reproducing our music in a very tight and good way. My main enjoyment comes from the contact with the public. We're one of the most exciting bands around.

First, we always get a very good sound, because everything goes directly into the PA system. Second, we have a lot of vocal harmonies, which make a very big vocal sound. And third, we take a lot of trouble over the stage set and a good light show. Dave has also become a very good frontman over the years: he manages to communicate very well with an audience. Depeche Mode's live performances are usually very successful, wherever in the world they may take place.

But that leaves the question of the band's diminishing success on their home territory. The Basildon boys are spending a lot of time abroad, and in their absence, the last couple of singles haven't done too well in the UK charts.

Is the public getting disinterested, or is the band itself losing some of its charisma? Gore: 'It's difficult to say, but it isn't bothering us that much.

At the moment things are looking very healthy for us in Europe and the USA. If Britain wants to remain ignorant, it can. We've been pretty successful at home for five or six years. I think people might lose enthusiasm because they might be temporarily satiated. As far as he's concerned, Depeche's current dark image stays. And I know people in England say we're really pessimistic or manic depressive. We don't see it like that.

In late , the band placed an anonymous ad in Melody Maker looking for another musician; it said "Name band, synthesise, must be under twenty-one. In January , the band released " See You ", their first single without Clarke, which managed to beat all three Clarke-penned singles in the UK charts, reaching number six. Two more singles, " The Meaning of Love ", and " Leave in Silence ", were released ahead of the band's second studio album. Depeche Mode began work on their second album in July Daniel Miller informed Wilder that he was not needed for the recording of the album, as the band wanted to prove that they could succeed without Vince Clarke.

A non-album single " Get the Balance Right! The album saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to Wilder's introduction of the Synclavier and E-mu Emulator samplers. Along with the music, Gore's songwriting was also rapidly evolving, focusing increasingly on political and social issues. A good example of the new sound was on the first single from the album " Everything Counts ", a commentary on the perceived greed of multinational corporations.

In their early years, Depeche Mode had only really attained success in Europe and Australia, however this changed in March when they released the single " People Are People ". The song reached No. The song has since become an anthem for the LGBT community and was regularly played at gay establishments and gay pride festivals in the late s. It was the tour in America that year where the band noticed things were changing.

They were, according to Gore, "shocked by the way the fans were turning up in droves at the concerts". In September , Some Great Reward was released.

Melody Maker claimed that the album made one "sit up and take notice of what is happening here, right under your nose. Also included was the first Martin Gore ballad " Somebody " — such songs would become a feature of all following albums.

In July , the band played their first-ever concerts behind the Iron Curtain , in Budapest and Warsaw. During this period, in some circles, the band became associated with the gothic subculture , which had begun in Britain in the earlys, and was now slowly gaining popularity in the United States. This view of the band was in sharp contrast to how the band was perceived in Europe, despite the increasingly dark and serious tone in their songs.

Depeche Mode's musical style shifted slightly again in with the release of their fifteenth single " Stripped ", and its accompanying album Black Celebration. Retaining their often imaginative sampling and beginning to move away from the "industrial-pop" sound that had characterised their previous two LPs, the band introduced an ominous, highly atmospheric and textured sound.

Gore's lyrics also took on a darker tone and became even more pessimistic. The music video for " A Question of Time " was the first to be directed by Anton Corbijn , [40 ] beginning a working relationship that continues to the present day. Corbijn has directed a further 19 of the band's videos the latest being 's " Suffer Well ".

He has also filmed some of their live performances and designed stage sets and album and single covers. For the first time a producer not related to Mute, Dave Bascombe, was called to assist with the recording sessions although, according to Alan Wilder, his role ended up being more that of an engineer.

Record Mirror described Music for the Masses as "the most accomplished and sexy Mode album to date" [42 ] and it made a breakthrough in the American market, something which the band had failed to achieve with their previous albums.

The Music for the Masses Tour followed the release of the album. On 7 March they played an unofficial gig as it was not officially announced that Depeche Mode were the band performing that night in the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle , East Berlin.

Around the same period, they also gave concerts in Budapest and Prague [44 ] in the then still communist Hungary and Czechoslovakia respectively. The world tour ended on 18 June with a concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl with paid attendance of 60, [45 ] the highest in eight years for the venue. The tour was a breakthrough for the band and a massive success in the United States. It was documented in — a concert film by D.

Pennebaker and its accompanying soundtrack album. The film is notable for its portrayal of fan interaction. The initial result of this session was the single " Personal Jesus ". Prior to its release, a marketing campaign was launched with advertisements placed in the personal columns of UK regional newspapers with the words "Your own personal Jesus.

The resulting furore helped propel the single to number 13 on the UK charts, becoming one of their biggest sellers to date; in the US, it was their first gold single and their first Top 40 hit since "People Are People", eventually becoming the biggest-selling inch single in Warner Bros.

Records ' history up to that point. Released in January , " Enjoy the Silence " became one of Depeche Mode's most successful singles to date, reaching number six in the UK the first Top 10 hit in that country since "Master And Servant".

A few months later it became Depeche Mode's biggest hit in the US, reaching number eight and earning the band a second gold single. It won 'Best British single' at the Brit Awards. The event attracted approximately 20, fans and turned into a near riot. Some of those who attended were injured by being pressed against the store's glass by the crowd. Violator was the first of the band's albums to enter the Top 10 of the Billboard — reaching No.

It has also been certified triple platinum in America, selling over 4. It remains the band's best selling album worldwide. Flood, on Giants Stadium concert. Musical artists were challenged by film director Wim Wenders to write music the way they imagined they would in the year , the setting of the movie.

The members of Depeche Mode regrouped in Madrid in January , Dave Gahan had become interested in the new grunge scene sweeping the U. The number of times I've been sitting in the studio and said, 'I wish I could get a bass that would just go [mimics wet, thick hip-hop bass-drum sound]. Then you can send it through some other device after that, and you've got something that sounds absolutely nothing like a voice, but the source was a voice.

It is a very interesting process. In Songs of Faith and Devotion again with producer Flood , saw them experimenting with more organic arrangements, based as much on heavily distorted electric guitars and live drums played by Alan Wilder, whose debut as a studio drummer had come on the Violator track "Clean" as synthesisers. The album debuted at number one in both the UK and the US, only the sixth British act to achieve such a distinction to date.

The gospel influences are most noticeable on the album's third single, " Condemnation ". A symptom of the slow fracturing of the band, interviews given by the band during this period tended to be conducted separately, unlike earlier albums, where the band was interviewed as a group.

The Devotional world tour followed. It was documented by a concert film of the same name. The film was directed by Anton Corbijn and in earned the band their first Grammy nomination. The final leg of the tour, consisting of more North American dates, followed shortly thereafter and ran until July. As a whole, the Devotional Tour is to date the longest and most geographically diverse Depeche Mode tour, spanning fourteen months and individual performances.