"Maybe I should sing more lovesongs"

"Kids in America", "Chequered love", "Cambodia", "View from a bridge"... you name them, every one monster hits that made a superstar of Kim Wilde in a very short time. Suddenly it seemed like it didn't work anymore: a few flopped singles and Wilde disappeared from the charts and the public interest that was so great before. Today Kim Wilde is back with a new album, "Teases and dares", a new single, "The second time" and most importantly: with two ballads which she wrote herself. We spoke with Kim Wilde about the experiences of the past year.

We meet the wild Kim near the hearth in the bar of the Luxembourg Holiday Inn. Her success may have waned a little, he impressive looks haven't gone anywhere. In a woollen sweater and with blonde manes around her she looks relaxed and ready to talk about what went wrong.
Wilde: "It is strange: I didn't really noticed that I had left the scene until people started pointing it out to me. What happened was that we didn't deliver any hit singles anymore. We gradually did less well. We were constantly under pressure to come with something spectacular. But we couldn't, Marty and Ricky (Kim's father and brother) were out of inspiration. We decided to build our own studio and once we had that, we could at least work whenever we wanted to, contrary to RAK studios where we couldn't work because for example the Thompson Twins were there."

Frustration

"Most of the past year we have spent time in the studio without being obliged something to anyone. We had time to work on an album before signing a new contract. We wanted our new record company to judge us by our new material instead of the fact that we once had the hit "Kids in America". And now I'm here and it has been worth it spending some time away."

You have started living alone in London, sort of a break from home, but artistically you still depend on your family.
I have a lot of time to prove myself in all areas. I am not in a hurry, so to speak. But I did become a little frustrated recently. The reason I started working in music was because I love singing, but also because I wanted to become a capable songwriter. Because of all the hits I was forced to be just the singer and that started to irritate me. Don't get me wrong: it is not Marty's or Ricky's fault, but the pressure of success that didn't allow me the time to develop my own talents. All those interviews and what not, it was like constantly being in therapy. I got questions sometimes that I hadn't thought about and then it becomes boring. I grew up, matered because of it.

The two songs that you have written for your new album must mean that you can do something yourself!
Sure, but it is also a painful coincidence. I wrote the songs when I left home and I had no more hits, so I had some more free time. But it's true, I really wanted to do it ever since "Kids in America", but it took so long because of a certain lack of selfconfidence. Sometimes I thought: you can't write a song and that feeling I still get sometimes but I decided to get past that. The fact that I have worked with Marty and Ricky is not the reason why I didn't do it earlier and more often. But I did it now.

Isn't there a danger of not being taken seriously because of the fact that you have been played out as a blonde, beautiful singer?
Ik don't know and I really don't care at the moment. I think that I shall find it more important three or four years from now. Really, I can't worry about that now because it is too obvious that people will say mean things right now. I focus on myself right now.

Your own songs are the only ballads on the album, they are slightly melancholy and pessimistic. Do you feel bad after all?
I can only say that these are the songs that came out. I don't think they are completely melancholy but they are a statement of the things I feel. They are strong because they are very personal. I should stop writing such personal things and write more lovesongs (laughs).

Why less personal? Are you afraid to show your feelings?
I would like to limit it, but I can't help it: every time I write it gets personal almost automatically. I have to limit that, not because of what you suggest but because I think such songs get boring quite fast. Songs have different functions and are not just a vehicle to write about what you like or dislike all the time.

When Kim Wilde starts writing her own songs, she will sound less commercial and...
I won't sell anymore records you mean (laughs) ! I have been a fan of commercial pop ever since I was a child and I still like working in the pop business. But what is pop? I mean, it is still music that attracts audiences. I don't know how the two - writing personal lyrics and making commercial pop - can be balanced but my idea is one of fusing the two. I think it can be done, but maybe not always. In the end I would prefer to have done something small fundamentally than just a stack of 7 inch pop records. I want to be fulfilled when I am forty years old (laughs). Getting old making pop records must be very frustrating. I wouldn't want to waste my life like that.

You have just celebrated your birthday...
...I'm getting old (laughs). I'm already 25...

Can you say: I have finally become an adult?
In a way, yes, because I have learned a lot in recent years. The music is a certain way to deal with life. Contrary to what some people think it doesn't shield you from reality, from feeling how people are. It is not that you live your life in a certain way that you lose contact with reality. I still have the same friends I had in highschool, I still go on holiday with them etcetera. I have been exposed and that makes you grow up as a kind of self-defence.

When your recent singles started to flop people started saying, it is finally over...
(Imitating the critics:) There she goes, we have seen many people come and go. I didn't think about it much because I never felt that way. It has never become reality in my eyes and it's not because a few people were saying it that it became the truth. I noticed that my records weren't doing as well as before but I was convinced that things would pick up or that something else would happen, so I just went on without giving up. There were times that I lost my faith but I always kept my enthusiasm for the music, which kept me on a straight path. I am young and I have done things, so it has never been a real problem.

Has the price you've had to pay to finally show your other qualities been too high?
The price to pay is that it takes a lot of time before you finally understand what you're doing. I have never made it easy on myself and I have always worked hard. But the results and rewards are not that obvious. I get a lot of compliments from people but writing a song on my own gives me more satisfaction than the gold records on my wall.

But without those gold records it wouldn't be as easy to say a thing like that.
I would still be writing but it would be in a different context, sure.

Do you think of the future, getting older and losing your good looks?
I meet a lot of people and I see how they feel immediately. Sometimes you notice that they look at you and think: God, when I would still have your age and looks I would have done things very differently. I wouldn't like to feel the same when I'm older, or be jealous like that. I want to play all the trump cards I have and feel sure that I do as much interesting things as I can. Or else it will be too late, and you can't turn back.

Do you know what to do to be satisfied when you're forty?
There are two things I want to do: a serious artistic career and to have a few children. I think that the latter is probably more important than the former.I don't believe in a choice in that respect, there are many people with children who have a career. Yes, I want a lot of children and be an inspired musical person. I think it is important that people like me around, without me actually feeling the same because I am very critical about what I do.

What does music mean to you?
Music is a way to keep yourself and others in touch with their feelings, and that is important because it is easy to lose that contact. I'm not talking about a specific feeling must being aware of feelings and thoughts. There's more on this earth than the 9 to 5 job, getting paid and paying the bills. Those things are important but they are not all-important. At best, music is the ideal medium to talk to a lot of people. That's what I try to do.