Kim Wilde: "I am a liberated child"

Kim Wilde, real name Kim Smith, born November 18, 1960, in London, stormed the charts as a twenty-year-old in 1981. After successful songs like "Kids in America", "View from a bridge" and other "Cambodia"s, Kim lasted in many people's memories because of her sensual lips à la Brigitte Bardot.
But lips or no lips, the success of Wilde disappeared slowly. It had an impact. Kim left her record company, left her parents' house and worked - like before - with dad and brother for a year on a new album. And see, the result is here: a new and good LP (Teases and Dares), a hit single (The Second Time) and a new image.
Kim Wilde told us about the how and why of the big change.

Success came easily for you at first, didn't it?
It all started in a small recording studio, close to our house. I was invited to sing backing vocals for my brother Ricky. They were so impressed by me, that I was allowed to sing a song on my own. That was 'Kids in America', a hit. Success and money followed quickly.

A bull's eye, but in '83 things went wrong?
You could consider it an explosion. The explosion came quickly, with a lot of consequences, but a new explosion didn't happen. With RAk, the record company I worked for, they wanted me to keep making hit singles. It was a bit frustrating for us - my brother who was composing, my father who supported me and myself - to live with that kind of pressure. We couldn't make long term plans, because of that pressure. We finally broke with RAK, although we know that every record company demands hit singles. That's what they exist for, that's why there is a music industry. With RAK everything was geared towards singles, for good albums they had no consideration. And I thought that was important. For our new album we took a year, in which we did nothing else but writing and recording. It may seem like a long time, surely for the fans and much to the enjoyment of those who had written us off, but we felt that we had enough time .You know, we work in the tempo we prefer. There was no pressure.

Is Kim Wilde a family industry?
I wouldn't call it that. Family and business should be strictly divided. When we are in the studio with Ricky, dad and everyone else, we all work on the same level. Call it musical business or something. At home we just lived together, like any family, even though that didn't always work.

It seemed like you were being protected under your family's wings?
Yes, I was a daughter who suddenly became famous. On top of that I worked together with them. They kept me in their view and helped me whenever they could. But it was never irritating. They didn't use management tricks, told me what to say, how to behave. I was a liberated child.

It is often said that success comes with loneliness?
Loneliness is a choice. Being alone, like I am now, doesn't mean that you don't know anyone. When you have friends, you're never alone. I moved out, but I still know all my friends. With them I spend a lot of time. The most important thing is to keep hold of your interests and your enthusiasm, so that you don't get cynical.

On the sleeve of the album and in the video the Brigitte Bardot look of Kim Wilde has gone. The album sounds rougher as well.
It's got a lot to do with new techniques in the studio. We wanted to create a certain atmosphere. My new image is part of that. I felt I had to come up with something new to stpo the people talking. You shouldn't conclude that everything is neatly planned. You have to have success, but having fun was our main goal.

Can you live without the success anymore?
It's easier to have success than not to have it. But if it doesn't happen anymore, I'd be very satisfied with the success we've known.