Rage to Rock tour 85

Nervously the 14 year old Thomas stands before the edge of the stage of the Liederhalle in Stuttgart with an envelope and a rose, waiting for the big moment. He has to wait for his idol Kim for a long time. After a concert pause of 15 months she is finally touring Germany again. Until now there were dates in March and April of this year in France, Sweden and Denmark. Die expectations were high. With the album “Teases and Dares” and the single “The second time” the wild Kim was celebrating a successful comeback after not having released records for a year. Now her tour starts: “Rage to Rock”. The motto says it all. Total rock action was announced. And what was given to the 2000 viewers in the metropole of Schwaben made the hall into a feverish surrounding right from the first minute. In the center of attention: blonde Kim, with her band consisting of five men. Three new names were there: Preston Ross Heyman, saxophone player Peter Richard Blanshard and bassist John Edwards.
The stage symbolised a four cornered cage, scattered with colourful lights from spots which were used as flash lights during the 85 minute show. In the middle of this: Kim’s action packed show.
At 9pm it starts. The stage is dark, then two flashes left and right from the drums. Mist rises, and behind drummer Preston Heyman suddenly Kim appears, shouts “Hey Stuttgart” and runs toward the edge of the stage. Guitarist John Byrd starts the first tones of “Water on glass”, and Kim starts her stage marathon, whirls from left to near the edge of the stage.
After the first strong act the blue jacket falls to the ground. Kim wears a simple t-shirt under it and a skintight jeans with rivet belt.
The show goes on! Kim grabs her latest show material. The titles “Janine”, “The Touch” and “Bladerunner” follow. Kim proves that out of the shy and reserved pop idol a real rock lady has grown. The rock show gains more tempo: during “Suburbs of Moscow” flowers fly through the air towards the stage. Then Thomas’s big moment has come. Kim takes his rose and envelope from him and gives him a handkiss. Thomas beams.
Signs with the text “Kim we love you” are held up high. Kim grabs her hair and shakes her head left to right, runs towards guitarist John Byrd, who has just started a solo. His playing has defined the new live sound of Kim Wilde.
After ‘Is it over’ and ‘Words fell down’ Kim takes her first break and gets behind the keyboards together with J.R. Hammer. Then Kim’s own composition ‘Fit in’ follows. More mist is blown onto the stage and Kim is lighted by a red spot effectively. The audience holds lighters in the air.
The the storm breaks loose again. Kim grabs a towel and wipes the sweat off her forehead. Kim already said it in her youngest interview with Popcorn (3/85): her female rolemodels is American soul queen Tina Turner. And in fact Kim has the same kind of energetic power as Tina Turner: an erotic stage presentation, without losing her very own charm. Unfortunately that doesn’t hide the sound problems. Some songs sounded way too loud and as a result samey. Often Kim’s voice wasn’t strong enough to carry the songs, she battled against the overloading instruments. Could it have been because her producer brother Ricky wasn’t here this time?
There was no problem with the atmosphere in the hall despite the sound problems. The audience celebrated Kim when she played her hits: “View from a bridge”, “Love blonde”, “Cambodia”, “The second time” and “Kids in America” followed. Then she disappears, to loud shouting from the audience. With the encores “Rage to love” and “Chequered love” she says goodbye to her adoring fans.