Kim Wilde doesn’t want to be a sex symbol

Kim Wilde still isn’t interested in frills. The beautiful daughter of English rock ‘n’ roll singer Marty wants to focus on her qualities as a singer and the fact that her music is appreciated was apparent during her short but sweet concert at the Congresgebouw in Den Haag.

During the past four years Kim Wilde, 24 years old by now, has done everything not to become the Brigitte Bardot of pop. After being launched by father and brother Ricky with ‘Kids in America’ she was chosen England’s most sexy pop singer. Any other colleague would have been happy, but Kim felt that this didn’t do her justice. Instead of exploiting her looks she did everything she could to become more than a singing photo model who had to release three or four singles a year. Which explains her approach as a concert singer, attempted two years into her career.

Assumed (and who doesn’t?) that Kim will stay on the scene, you wonder if she isn’t doing her concerts all too simply. Her performance in Den Haag wasn’t much more than a greatest hits compilation. Together with her five man band was at it for almost 90 minutes, but real surprises weren’t there. This presentation is a bit lacking for someone of her name and fame. The hall, which was sold out, apparently felt the same, because it took half the concert before people stood up from their seats. And only because of the request of the singer herself, who mustn’t have met so much resistance during her European tour so far.

It was surprising that there was a mass applause and shouting when Kim took off her jacket during the show. That’s the kind of enthusiasm she wanted to avoid. Would the (Dutch) fans, most of them younger than their idol, not see much more in her than the lovely, innocent beauty who happens to sing after all?