Alan Wilder

Born: 1959-06-01

Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called 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. Alan Wilder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of Depeche Mode. He is a classically trained musician. Alan Charles Wilder was born the youngest boy born into a middle class family of 3 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 in his school bands. After school, Alan worked as a studio assistant at DJM Studios. This led to him ending up 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). Following the departure of Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode placed an advertisement in the music magazine Melody Maker: "Keyboard player needed for established band – no timewasters." Even though the ad was looking for someone under 21 (Wilder was 22) he lied about his age to get the job, and got away with it. He joined Depeche Mode in January 1982, initially as a tour keyboardist, and soon thereafter as a full member of the recording band. His first studio contribution was on the single "Get the Balance Right!" in December 1982, released the following month. Wilder wrote a handful of songs for Depeche Mode, including "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing" (and a B-side, "Fools") from the album Construction Time Again, and "If You Want" (and a B-side, "In Your Memory") from the album Some Great Reward and finally co-wrote "Black Day" (and a B-side, "Christmas Island") from the album Black Celebration. However, 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. ... Source: Article "Alan Wilder" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.


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Depeche Mode: 101

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Released: 1989-04-27

A fascinating documentary focusing on backstage realities of art and business during the British...

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Depeche Mode: 1985–86 “The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio”

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Released: 2007-03-20

"The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles And It'll Never Get Played On The Radio"...

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Depeche Mode: Video Singles Collection

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Released: 2016-11-11

The complete collection of Depeche Modes videos.

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Depeche Mode: Strange Too

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Released: 1990-01-01

Strange Too - Another Violation by Anton Corbijn is the third music video compilation by Depeche...

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Depeche Mode: The World We Live in and Live in Hamburg

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Released: 1985-01-01

First video release by Depeche Mode, featuring almost an entire concert from their 1984 Some...

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Depeche Mode: Strange

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Released: 1988-01-01

Strange - A Black and White Mode by Anton Corbijn is the second music video compilation by...

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Depeche Mode: Devotional

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Released: 1993-09-30

This video release by Depeche Mode features almost an entire concert from their 1993-1994...

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Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98

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Released: 1998-09-28

The Videos 86>98 is a music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring almost two dozen music...

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Depeche Mode - Strange & Strange Too

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Released: 2023-12-08

Freshly Restored from Original Super 8 Sources, the Compilation of Groundbreaking Depeche Mode...

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Depeche Mode: Live at the Pasadena Rose Bowl

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Released: 1989-03-13

Depeche Mode's famous 101st and final concert of the 1987-1988 Music For The Masses Tour at the...

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Depeche Mode: 1984 “You Can Get Away with Anything as Long as You Give It a Good Tune…”

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Released: 2006-10-03

"You Can Get Away With Anything As Long As You Give It A Good Tune…" - Short documentary of...

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Depeche Mode: 1982 “The Beginning of Their So-Called Dark Phase…”

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Released: 2006-10-03

"The Beginning Of Their So-Called Dark Phase…" - A documentary about the making of the album A...

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Depeche Mode: Live at Hammersmith Odeon

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Released: 1982-10-25

Tracklist: Oberkorn (It's A Small Town) , My Secret Garden , See You , Satellite , New Life , ...

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Depeche Mode: 1991–1994 “We Were Going to Live Together, Record Together… and It Was Going to Be Wonderful…”

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Released: 2006-10-03

"We Were Going To Live Together, Record Together… And It Was Going To Be Wonderful…" - As part...

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Depeche Mode: 1983 “Teenagers Growing Up, Bad Government… and All That Stuff.”

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Released: 2007-03-26

"Teenagers Growing Up, Bad Government… And All That Stuff" - While Alan Wilder becomes a full...

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Depeche Mode: New Dress · Hamburg

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Released: 1986-05-16

Depeche Mode: Black Celebration Tour May 16,1986: Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg 01....

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Depeche Mode: 1987–88 “Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes…”

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Released: 2006-06-06

"Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes…" - In both musical and commercial terms, Depeche Mode had...

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Depeche Mode - Delta Machine

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Released: 2014-11-17

1. Welcome To My World 2. Angel 3. Heaven 4. Secret To The End 5. My Little Universe 6....

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Depeche Mode: 1989–90 “If You Wanna Use Guitars, Use Guitars…”

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Released: 2006-06-06

"If You Wanna Use Guitars, Use Guitars…" - A 32-minute short film, entitled Depeche Mode...

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Recoil A Strange Hour In Budapest

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Released: 2012-08-12

The band fronted by former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder captured live in performance in...

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MTV Video Music Awards

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First aired: 1984-09-14

An annual award ceremony presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium.

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Champs-Elysées

as Self - Depeche Mode
First aired: 1982-01-16

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