Thanks so much to Dez Foley for the interview! I wrote about the great Dublin band Wilder a while ago on the blog. The band had released two 7″ singles and recorded a Fanning Session during their time. For some reason there’s very little info about them on the blog, so when Dez got in touch I asked if he was to share the story of the band, and happily said yes! Learn a little bit more about this great sounding Irish band!

++ Hi Dez! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Hi Roque! I haven’t done much in the last few years, but I am currently working on some new songs for an Acton Bell release, an EP, which will be available on Bandcamp.com as soon as it’s ready.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what your first instrument was? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

First music memories are the records that were played at home. My older brothers and sisters were all record buyers, so we had a good selection of LP’s; things like Beatles, Abba, Bowie, Leonard Cohen, James Taylor.

I asked my parents for a drum kit when I was about 11 but this was a no-go, so they bought me a guitar instead. Initially, I had some lessons, but found it was better to work at learning to play on my own. I’m still not very good!

++ Had you been in other bands before Wilder?

I was in one band before Wilder, that was called The Big Weekend, around 1986/87. We played some gigs around Dublin. I don’t think we ever recorded or made any demo tapes, but my memory is very hazy, it’s a long time ago.

++ What about the other band members? Are there any recordings?

Not that I know of.

++ Where were you from originally?

I’m from Dublin.

++ How was Dublin at the time of Wilder? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

There was a lot happening in Dublin in the late 80’s/early 90’s. We gigged regularly and there were lots of venues around the city.

There was a band called Scale The Heights that we liked and played with a few times; but there were so many around.

Yes there were lots of good record shops, some of which are still around, but under different names; but most have gone now.

++ How was the band put together? How was the recruiting process?

Wilder were already a band before I joined and they had had a singer before me.

I was introduced to the band members by my then girlfriend; I went along to audition and carried on from there.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

++ Your first release I think was “Babel Road” 7″ on Oedipus Records in 1990. I have never heard of this label before. Can you tell me a bit about them? Or perhaps it was yourselves self-releasing?

Oedipus was our own label just for the Babel Road single. Prior to that we had recorded demo tapes, but I think we felt we might get more attention if we had a physical record.

++ On this record you worked with Pat Dunne at Sun Studios. How was that experience?

Yes we had done our first demo with Pat at Sun in 1989 and he was a great engineer; a really nice guy who we got on well with.

Babel Road was produced by Paul Byrne and Martin Clancy who had had some success in the Irish band, In Tua Nua. It was a great experience working with them.

I played again with Paul in more recent years in The Drays; a band fronted by singer/songwriter Stephen Ryan (Stars of Heaven, The Revenants).

++ This 7″ has a cool sleeve made by Siobhan Hyde. Did you art direct or how did that sleeve come about? How did you know Siobhan?

The sleeve was all Siobhan’s design; I’m not aware of the band having any input with that, but I may be wrong.

Siobhan was studying Art at the time and was the girlfriend of Richie, our guitarist.

She also designed T-Shirts for us and she designed our demo tape covers which we would sell at gigs.

++ Prior to releasing this 7″, had you made demo tapes? Or was the 7″ the first time you were recording at a studio?

No we had done some recording before the 7”.
Our first demo was done in 1989.

++ Speaking of demo tapes, do you remember how many you made and what songs were on them? I know there was a 1988 one with the song “Get Happy”.

We did quite a few over the years and I don’t remember them all. I probably only have copies of one, possibly two, myself.

The first demo we did with Pat Donne had a good song called Harvest House, which featured Cello. I always regretted that we didn’t re-record that song or make more use of it, but that’s the way things go.

++ You released one 7″ on the Danceline label with the songs “Can You Shake” and “Dark Heaven” in 1991. Was wondering how you end up working with them? How was the relationship with the label?

I can’t remember how that came about, but Danceline was a big enough label in Ireland at that time; they had a good profile.

They were very nice people and very easy to work with and they liked the band.

I’m sure we must have approached them, but I can’t remember the details any longer.

++ Aside from these two releases you appeared on the compilation “Fresh Evidence – New Exhibits from Ireland”. Is this your full discography or am I missing anything?

++ Was there any interest from other labels at the time? Maybe a big label?

We never had any label interest. We did a showcase for Mother Records (label funded by U2) once, but nothing came of that.

We were approached by Gerry Cott (ex Boomtown Rats) who was interested in managing us. He came to see us play in Dublin and we travelled to meet him in the UK.

He did offer us a contact but as it would have involved us moving to the UK, we decided not to accept.

Who knows what would have happened if we’d gone to the UK???

++ My favourite song of yours is “Babel Road”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

It was a new song at the time; lyrically it’s just a kind of “stream of consciousness” song, in that it’s not really about anything.

Paul Byrne and Martin Clancy were a big help in working on the arrangement of that song, so that we had well defined parts and hooks and a big chorus.

Paul also added great backing vocals.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Wilder song, which one would that be and why?

I think my favourite would be Dark Heaven, from our second 7”, which I always thought was a very strong song.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We played a lot of gigs! And we were lucky to get to play outside Dublin also. We played in Cork, Galway and Sligo and outside Ireland, we played in London and did a weekend of gigs in the Isle of Man.

++ And what were the best gigs in general that you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

The Isle of Man weekend was a favourite for me; we had a great time. We played over two nights in a really cool venue, which was run by an Irish couple. We had to play two sets a night, one early, one late, which we’d never done before, so it was a great experience.

Plus we got to hang out in Douglas for a couple of days; it was a really nice time.

++ And were there any bad ones?

I remember the Sligo gig wasn’t a good experience, but luckily there weren’t many bad ones.

++ When and why did Wilder stop making music?

The band stopped around 1992/93. I don’t recall a specific reason except that perhaps we were running out of steam and all were a bit fed up.

++ I read that the band ended up changing their name to Bliss and recorded a demo. Was Bliss essentially the same as Wilder or were there some differences?

That’s correct; I think the name change was just to try to inject some new enthusiasm into the band; it was the same line up. We recorded a demo as Bliss with John Scott in The Factory in Dublin, but no releases came out of it and we never played live as Bliss.

++ Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

Yes I went on to join The Sewing Room in 1994, then Crumb in 2003 and then formed Acton Bell in 2014. Around 2014/15 I joined The Drays for a time and recorded and played gigs with them as a back-up singer.

++ Was there any interest from the radio? TV?

Wilder did quite a lot of TV at the time; we were lucky to get some live TV appearances on national shows. We made promo videos for Babel Road and Can You Shake which featured on some TV shows also.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

We did get some press, not a huge amount but some good reviews overall.

++ What about fanzines?

None that I’m aware of.

++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

I don’t know if we had any specific highlights as such. We enjoyed being able to make records/videos and play a lot of gigs, which we always enjoyed.

We put a lot of time and effort into the band over the years.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I’m also a big film fan and had a film blog for a while; focuspullr on WordPress, which is still accessible.

I’m also a big reader.

++ Had been in Dublin for a few days but I’d love to ask a local. What do you  suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

I guess I would suggest some usual touristy things in the city like the Guinness Tour, Trinity College and the Book of Kells; there are lots of excellent galleries to check out.

Also a trip to the harbour town of Howth is a must for any fans of seafood. It also has great walks with amazing views over Dublin Bay.

And local pubs like The Cobblestone, The Long Hall and Grogan’s are all worth checking out for great pints of Guinness and music!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Nothing except to say thanks Roque; it’s been a bit of a memory jog looking back, but good fun also!!

Take care.

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Listen
Wilder – Babel Road