Screenshot via YouTube

Last night, Feb. 23, Depeche Mode appeared as the musical guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. During their performance, the new wave unit delivered the latest single off their forthcoming LP Memento Mori, “Ghosts Again,” in addition to their classic hit “Personal Jesus.” 

The evening’s take on “Ghost Again” carried particular weight and meaning, considering the loss of keyboardist Andy “Fletch” Fletcher. The co-founder, who helped form Depeche Mode in 1980, passed away on May 26, 2022, at 60, after suffering from an aortic dissection at home. 

The group’s Colbert appearance saw the remaining members, Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, dip into their favored 1989 number, “Personal Jesus,” next. The classic number was a bonus for the crowd, who embraced the soaring delivery with applause and wails as their frontman embodied the haunting lyrics.

Depeche Mode’s Colbert performance comes after the group’s 1987 mega-hit “Never Let Me Down Again” was featured on the HBO series, The Last of Us. The showrunner, Craig Mazin’s daughter, Jessica, covered the 1987 song–which initially appeared on the band’s studio LP, Music for the Masses–which was played during the sixth episode of the television drama, which aired on Feb. 19.