Kim Wilde (born November 18, 1960) is a British pop singer, gardener, and pop cultural figure. She debuted in 1981 with the hit Kids in America, which was number two in the British music chart.
Kim was born in Chiswick, West London as the first child of 1950s rock 'n' roller Marty Wilde and Joyce Baker, formerly of the British singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls.
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.
Kim was signed to Mickie Most's RAK Records in 1980 and released her first single, Kids in America, in January 1981. It was an instant success, reaching no. 2 in the UK singles chart and ending up in the top 5 all over Europe. In the US, the single peaked at no. 25 on Billboard Hot 100, and in their year-end Hot 100 chart for 1982, it ranked at no. 85.
The debut album Kim Wilde followed later that year and spawned a further two hits, "Chequered Love" and "Water On Glass". Kim recorded a total of three albums for RAK Records before signing to MCA Records in the summer of 1984. Most of the songs, including all her major hits, were written by her father Marty and brother Ricki Wilde.
Six subsequent albums for MCA Records have included international hits such as "Another Step (Closer To You)" (recorded with Junior), "You Came", "Never Trust A Stranger", "Four Letter Word", "If I Can't Have You" (a cover of the Yvonne Elliman (Bee Gees written) song from the movie Saturday Night Fever) and a remake of the Supremes classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On" - which gave Kim her first USA Number 1 single in 1987 - all of which have contributed to total worldwide album and single sales in excess of 7 million and 12 million respectively. This same period corresponded with Kim's development as a songwriter having written or co-written the majority of the songs on the MCA albums including many of the above hit singles.
Kim received the Best Female Vocalist Award from the British Phonographic Industry in the United Kingdom in 1983 and has subsequently received two further nominations in this category. Also, she has received numerous silver, gold and platinum records from all over the world.
Kim has undertaken five solo tours and has performed as opening act for Michael Jackson in 1988 and for David Bowie in 1990.
Adding a new dimension to this highly successful career, Kim appeared in London's West End production of the musical Tommy from February 1996 to February 1997.
During the 1980s, Kim went out with saxophonist Gary Barnacle, keyboard player Calvin Hayes of Johnny Hates Jazz, and later her band's keyboard player Jeff Hammer, previously of Teardrop Explodes and Stray Cats. In 1993 Kim also went out with TV presenter Chris Evans. On September 1, 1996, Kim got married to her co-star in this musical, Hal Fowler, and wanted to have children as soon as possible. On January 3, 1998 she gave birth to Harry Tristan. Two years later, on January 13, 2000, Rose Elisabeth was born.
During her first pregnancy an old interest in gardening resurfaced, and she attended the famous Capel Manor college to learn about horticulture, so as to create a garden for her children. She was spotted by talent scouts of Channel 4, who asked her as a designer for the program Better Gardens. A year later she started a two year commitment with the BBC, recording two seasons of Garden Invaders. In 2005 she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show. Her first book about gardening was published in 2005, entitled 'Gardening With Children'. The second book is to follow in April 2006, entitled 'The First-time Gardener'. Translations of the first book are released at the same time in Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands.
On January 13, 2001 she performed live for the first time in years, as a guest star in a show by ABBA tribute band Fabba for a local charity. This sparked her interest in performing live again. Since November 2001, she has toured the UK in three times in the Here & Now Tour, an Eighties revival concert series together with artists such as Paul Young, Human League and Howard Jones. New music also followed: in 2001 she recorded a new track ("Loved") for a compilation album which became a surprise hit in Belgium, and in 2003 she had pan-European success with "Anyplace, anywhere, anytime", a duet with another 1980s pop icon German singer Nena.
Kim has signed a new record deal with EMI Records and is preparing for the release of a new single in Summer 2006. An album of new material plus two, re-worked previous hits is slated for the end of the year, exclusively for the German market (where her profile has remained high since the duet with Nena).
Kim Wilde's debut album was released when she was 20 years old, and turned her into Europe´s most popular female popstar within a few months time. Most of the music on this album was played by the symphonic rock band The Enid, and the songs were all written by Marty Wilde and Ricky Wilde. Production duties were fulfilled by Ricky Wilde. Musically, the album was mainly rock-oriented, which wasn't surprising because of the appearance of The Enid, but it also featured a reggae track ("Everything We Know") and a brass section appeared on "2 6 5 8 0". Lyrically, Marty Wilde provided a few surprises: besides the obligatory love songs there was also a song about a rare minority of people who continually hear sound in their head ("Water On Glass"), the deterioration of inner cities ("Our Town") and a song about a theory that sound is alive ("Tuning In Tuning On"). The singles Kids In America and Chequered Love were big hits all over Europe, the former would later become a classic pop song.
The album entered the British album charts at no. 10, moving into the top three the next week. During promotion, Kim's band consisted of Ricky Wilde, James Stevenson and later boyfriend Calvin Hayes, who also appeared on the sleeve of the album. Kim later commented that, at that time in the industry, it was passe for a female to attempt to launch a serious career in pop music on her own, and that the backing band had been shown on the sleeve to give credibility to the album. Still she was attacked for trying to copy the allure of then famous U.S. band "Blondie".
The first single from this album, Cambodia, was released in December 1981 and signalled a different sound from the Wilde camp. The Enid was out, synths and electronic music was in. Again, the songs were written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, production by Ricky Wilde. This was a cause for concern for the "serious" music press at the time: was Kim just a puppet being manipulated by her family? In reality, Kim simply profited from the craftsmanship of her father and brother. The lyrics of the songs were as imaginative as they were on the first album: the second single View From A Bridge and the album track "Wendy Sadd" seemed to be about suicide, "Chaos At The Airport" described a nightmare about flying and "Ego" was quite the opposite of a lovesong. Musically, the 1980's had really begun: lots of synthesizers and drum computers seemed to dominate the soundscape. One old-fashioned rocksong appeared near the end of the album: "Can You Come Over" was recorded at the Wilde's home. The striking cover image was a photograph from Gered Mankowitz.
This long-awaited sequel to the debut album Kim Wilde stormed the charts in a host of mostly European countries, although it did not surpass the success of its predecessor.
Having toured the UK and Europe in November and December 1982, there was a silence of six months. Kim Wilde returned with the single Love Blonde, a jazz/swing inspired track that lyrically mocked the blonde bombshell image that some media had dealt Kim in the previous years. The album 'Catch As Catch Can' didn't contain any track similar to this single, it rather continued the electronic music theme that was introduced on 'Select'. Most of the songs were again written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, except the second single Dancing In The Dark which was written by Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz. Ricky Wilde produced the album. Some of the songs seemed to be telling a story ("House Of Salome", "Sing It Out For Love") whereas "Dream Sequence" was one of Marty's more imaginative lyrics, describing what seems to be a random sequence of images. The cool blue cover image was provided by photographer Sheila Rock.
The album suffered from mixed reviews in the press and the lack of successful singles. Even a second European tour couldn't help the decline in sales, although with hindsight it is easy to recognise how well the album has aged. Quirky electronic noises and beautifully layered soundscapes make this one of the more appealing albums in Kim's repertoire.
Kim Wilde left RAK Records, who released her first three albums, and signed to MCA Records. This was her first album for them. Ricky and Marty Wilde produced this album together, wrote most of the songs. However, it also featured for the first time two songs written and composed by Kim: "Fit In" and "Shangri-la". One obvious thing leapt out: both songs were remarkable for their personal lyrics. "Fit In" was inspired by Kim's neighbours banging on the ceiling when she was playing a 12" single by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, "Shangri-la" seemed to describe a longing for a place without a care. At first, the singles taken from this album seemed to continue the trend of receding sales figures, as both The Second Time and The Touch were relatively unsuccessful. Still "The second time" reached the top ten in Germany and was welcomed as her big comeback single over there. By the end of 1984 Kim was voted for the third time since 1981 "Most popular female popstar" by Germany´s biggest teen magazine "Bravo", putting Madonna on hold in the lesser regions of that poll. The third single, Rage To Love (remixed by Dave Edmunds), was Kim's first in three years to break the singles top 20. By then, Kim had started her third live tour to sold out halls all over Europe.
Kim's image was changed from a girl wearing second hand clothes and self-dyed hair to a Barbarella-inspired sci-fi goddess (by XL Design) for The Second Time, which confused some fans who still regarded her as the girl next-door. The album sleeve was cited as one of the reasons for misleading record buyers resulting in weak sales and Kim quickly switched back to an image she felt more comfortable in for the next two single releases: For Rage To Love promotion she wore one of her father's Teddy Boy jackets, in keeping with the rockabilly retro theme of the song. Kim taking control of her own image seemed to be a wise choice, as the success of the next album would prove.
Boasting 12 tracks (13 on the CD and cassette) and a varied team of songwriters, Another Step was an artistic but not necessarily a commercial triumph for Kim. She'd co-written more than half of the tracks herself. The first half of the tracks ('Side A' in the days of vinyl) was uptempo, whereas the other half ('Side B') contained ballads. Most of the tracks were produced by Ricky Wilde, but there were also production duties fulfilled by Reinhold Heil, Richard James Burgess, Rod Temperton, Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien. The album's first track was a cover of the Supremes hit You Keep Me Hangin' On. Released as a single in America, it became number one in the summer of 1987. The track reached No. 1 in Canada and Australia, and was almost equally successful in the UK, where it peaked at no. 2. The next single was Another Step (Closer To You), a duet with British soul singer Junior Giscombe. This UK top 10 hit single was the first one Kim had co-written herself. The third and final uptempo single off the album was Say You Really Want Me, causing a minor controversy when the video was banned from children's programming because it showed Kim writhing on a bed having fun with a pearl necklace. Despite the raunchy image and publicity which accompanied the specially-remixed song, it didn't set the charts alight and the album saw no further single releases. All of the tracks on Another Step were a departure from the synth sound of the previous albums. There was more guitars on most of the tracks: "The Thrill Of It" and "I've Got So Much Love" had a dinstinctive 'rock' feel. The ballads were touching and well produced, the most noteworthy being Kim's self-penned and produced "Don't Say Nothing's Changed" which closed the album. The sound of Kim Wilde had obviously matured.
Kim cemenetd her reputation as a singles artist with his album, as again overall sales were disappointing, despite the huge success of the songs released from it. Kim Wide mentioned a few times that it was probably her mistake not to put more effort into cracking the U.S. market by not touring America after she had scored her first number one hit.
Produced by Ricky Wilde and Tony Swain, Close was the final album on which Marty Wilde had co-writer credits, and the first where Kim had many, co-writing eight out of the ten tracks included. The sixth Wilde outing is widely percieved by fans and critics (and Kim herself) as Kim's most well-balanced album. Every track has its own feel, and many genres of pop are represented; dance, ballad, rock and midtempo. Indeed any one of the tracks contained could have been a commercially viable single release.
It comes as no surprise upon listening that no less than five singles were taken from this album. Hey Mister Heartache, the debut, featured again backing vocals from Junior Giscombe, You Came, a tribute to Kim's nephew Marty, Ricky's first child, was the biggest hit of the five singles and combined touching lyrics with a very catchy pop melody, and it remains one of Kim's strongest compositions. Never Trust A Stranger was a throwback to early Kim Wilde songs, a largely guitar-driven, melodramatic affair. Four Letter Word, the last song to be written by Marty and Ricky Wilde for Kim, was a moving ballad lamenting lost love, and Love In The Natural Way was a poppy ballad. Album tracks included "Stone", a dynamic song accusing the world leaders of doing nothing about environmental problems that the world was facing, "Lucky Guy", a cover of the song by Todd Rundgren, and "European Soul", a song about the painter Marc Chagall. Released in the summer of 1988, it stalled at first in the UK charts, but became a slow burner and ended up the first album since her debut to reach the top 10, staying in the chart for 38 weeks. Attention for the album was further helped by Kim's live opening shows with Michael Jackson across Europe. Reaching the top ten in almost all Scandianvian countries, Austria and Germany the album went on to sell more than 2 Million copies.
Love Moves contained six tracks written by Ricky and Kim Wilde and four tracks written by Kim Wilde and Tony Swain. Production was done by Ricky Wilde.
Promotion of the first Wilde album of the new decade began with the release of the single "It´s Here" in the spring of 1990, a lighweight-upbeat melodic track with summer sounding Spanish guitars where Kim describes her search for a place of her own in a competitive world. Obviously this album was an attempt to follow on from the success of Close, but unfortunately it didn't. There were no clear indications why not: the lyrics were as heartfelt as any lyric written by Kim, and the music was melodic as ever, particularly the singles released (which were as strong as any of the singles from the previous album). Some critics lamented the MOR feel of the album and the use of similar production sounds used throughout. Perhaps this was the point, as unlike the varied styles of sounds of Close, Love Moves seemed to nudge towards concept album territory in the fact the tracks were musically succinct and cohesive. As usual, every effort had been made to create an impressive album. It included guests like Jaki Graham who contributed backing vocals and Deon Estus playing bass guitar. "World In Perfect Harmony" and "Who's To Blame" showed two faces of a similar problem: hope for a better world and despair at how mankind is treating the environment respectively. "In Hollywood" is about a world of glamour where love seems to lose out in between famous people. Kim wasn't especially "Wilde" on this album, except for the track "Can't get enough (of your love)" where the guitar rips one more time. This was the first Wilde project to yield no top 40 releases in the UK (Time, the second release is the lowest charting single in her discography). Nevertheless, astonishingly, five singles in total were released across Europe, with only Can't Get Enough making any impact, notching up a long run on the French singles chart. Kim stated in many interviews in recent years, that the album marks a rather depressing time in her life, but remains a personal favourite of hers.
Kim Wilde found herself working with Rick Nowels on this album, the same songwriter who had written for Belinda Carlisle amongst others. Three of the eleven tracks were produced by him, the remaining eight were produced by Ricky Wilde. The majority of the tracks on this album were co-written by Kim. She'd taken a long hard look at herself, resulting in the song "Who Do You Think You Are?", in which she reflects on how she had behaved through the years in her career. There were more love songs than ever before on this album, titles such as "Touched by your magic" and "Heart Over Mind" are an indication of the themes of the lyrics. Nowels provided "Love Is Holy", a song that immediately struck a chord with Kim when she heard it in his studio in America, and became the first single release, giving Kim her first UK top 20 hit in nearly four years, and although the following two singles fell short of equalling it's success, the project as a whole was well-received by critics, who noted the Carlisle connection in some tracks. The rest of the album, however, was more consistent with the Wilde sound: guitar riffs over synths. Overall, the sound is more introspective and organic than the commercial pop of Love Moves, and especially haunting of all was the closing track, "Too Late", in which the loss of love is described in mournful tones.
With the previous three albums somewhat more alike one another than the first five, Kim decided it was time for another change, and she chose to make an album with a decided soul/R&B feel to it. Ricky Wilde still produced the album, but joined forces with CJ Mackintosh for four of them and the Serious Rope team for seven others. Opening with "Breakin' Away", an obvious dance track, and including R&B tracks like "C'mon Love Me", "You're All I Wanna Do" and "Where Do You Go From Here", the album was a departure from the familiar Wilde sound and didn't please the fans and audience like other albums had. It was the first album not to break the albums chart in the UK, whilst Radio One refused to add the lead single Breakin Away to its airplay lists. The album was a daring move for Kim, who wanted to make something to please herself first and foremost. Her interest in music by artists such as Chaka Khan and Pebbles influenced this album heavily. Lyrically, the songs were either very happy ("Sweet Inspiration", "Heaven", "High on you") or bordering on depression ("Now & Forever" (...Time will never mend this broken heart), "Hold On" (...In the day I can smile though I want to die). Two singles were released in the UK, the second being 'This I Swear', a dubious choice given the array of more radio-friendly songs on the album. The flipside, Heaven, was remixed twice (once mix by Matt Darey) and helped sales along, but despite this song's strong performance in the club chart, the top 40 once again became at odds with Kim, as This I Swear stalled at No. 46 in early '96. It was Kim's last album before she started working in the musical Tommy when her pop career started to wind down. During the 12 month run on the play, Kim remixed and released a version of the disco track Shame, which had been recorded in the Now and Forever sessions, but not included on the album. Disastrously, the record shops failed to stock the single on the publicised release date in the UK. Kim, who was ill at the time, could not promote the song and it subsequently became the only single she released not to chart in the top 75, despite a prediction by the ITV Chart Show programme of a No.25 entry in that week's chart.
After a comparatively long period of negotiations Kim Wilde finally signed a new record deal with the German division of EMI records in late 2005. She is currenty recording a new album and has mentioned a few times over the past few months that a new single will be out sometime in the summer. The album is set to be released towards the end of 2006. Whether it will be released only in Germany or have a worldwide release remains unclear but seems to be heavily dependant on how well the album will sell in Germany, where she has a huge fanbase. Kim announced that the sound of the new album will be strongly reminiscent of her earlier work.
|
