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I will never forget the many nights on stages all over Europe where even we slightly "over the top" Irish lads were in awe of Frank's onstage antics and his raw and raucous performances. There was never a dull moment on or off stage. We laughed and cried and fought and forgave. We laughed a lot more than we cried though. There are too many stories of life in various tour buses to put in one article but the last few days have had my head filled with them. I am sure I will write them all down now.

Off stage and at home Frank was also a great hero. To his kids he was a wonderful Father. To his friends he was loyal generous and kind and long after we had stopped working together we shared many hours of our lives on the phone.

I moved away from London and we lost each other somewhere in the great divide. So when I heard of Frank's death it took a few minutes for the closeness to start flooding back. You learn a lot about a man when you are on the road with him for so many years sharing everything from stages to dressing rooms and socks to secrets.

I was also lucky to have met so many of Frank's family and can feel every ounce of their pain at this awful time. Frank was a good friend. I miss him already.

Sleep well Frank. You’ve earned the rest.

You can get more information at Mute Records

or go to the Fad Gadget official site and read the many tributes in the guestbook.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to write that my old friend Frank Tovey AKA Fad Gadget passed away at his home in London on April 3rd. Frank was one of the great songwriters of our time and certainly one of the most amazing stage performers I have ever seen. I worked with Frank for almost 4 years in London recording 2 albums for Mute and worked on material for a third which we toured live in Europe but never recorded.
Though Frank will be remembered for his innovate electronic sound at the end of the '70s inspiring many of the worlds most successful artists his true worth as a wordsmith and stage master might only now come to the fore.

Ironically after an absence of a few years he was back on stage doing what he does best and had recently been on tour with his old stable mates Depeche Mode. It would seem there was a big well deserved resurgence in his popularity particularly in Europe where, when I toured with Frank he had always held a heroic yet mystical status among thousands of fervent fans. The word had been spreading again that one of the greats was back in the performance arena and like a fine wine had grown better with age.