Wiki: Alan Wilder - upcScavenger

Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, Arrangement, record producer and member of the electronica band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. After his departure from the band, the musical project Recoil became his primary musical enterprise, which initially started as a side project to Depeche Mode in 1986. Wilder has also provided production and remix to the bands Nitzer Ebb and Curve. In 2020, Wilder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Depeche Mode. He is a classically trained musician.Bell, Max: " ALAN WILDER: THE BAND BOY ", PRIVATE LIVES – THE DEPECHE MODE STORY, 1985

Early years

Alan Charles Wilder was born the youngest of three boys and was raised in Acton, West London. He began piano at the age of eight, through the encouragement of his parents. Later on, he learned the flute at St Clement Danes Grammar School and became a leading musician of his school bands. After school, Wilder worked as a studio assistant at DJM Records. This led to him working for bands such as the Dragons and Dafne & the Tenderspots (as Alan Normal). Others include Real to Real (featuring Adrian Chilvers on bass, Pete Fresh on guitar, Wolfgang Marlander on drums and Paul St James on vocals), the Hitmen, and the Korgis, appearing on the UK No. 13 single "If I Had You" (1979).

Depeche Mode (1982–1995)

Following the departure of founding member Vince Clarke, the remaining members of Depeche Mode realized that their heavy tour commitments would necessitate finding a musician to help play on tour, so the band put an advertisement in the music magazine Melody Maker stating "Synth / Vocals needed for electronic pop group with UK & International commitments – must be under 21." Despite being 22 years old, Wilder was hired as a result. Singer Dave Gahan recalled later that "we auditioned potential at Blackwing studios, and all these strange and wonderful characters showed up. And they were all dressed up to the nines, but couldn't play. And Alan came along and could play anything." Initially hired as a touring musician and paid a weekly wage, Wilder's first show with Depeche Mode was a warm-up gig at Croc's in Rayleigh, England, on 20 January 1982, and played on Depeche Mode's See You Tour, with shows in the UK, Europe and the US, which ran from January to May 1982. In a later interview, Wilder said that "I wanted to always be a musician, and I always had a conviction about being a musician, I didn't want to do anything else ... but at the time I didn't see it being as a long term thing. It evolved into something I became more and more interested in."

In July 1982, the band, without Wilder, went into the studio in London to record their second album, A Broken Frame, which was released in September 1982, and the band, with Wilder, supported it with the A Broken Frame Tour, which ran from October 1982 through May 1983 with shows in the UK, Europe, the US and Asia. It was during the UK leg of the tour, in October 1982, that Wilder was officially inducted into the band. His induction was without fanfare; producer Daniel Miller simply phoned Wilder to let him know that he was an official member of the band.

In mid-November, while still on tour but on a break between the UK and European legs, the band (now including Wilder) went back to the studio to record a new song, "Get the Balance Right!". The song was released as a non-album single in January 1983, before the US and Asian legs of the tour. Wilder co-wrote the single's b-side, "The Great Outdoors!", for the single with Martin Gore. Wilder was also responsible for creating the 12" remix of the "Balance", cutting up tape and re-assembling it by hand to make the remix.

In early 1983, Depeche Mode went into the studio to record Construction Time Again, the first album in which Wilder was included. Wilder brought both a Synclavier and an Emulator, which allowed the band to capture and manipulate sounds in a way they hadn't been able to prior. Wilder wrote a handful of songs for the album, including "Two Minute Warning", "The Landscape Is Changing", as well as one B-side, "Fools". After releasing the album, Wilder and the band supported it with the Construction Time Again Tour, which ran from September 1983 through the end of that year, with over a half-dozen one-off shows stretching through mid-1984.

1984's Some Great Reward was a "turning point" for Wilder's role in Depeche Mode, as he started to focus more on the production of the band's songs, and took over a greater role in engineering the band's sound. Wilder also wrote "If You Want" (and a B-side, "In Your Memory") for the album. The supporting Some Great Reward Tour ran from September 1984 through July 1985, and saw the band's first shows behind the Iron Curtain.

In 1985, Depeche Mode focused on a singles release instead of a full album. The band voted over whether to release "It's Called a Heart" or "Fly on the Windscreen" as one of their singles; Wilder was the only vote for "Windscreen".

Depeche Mode's next album, Black Celebration, recorded in late 1985 and early 1986, saw Wilder's last writing contributions to the band in the songs "Black Day" and B-side, "Christmas Island". Starting with this album and going forward, Wilder's more notable contributions to Depeche Mode were as a musician, arranger, and producer.

In addition to playing synthesizer throughout his time with Depeche Mode, Wilder also played piano on the band's signature ballad "Somebody". In the documentary film 101, Wilder demonstrates how different synthesizer parts of a song are split and arranged across a sampling keyboard for playing them live during the concert, just one small example of Wilder's ongoing contributions to Depeche Mode during his time as a member of the group. For the recording of the album Songs of Faith and Devotion and its corresponding Devotional Tour, Wilder also played live drums.

For "Enjoy the Silence" from the album Violator, Wilder took Martin Gore's melancholy ballad-esque demo and re-envisioned the song as a percolating, melodic dance track. The resulting single went on to become one of the most commercially successful songs in Depeche Mode's history.

Departure

In June 1995, Wilder announced his departure from Depeche Mode "due to increasing dissatisfaction with the internal relations and working practices of the group". After his split from the band, Wilder was approached by Robert Smith with an offer to join the Cure.Miller, Jonathan: Stripped: Depeche Mode, Omnibus Press, 2003, . According to Wilder himself, the possibility was offered on behalf of the Cure by Daryl Bamonte (tour manager for both Depeche Mode and the Cure, and brother of the Cure member Perry Bamonte), and Wilder declined as joining another band was the last thing on his mind. Shunt Q+A Vault: Other Artists – likes / dislikes / record collection Retrieved on 25 October 2009

Wilder briefly reunited with Depeche Mode during the Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 17 February 2010. During the encore, Wilder played piano on "Somebody".

Recoil (1986–present)

Side project

Recoil began in 1986 as a two-track experimental Extended play. Simply entitled 1 + 2, the collection of primitive demos caught the attention of Mute Records label boss Daniel Miller and was inconspicuously released as a mini-album on 12" vinyl. An album, Hydrology, soon followed in 1988, and both were eventually re-issued by Mute on CD as Hydrology plus 1 + 2.

Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb sang on Recoil's next album, Bloodline, released in 1992. Wilder recruited guest vocalists for the first time, with further contributions from Toni Halliday and Moby. Bloodline also yielded the first Recoil single, a cover of Alex Harvey's song "Faith Healer".

Solo work

In September 1996, after leaving Depeche Mode, Wilder began work in his own studio, The Thin Line. He pieced together what would become Recoil's next album, Unsound Methods (1997). The album was followed by Liquid (2000), SubHuman (2007), and Selected (2010).

Recoil returned in 2012 to release the concert film A Strange Hour in Budapest on Blu-ray.

Personal life

In August 1991, after marrying his first wife, Jeri Young, Wilder bought a 30-acre, eight-bedroom country estate in Itchingfield, West Sussex, England, where he later built his personal recording studio, The Thin Line. In 2024, Wilder listed the property (minus the studio) for sale, citing the desire to downsize.

In May 2024, Wilder purchased a vacation property in Vestfold, Norway.

Discography

Early work

The Dragons – "Misbehavin'" (1977)
Dafne & the Tenderspots – "Disco Hell" (1979)
The Korgis – "If I Had You" (1979) – UK No. 13 (the track also appears on The Korgis, as well as all of the band's compilation albums)
Real to Real – "White Man Reggae" (March 1980)
Real to Real – "The Blue" (1980)
Real to Real – Tightrope Walkers (November 1980)
Real to Real – "Mr. and Mrs." (March 1981)
The Flatbackers – "Serenade of Love" (1981)
The Hitmen – "Ouija" (1981)

With Depeche Mode

Wilder appeared on all of Depeche Mode's releases from "Get the Balance Right!" (31 January 1983) up to "In Your Room" (10 January 1994), later taking part in reissues and compilations containing material from his time in the band.

Discography featuring Alan Wilder

Studio albums

Construction Time Again (1983)
Some Great Reward (1984)
Black Celebration (1986)
Music for the Masses (1987)
Violator (1990)
Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993)

Live albums

101 (1989)
Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993)

Compilations

People Are People (1984) – all tracks, excepting: "Now This Is Fun" and "Leave In Silence".
The Singles 81→85 (1985) – all tracks, excepting: "Dreaming of Me", "New Life", "Just Can't Get Enough", "See You", "The Meaning of Love" (only on the CD version) and "Leave in Silence"; he also did not feature on the two bonus tracks on the 1998 reissue.
Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985) – all tracks except "Dreaming of Me", "New Life", "Just Can't Get Enough", "See You" and "The Meaning of Love".
The Singles 86–98 (1998) – all tracks except "Barrel of a Gun", "It's No Good", "Home", "Useless" and "Only When I Lose Myself"
Remixes 81–04 (2004) – all tracks except "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld Hard Mix) (one-disc edition), "Useless" (The Kruder + Dorfmeister Session™), "Home" (Air 'Around the Golf' Remix), "Just Can't Get Enough" (Schizo Mix) and "Enjoy the Silence 04"; all tracks except "Shout!" (Rio Remix), "Home" (Air 'Around the Golf' Remix), "Barrel of a Gun" (Underworld Hard Mix), "Freelove" (DJ Muggs Remix), "I Feel Loved" (Chamber's Remix), "Just Can't Get Enough" (Schizo Mix) (two-disc edition), "Painkiller" (Kill the Pain DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode), "Useless" (The Kruder + Dorfmeister Session™), "Dream On" (Dave Clarke Acoustic Version), "It's No Good" (Speedy J Mix) and "Enjoy the Silence" (Timo Maas Extended Mix); all tracks except the above and "I Feel Loved" (Danny Tenaglia's Labor of Love Dub (Edit)), "It's No Good" (Club 69 Future Mix), "Photographic" (Jake Williams Dubb Mix).
The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006) – all tracks except "Just Can't Get Enough", "See You", "It's No Good", "Suffer Well", "Dream On", "Martyr", "Precious" and "New Life".
(2011) – partial.

Singles

"Get the Balance Right!"
"Everything Counts"
"Love, in Itself"
"People Are People"
"Master and Servant"
"Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
"Shake the Disease"
"It's Called a Heart"
"Stripped"
"A Question of Lust"
"A Question of Time"
"Strangelove"
"Never Let Me Down Again"
"Behind the Wheel"
"Little 15"
"Personal Jesus"
"Enjoy the Silence"
"Policy of Truth"
"World in My Eyes"
"I Feel You"
"Walking in My Shoes"
"Condemnation"
"In Your Room"

Video albums

The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985)
Some Great Videos (1985) – all clips except "Just Can't Get Enough"
Strange (1988)
101 (1989)
Strange Too (1990)
Devotional (1993)
The Videos 86–98 (1998) – all clips except "Barrel of a Gun", "It's No Good", "Home", "Useless", "Only When I Lose Myself" and "Ultra – Electronic Press Kit".
The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006) – all clips except "Just Can't Get Enough", "Barrel of a Gun", "It's No Good", "Home", "Only When I Lose Myself", "Dream On", "I Feel Loved", "Enjoy the Silence 04", "Precious" and "Suffer Well".
Video Singles Collection (2016) – all clips except "Just Can't Get Enough" and clips 33–55

Depeche Mode songs composed by Alan Wilder

"The Great Outdoors!" (single "Get the Balance Right!", 1983 – co-written with Martin Gore)
"Work Hard" (single "Everything Counts", 1983 – co-written with Martin Gore)
"Two Minute Warning" (album Construction Time Again, 1983)
"The Landscape Is Changing" (album Construction Time Again, 1983)
"Fools" (single "Love, in Itself", 1983)
"In Your Memory" (single "People Are People", 1984)
"If You Want" (album Some Great Reward, 1984)
"Black Day" (single "Stripped" and album Black Celebration, 1986 – co-written with Martin Gore and Daniel Miller)
"Christmas Island" (single "A Question of Lust", 1986 – co-written with Martin Gore)

As Recoil

Collected

Wilder organized with Omega Auctions an auction selling a lot of Depeche Mode collectible items on 3 September 2011 in Manchester. A DVD called Collected + was released as a promotion for these events.

Covers and collaborations

1991 – Mixed the Nitzer Ebb song "Come Alive" from the As Is EP.
1991 – Along with Flood, produced the Nitzer Ebb album Ebbhead.
2001 – Provided strings and ambient sounds for the song "Polaroid" from the Curve album Gift.
2003 – Provided strings and sounds for The Digital Intervention track "Coma Idyllique" from the album Capture. 'PK', a longtime Recoil collaborator is one of its members, along with Olivia Louvel.
2012 – Covered two tracks: "Inheritance" – Recoil (ft. Linton Kwesi Johnson & Paul Marshall) and "Dum Dum Girl" – Recoil (ft. Shara Nova) for a Talk Talk tribute album (double) CD/book set called Spirit of Talk Talk. He was also executive music producer for the album.
2016 – Provided music and arrangements for "Calling the Clock" by Dede (featuring Alan Wilder).