Exactly 20 years ago, on his 36th birthday, Alan Wilder announced his departure from Depeche Mode. He played a very important part in the band in multiple ways: he was the only trained musician, who was also great at production, arrangements and creating atmospheres, he was the one who enjoyed working endlessly in the studio until every single sound was in its right place, he was a perfectionist, and obviously his taste and opinion also influenced the end result. No wonder that fans weren't happy to see him leave, and since then he (unwillingly) plays a very odd part in Depeche Mode: whenever something's not up to fans expectations, it's because "he's no longer there". Although he issued a statement that made things quite clear, some people aren't sure why he left, so I'll take a look at that (I have to point out that I have no special insider info, just observations and assumptions), and briefly at what happened since.
