Alan Wilder
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]
For the American actor, see Alan Wilder (actor).
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder
Hammersmith, London, England
- Musician
- composer
- arranger
- record producer
- Synthesizer
- sampler
- keyboards
- piano
- drums
- percussion
- flute
- guitar
- bass guitar
- vocals
1975–present
Early years[edit]
Alan Charles Wilder was born the youngest of three boys to a middle class family 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, 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).
Personal life[edit]
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.[8]