Unbelievable success for Kim Wilde

Two months before ‘Kids in America’ entered the Dutch chart, Poppage chose this single as H.W. HitShot. The record is now 12 weeks in the chart and Kim’s second hit ‘Chequered Love’ is in the top 10. Kim Wilde tells us: “I’m not thinking about a tour yet, this will happen next year. I haven’t got enough material yet and I don’t have a band.” The new album “Kim Wilde” has just been released. “Let’s see how well it does”, says Kim.

The 20 year old English singer doesn’t have to worry about the success of her first album. ‘Kim Wilde’ is a record with great pop songs and playful reggae. Especially Kim’s younger brother Ricky’s production is admirable. As heard on the singles already, Ricky has found the right balance between the slightly hoarse voice of his sister and catchy music. He wrote the music himself, whereas father Marty was responsible for the lyrics. There’s some discussion about the compositions in the Wilde household. Kim is not ready to sing anything she doesn’t support personally. For Kim showbusiness is a fleeting industry: “You don’t have to linger too long with a small success. The only thing you have to worry about is that the success lasts.” Kim hopes for a long career in music: “I don’t want to be written off within two or three years. As the eldest in a family of four children, Kim devotes her time, next to music, to drawing. A year of art college went before her career as a singer.

“My drawings aren’t bad, but not enough to show off with. I didn’t expect the first single to become the success it was. It meant going to one country after another for TV performances and interviews. In between I was in the studio, recording the album. There was little time left for sketching.”

Before her breakthrough, Kim Wilde had quite a bit of studio experience. She was just out of the diapers when she was singing on records of friends and her father’s acquaintances. “The studio was like a second home to me.” Kim has achieved her ideal and is happy. “I love this job, but I try to see it clearly. It makes no sense to become arrogant. Showbusiness is a fleeting industry after all: today a star, forgotten tomorrow.”