Date: 2 June 1973
Originally published in: Look-In (UK)
Written by:
It’s the day of the junior superstar. Almost every day we hear about new performers and groups attempting to break the monopoly of the whizz kids from America. Will Ricky Wilde be one of the first to succeed? Has Donny Osmond got to look to his laurels from this all-British challenge?
In an exclusive interview with Look-in, Ricky Wilde, hazel-eyed, brown-haired, and four foot nine tall, talked freely about himself and his ambitions. With two singles to his credit already, both of which have climbed high in the Swedish charts, this charming and talented eleven-year-old boy is all set to put Britain on the map.
Three sugars
A cup of coffee in one hand (with three sugars) Ricky, dressed in a very groovy chamois leather suit, settled back as relaxed as an experienced professional and talked about school, his family, pets, football, food, music and girls. But don’t get the idea that icky behaves any different from any other eleven-year-old boy. He knows that if his father hadn’t been a star himself, he ould probably never have had the chance to meet Jonathan King, which he reckons is his biggest break to date. Success will never spoil Ricky Wilde.
Duffed up!
Ricky was born “somewhere in Greenwich” and went to a local primary school where, he told us, he got duffed up a bit. Now he’s at the Tewin Cowper boarding school which is in Hertfordshire, where the headmaster, he told us more than once, is fantastic. A football team is being formed at the moment and Ricky will play right wing, or maybe in goal. His favourite team is Arsenal. It used to be Spurs – until they got beaten 4-1 by Southampton. He likes sports and English best, and he started writing songs with a friend, but the team has broken up now and Ricky is really more interested in performing than writing.
Girls
At first Ricky denied that he had any girlfriends. Until recently he’d had two, but he decided it was time to move on. He likes girls who can chat and who don’t mind him cancelling a date if it’s really necessary, which it sometimes is. In fact, he finally admitted that he has got a girlfriend now – and he told us who she is too. But we promised not to tell. But we can tell you that he’s pretty fond of his mum. The first thing he’s going to do when he makes his fortune is buy something nice for her. He’s already bought her an antique watch. He’ll probably buy himself a monkey bike as well. Ricky’s mother used to be in Brotherhood of Man, and what with his father, Marty, having been a pop star, and his sister Kim, about to cut a record, it’s quit a musical family.
Discotheques
Ricky likes David Cassidy, Jonathan King, and Simon Turner. He likes Donny Osmond too, but thinks he ought to do something a bit faster sometimes. Ricky is bringing out an album himself soon which will probably be called ‘Ricky Wilde’. He loves the songs on it, although some of them are a bit high. He loves discotheques too. The noise and the lights and everybody dancing – ‘I love that atmosphere’, he says. He likes to wear casual clothes as well – especially his jeans which are covered in badges.
Knickerbocker Glories
Ricky has strong feelings about knickerbocker glories, those delicious mountains of fruit and ice-cream that you always get more of on holiday. He thinks they’re adorable. He also likes curry, as long as it’s not too hot, fizzy drinks, and the kind of chocolate lollies you can buy in Spain. Ricky has travelled quite a lot – to Amsterdam, Africa, Scotland, Spain and France.
Cats and Dogs
Woo is a very special cat with silky hair and black and white spots. Ricky also has another cat called Jason, and three Yorkshire Terriers called Butch (that’s him in the picture), Leader, and Sloopy. He used to have an Afghan, but it got a bit much to handle when it got big. He doesn’t have this problem with Woo, however, who doesn’t seem to want to grow at all.
Superstar
Whatever’s driving Ricky wilde is going to drive the fans wild too. As we said, it’s about time Britain joined the junior superstar stakes. With Ricky hot on their heels, there are one or two stars around, no names mentioned, who’d better get their skates on. Good luck, Ricky. Incidentally, to put the record straight, Look-in considers there can never be another Donny Osmond, but it’s nice to see the Union Jack waved now and again.