Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and member of the electronic 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 remixing services 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.[1]
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 Studios. 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)
Alan Wilder (left) with Depeche Mode, 1985
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."[2] Despite being 22 years old, Wilder was hired as a result.[3] Singer Dave Gahan recalled later that "we auditioned [potential replacements] 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."[2] 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,[2] 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.[4] 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 in Depeche Mode] as a long term thing. It evolved into something I became more and more interested in."[5]
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,[2] 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.[6] It was during the UK leg of the tour, in October 1982, that Wilder was officially inducted into the band.[2][3] His induction was without fanfare; producer Daniel Miller simply phoned Wilder to let him know that he was an official member of the band.[7]
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!".[2] The song was released as a non-album single in January 1983, before the US and Asian legs of the tour.[2] Wilder co-wrote the single's b-side, "The Great Outdoors!", for the single with Martin Gore.[8] 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.[9]
In early 1983, Depeche Mode went into the studio to record Construction Time Again, the first album in which Wilder was included.[10] 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.[10] Wilder wrote a handful of songs for the album, including "Two Minute Warning", "The Landscape Is Changing", as well as one B-side, "Fools".[11] 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.[12]
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.[13] Wilder also wrote "If You Want" (and a B-side, "In Your Memory") for the album.[14] The supporting Some Great Reward Tour ran from September 1984 through July 1985, and saw the band's first shows behind the Iron Curtain.[15]
In 1985, Depeche Mode focused on a singles release instead of a full album.[16] 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".[17]
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".[18] Starting with this album and going forward, Wilder's more notable contributions to Depeche Mode were as a musician, arranger, and producer.[19]
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.[20] 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".[21] After his split from the band, Wilder was approached by Robert Smith with an offer to join the Cure.[22] 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.[23]
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".[21]
Recoil (1986–present)
Side project
Alan Wilder (right) performing in 2010
Recoil began in 1986 as a two-track experimental EP. 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.[19] 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.[24]
In May 2024, Wilder purchased a vacation property in Vestfold, Norway.[25]
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.
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 Worden) 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).[26]
Remixes
1989: Toni Halliday– "Time Turns Around" (Euro-Tech Version)
1991: Nitzer Ebb– "I Give to You" (Wilder Mix Full Version)
2010: Nitzer Ebb– "I Am Undone" (Alan Wilder Remix)
2011: Depeche Mode– "In Chains" (Alan Wilder Remix)
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