Kim Wilde

[Iluvthe80s]

*From: www.kim-wilde.co.uk:


Early Days

Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith) was born in Chiswick, West London, on November 18th, 1960. She moved with her family to Hertfordshire at the age of 9 where she was educated at Presdales School, Ware, before completing a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design in 1980.


How it all began

The foundation for Kim's musical career was laid in her own family: her father Marty Wilde was a 50s rock 'n' roll star and her mother Joyce used to sing in a band. Kim's younger brother, Ricky, was into making music since very early in his life, and he actually released some records as a child. In 1980, when Kim was nineteen, her father Marty had booked a studio to record a Country & Western album, which has always been one of his ambitions. Another appointment kept Marty from the studio on this occasion, however, and Ricky was asked if he had written any songs that he might like to record. One of the songs he was going to record was "Kids In America", and Kim was going to provide vocals. The recorded demo track was taken to a few studios and, eventually, fell into the hands of Mickie Most, the owner of RAK Records company.

So, in 1980 Kim was signed to RAK Records and in January 1981 Kim's first single - "Kids In America" - was released.


The Fame

"Kids In America" had an instant success, climbing to number 2 in the UK charts and becoming a Top 30 hit in the USA. The debut album "Kim Wilde" followed later that year and spawned a further two hits, "Chequered Love" and "Water On Glass". By 1982, Kim had already sold more records than her father had done in his entire career. Kim recorded a total of three albums for RAK Records before signing to MCA Records in the summer of 1984. After a relatively quiet period in MCA, such hits as "Another Step (Closer To You)" and an energetic remake of old Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hanging On" brought Kim back to the limelight. The latter song reached number 2 in UK and became Kim's first USA Number 1 single in 1987. The following that was a string of internationally recognised hits such as "You Came", "Never Trust A Stranger" and "Four Letter Word". Meanwhile, Kim Wilde also developed as a song writer and co-writer, which undoubtedly contributed to her career. With the release of such as albums "Another Step", "Close", "Love Moves" and "Love Is", Kim's initial profile of a 'girl-next-door' turned into a much sexier "Love Blonde" image, with mainstream pop tendencies taking over that synth-driven "new-wave pop" that boosted her to stardom in the early 80s. Throughout her career Kim sold in excess of 7 million albums and 12 million singles, toured with Michael Jackson and David Bowie, and received numerous music awards including the Best Female Vocalist Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1983.


A turn-round

Kim's musical evolution, however, did not meet an optimistic responce of the public, and her late singles gained only low positions in the charts. With the release of "Now And Forever" in 1995 Kim changed her musical style to groovy soul, which again wasn't favoured by the public. In 1996-97 Kim was more famous for starring in the English production of the musical Tommy. This new activity helped Kim to meet someone very special: she met Hal Fowler who also starred in that musical. He proposed to her in July '96 and in September of the same year they got married. To have her own children was one of Kim's biggest wishes since long ago, and in May 1997 she became pregnant with her first child. On January 3rd, 1998 she gave birth to Harry Tristan. Two years later, Rose Elisabeth was born. Caring for her new family brought another passion in Kim's life - gardening. Putting her music career behind her, Kim attended garden design courses and in 1999 appeared on TV presenting "Better Gardens" programme series. Since then, Kim settled for a quiet life and her public appearances were limited to garden design programmes on TV and summer garden shows in which she participated.


"Born To Be Wilde"

The year 2001 brought what many of Kim's fans were hoping for: she was singing again. First it was a guest appearance at a concert by ABBA tribute band "Fabba" in January. Then in summer that year it was anounced that the 80s revival tour - "Here And Now Tour 2001" - will take place in major British cities in November-December, and that Kim Wilde is among the performers. The tour promotion was quite good, with Kim appearing on TV a couple of times for an interview. All eight concerts achieved a big success. Another surprise for Kim Wilde fans, probably more exiting than her new performances, was that the new compilation "The Very Best Of Kim Wilde", released by EMI in November 2001, contained a new song which Kim recorded earlier that year. The song, called "Loved", has been released as a single in some of Europe's countries, achieving an unusual success and making its way into the charts. To promote the release of the new single, Kim visited Belgium, France and Germany for interviews and live performances.

In 2002, Kim was finally signed to a German recording company Edel Records. Another single followed, this time a cover of Steppenwolf's 60's hit Born To Be Wild. The promotional apearances in Germany started off a whole string of live performances accross Europe which continued into 2003.

[Greenway88]

Like most of us in the US, I have only had the pleasure of hearing Kids In America and You Keep Me Hangin On. I like both and would really like to hear more of Kim Wilde's music.