1995-06-01 Alan Wilder departure from Depeche Mode
On 1 June 1995, Alan Wilder announced he was departing Depeche Mode after thirteen years as a key member whose musical vision and attention to detail were integral to the development and ultimate success of the group's musical output during his tenure. He would go on to expand the Recoil music project he began in 1986, through which he has produced three EPs, three LPs, and a compilation album supported by an international tour spanning forty-four dates.
Background
During the recording of Songs Of Faith And Devotion, Wilder began to grow dissatisfied with the internal relations, working conditions, and overall life as a member of Depeche Mode. He would later state that he came to the final decision to leave Depeche Mode over the course of the Devotional and Exotic tours.[1] In the months following the conclusion of the Exotic tour, Wilder mentioned his intentions to leave to several close associates, including longtime Depeche Mode and Recoil engineer Steve Lyon. Wilder placed a call to request an in-person band meeting in London to inform the other members of the group and management several months after the conclusion of the tour. Dave Gahan was not present at this meeting, and did not respond to Wilder's telephone call or fax[1] (Gahan would later express regret that he had not done more to convince Wilder to remain in the group)[2]. Upon being informed, Mute Records founder Daniel Miller alerted all Mute label managers of Wilder's departure with a fax, informing them that there were no plans to replace him and that Martin Gore had begun writing new material. Wilder would issue a formal press statement on 1 June 1995. Fan magazine BONG informed subscribers of Wilder's departure in a newsletter.
Press statement
Due to increasing dissatisfaction with the internal relations and working practices of the group, it is with some sadness that I have decided to part company from Depeche Mode. My decision to leave the group was not an easy one particularly as our last few albums were an indication of the full potential that Depeche Mode was realising.
Since joining in 1982, I have continually striven to give total energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the furthering of the group's success and in spite of a consistent imbalance in the distribution of the workload, willingly offered this. Unfortunately, within the group, this level of input never received the respect and acknowledgement that it warrants.
Whilst I believe that the calibre of our musical output has improved, the quality of our association has deteriorated to the point where I no longer feel that the end justifies the means. I have no wish to cast aspersions on any individual; suffice to say that relations have become seriously strained, increasingly frustrating and, ultimately, in certain situations, intolerable.
Given these circumstances, I have no option but to leave the group. It seems preferable therefore, to leave on a relative high, and as I still retain a great enthusiasm and passion for music, I am excited by the prospect of pursuing new projects. The remaining band members have my support and best wishes for anything they may pursue in the future, be it collectively or individually.
— Alan Charles Wilder
Quotes
During Devotional I decided to leave [Depeche Mode]. However, I had already thought about it during the work on the album. The relationships within the band had got very bad. Generally I never wanted to be in a band my whole musical life, and I thought this would be a good time to do this step forward.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
I never expected to remain in a band all my life. There's something quite sad about being in a 'pop' group when you hit middle age. [One] of the reasons I eventually left was so that I'd be able to spend more time at home with my family."[1] I wanted change and wanted to do something different. It was at a time in my life when I needed to clear out a lot of baggage and I just felt it was time to move on."[3]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk / Future Music - November 1997
"My decision to leave wasn't as a direct result of tensions anyway."[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
The reason I made a statement when I left the group was to try to summarize succinctly in my own words some of the reasons for my departure, rather than have the press speculate and inevitably draw the wrong conclusions.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
It sounds arrogant, but if I could do everything myself I would. I like to work alone - though this doesn't mean that I don't ever want other people's input. I enjoy collaborating, but not on a permanent basis. With Depeche Mode, what I learned over the years from working with other people has been invaluable. It's left me in a position where I know what I want in terms of production. Nowadays, I find that working with other people slows that process down, and sometimes turns it into a battle. At this stage in my life, I feel I don't want that anymore. ... I think I'm quite diplomatic in the studio. I'm able to put people at ease, and encourage them to bring the best out of themselves. Dave loved being driven hard, even to the point where he would become frustrated; but then the next day he would say, 'I'm so glad you did that, because I'm really pleased with how my vocal sounds'.[4] I wouldn't say I left DM because of the mass of the work. I enjoyed doing this, the production and the programming, I didn't have any feelings of resentment against it. I only had the feeling that it was taken as a given thing.[1]
— Alan Wilder - Sound On Sound - January 1998 / recoil.co.uk
Alan just told us that he didn't particularly get on with us anymore. He felt that our relationships had all gone down the drain and, because of that, it was time to leave. But there were a lot of things he didn't tell us at that meeting that came out later. He made a very big press statement saying that he felt the workload had been unfairly distributed over the course of the last album or two, and that he wasn't getting enough appreciation and gratitude from the rest of the band. What he failed to say in that press statement is that he is a control freak who decided it should be that way. We were all quite happy going home at midnight or one in the morning when we were in the studio. But Alan is one of those studioheads who loves being there until four in the morning. He focuses on every minute detail. Or over-focuses. And also, for the last tour, he took it on himself to prepare all the backing tapes. He said he wanted to do it. Since the rest of us don't particularly enjoy that task, we said, 'Fine, if you want to do it, go ahead.' Maybe we didn't thank him enough at the end.[5]
— Martin Gore - Guitar World - May 1997
I think he felt the band would split up, what with the state Dave was in. I think he wanted to be the first one to jump ship.[6]
— Andrew Fletcher - Q - June 2001
Andrew Fletcher: "We were never in contact with him anyway when he was in the band. It's almost like he never existed."
Martin Gore: "I don't think we should ever get into a slanging match with Alan, because he was an integral part of the band who had a lot of input and a lot to say in what the band was doing.[7] I think Alan was very set in his ways. I'm sure if we ever suggested something to Alan, and he didn't particularly like what we were suggesting, he would make sure it didn't work."[5]— Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher - Guitar World - May 1997
[None] of them were aware that it was coming and even if they were, I don't think they thought I'd actually go through with it.[1] Martin shook my hand and looked a bit embarrassed and Fletch got quite defensive and seemed to take it rather personally.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
It wasn't totally unexpected. Alan's always been very private and secretive, so it's very hard to know exactly how he's thinking at any given point. But it became very apparent to us that he wasn't happy. It wasn't a shock at all when he left. I think he took too much upon himself. I think even he would readily admit he's a control freak.[8]
— Martin Gore - Guitar World - May 1997
Wilder allegedly confirmed the title of Recoil song 'Control Freak' from 1997's Unsound Methods was chosen in jest as a response to Martin Gore's pointed comments that Wilder is a "control freak" in an interview following Wilder's departure:
Yes, but it doesn't refer to the lyrics, it's just the name of the song. I found it funny somehow. However, it doesn't have a deeper meaning [...] It's true that I am a bit of a control freak. I think that anyone who is deeply passionate about what they do will have that element about them.[9]
— Alan Wilder
Alan never did like us as people. Well, he doesn't like anyone as people, really - he hasn't got friends and things like that.[10] I wasn't sure whether I could work in a band without him anyway. I felt he didn't have too much respect for the other members of the band. In the end, it made the decision-making process a lot easier. When there are three people, there has to be a decision.[11]
— Andrew Fletcher - Details - May 1997 / Hits - 28 April 1997
There's probably an element of truth in this but 'misanthropist' is perhaps a little harsh. I don't have a huge army of so-called 'friends' because I don't suffer fools gladly and I'm also not so insecure that I need an entourage of sycophants singing my praises all the time. I'm very selective about the people I socialise with. I suspect Martin meant that I was cynical and sarcastic which is pretty much right! It takes quite a lot to really get me rattled actually and I've consistently found that humour (or more specifically, sarcasm) is the best method of diffusing difficult or confrontational situations.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
Some of the comments that were made during the promotion for [Depeche Mode's] last album were disappointing although not unsurprising and I can understand a bit of why they might have been said. The simple fact is that most people just do not understand or appreciate that 'producing' a record properly requires an enormous amount of energy and concentration. Anyone can go into a studio for a couple of hours a day, take loads of drugs, twiddle a few knobs, whack it all on a CD and call it a finished album but invariably the end result sounds like what it is - lazy and ill-judged. I can't just roll into the studio at 5 o'clock in the afternoon with a raging hangover and expect to be able to work effectively. This doesn't mean that I never take a break during a session but as a rule, I like to keep work time and play time separate so I can give my absolute best to whatever project I'm involved in. If this makes me boring then fine ... I'd rather be boring but have a really good record.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
Since Alan left, we are working so much more as a complete unit. We ... we do describe ourselves as a family these days.[12] Alan left at a very strange time. It was when we were actually doing nothing. He didn't leave us at the end of the last tour, and he didn't leave when we got together and decided to actually start working again. I think, after that last tour, he probably felt that he'd had enough and wanted to leave the band, but he wanted to give himself time to reconsider. [...] Alan was a very important part of the band, especially the last two albums [Violator and Songs Of Faith And Devotion]. He was the one who would spend the most time at the computer, sometimes until 4 in the morning. And he took on a lot of the production side of things.[5]
— Martin Gore - Detour - May 1997 / Guitar World - May 1997
The relationship that never really flourished was between myself and Martin. I felt that it was mainly he who didn't really value the effort I put in, and that disappointed me, because generally we got on OK and I respected his talent as a songwriter.[13]
— Alan Wilder - Uncut - May 2001
Maybe it's false intimacy when it's all based on partying, but I think Alan would have to admit that he had fun with us at times.[6]
— Martin Gore - Q - June 2001
I think it was happening around when we were making [Songs Of Faith And Devotion]. Alan put in a lot of work, and the thing is, if you're going to put in all that work, fine, do it. But afterwards, don't kind of turn around and say, 'Hey, I did all this and what do I get back for it?' There's a lot of ego stuff goes on, as we know, in these bands. It just got to the stage where it was like, 'I do all this, and I don't think I'm respected.' And that's really sad, but I think Alan had to do what he had to do. You know, I love Alan. I mean he was in the band with us for like, fifteen years or something. I mean, it's a family. It is a brotherly thing. Sometimes you hate your brother, and it's like, 'Get out of my face', but there's something there that's really special.[14]
— Dave Gahan - KROQ-FM, Kevin and Bean - February 1997
I felt a big part of what we were doing [on Ultra] was missing - a leader, musically, and for me Alan was that. The others would say he was too controlling, but he just worked his arse off because he really believed in it and the idea of pushing himself musically, which you can hear on his own records. I find that really inspiring. I miss him.[15]
— Dave Gahan - Time Out - 4 April 2001
I didn't hear back directly from Dave but he did send Hep and me a huge bunch of flowers when Paris was born and we saw him on a couple of occasions quite soon after. I'm sure he understands exactly why I left and he has been nothing but a perfect gentleman regarding the whole situation. [...] I was never angry with the [remaining] members of [Depeche Mode]. I still have a good friendship with Dave and I still have business relations with [Depeche Mode].[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
Dave is very generous and I think he is honest [with] his comments. I think it seemed strange to him to work with so many new people. He said such nice things about me which gives me a good feeling. Although I'm happy with what I do now I also miss it not having him around.[1]
— Alan Wilder - recoil.co.uk
I really miss Alan's input on everything we do musically, but I miss him as a friend. He was probably the person in the band I felt supported by the most and I wish I'd fought harder for him to stay. What Alan really wanted was for Martin to turn round and say, 'You've really contributed something great', but Martin's not someone who hands out compliments very often.[2]
— Dave Gahan - Q - June 2003
I just remember everyone was working very hard [on 1986 album Black Celebration]. At that stage Martin wrote all the songs, and Alan was a huge part of the studio-team. He was there every minute. Martin, Dave and Fletch might come in a bit later sometimes, on some days. Alan was there with me, Daniel Miller and the assistant every minute of the whole thing. We were all working in a very loving way, I think, with a lot of love and respect for the songs. We all felt we were working on the songs, even Martin had written them. Once he had written them they became a life of their own. And the responsibility of the production-team as a group of musicians was to make the songs as good as we could. To me it seems that Alan and Martin had a great relationship. Alan was working incredibly hard and focused to make the best out of the songs.[16]
I don't know if there was particularly a problem between Martin and Alan. Clearly there was a problem in the group somehow. Y'know, it's like in a family, isn't it? In a family, if one member starts behaving badly then you have a family problem. You can't just blame one person, the whole family is something that needs to be looked at. And I guess it's a bit like in a band, it's a complex relationship. And when it goes wrong it goes badly wrong sometimes.[17]
— Gareth Jones - True Trash - February 2012
I don't know really why Alan decided to leave the band. I knew before it became a common knowledge. I don't know if he told anyone else but I knew that he was going to leave. I really think it's really unfortunate because the working relationships and the success that they had were good. When we were working together it was incredible. It's a real shame that he left. Sometimes things have to break and then go together again. So let's wait and see. They had been together in the band for a long time. And he took a very, very lead role in the band and it's a shame that they are not working together again.[18]
— Steve Lyon - depechemodebiographie.de - June 2013
Trivia
- Wilder's departure was announced on 1 June 1995, his 36th birthday.
- Wilder's tenure as a member of Depeche Mode lasted approximately 4,900 days, or thirteen years and five months (January, 1982 - June, 1995).
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Source: recoil.co.uk
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Source: "Cash for Questions: Dave Gahan" - Q - June 2003.
- ↑ Source: Alan Wilder Interview - Future Music, Issue 62 - November 1997.
- ↑ Source: "Unsound Recordings" - Sound On Sound - January 1998.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Source: "Ultra Sounds" - Guitar World - May 1997.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Source: "Many Smack-Free Returns!" - Q - June 2001.
- ↑ Source: "Synth and Sensibilities" - NME - 25 January 1997.
- ↑ Source: Pavement, 16 April 1997.
- ↑ depechemodebiographie.de attributes these quotes to Alan Wilder but does not cite a source. Anyone who knows the source of these quotes, please send an e-mail to admin [at] depechemode-live [dot] com.
- ↑ Source: "Long and Winding Mode" - Details - May 1997.
- ↑ Source: "It's a Mode Mode Mode Mode World" - Hits - 28 April 1997.
- ↑ Source: "Modus Operandi" - Detour - May 1997.
- ↑ Source: "Just Can't Get Enough" - Uncut - May 2001.
- ↑ Source: K-ROQ FM, Los Angeles - Kevin and Bean - February 1997
- ↑ Source: "In the Mode for Love" - Time Out - 4 April 2001.
- ↑ Source: True Trash - Gareth Jones: Die menschliche Seite der Plattenproduktion - February 2012 (German) / depechemodebiographie.de - Interview with Gareth Jones - February 2012 (English)
- ↑ Source: depechemodebiographie.de Interview with Gareth Jones
- ↑ Source: depechemodebiographie.de Interview with Steve Lyon
