Date: 11 February 1982
Published in: Bravo (Germany)
Written by:
At a party with a lot of showbiz celebrities in London it started – the romance between the eccentric Visage-boss Steve Strange and Kim Wilde. From that moment on Steve became a storming admirer, and was quoted in the English press that he was totally in love with Kim. He bombarded the object of his affection with telephone calls and invitations on a daily basis.
Kim, very inexperienced in the matters of love, reacted reserved and unsure. “I like him”, she admitted, “but I am not in love with him”. But Steve didn’t let himself be discouraged. Contrary to that: his pleas became more urgent, to at least go out with him. Until Kim finally gave in on January 13…
She let herself be persuaded to go out to dinner in Steve’s favourite restaurant “Langans Brasserie” in the Mayfair area of London. Kim, who doesn’t often go out too luxuriously, made herself look the part and drove the 60 kilometres from her parents’s house to the city with a beating heart.
Full of expectations she opened the door of the establishment. She had to experience an unpleasant surprise. Not just Steve was waiting for her, but also a horde of photographers, who obviously had received a good tip-off – perhaps from the publicity-seeking lover himself?
Instead of candlelight there were flashes of cameras, and instead of soft lovers’ whispering Kim was bombarded with questions.
Although she wasn’t pleased by all this, Kim let herself be persuaded to go to the Embassy Club around the corner. But also there the two didn’t have a lovely evening. The photographers were already there when they entered. The cameras were flashing, when Steve pulled Kim to his cheek and posed holding her hand.
Lemmy from the rock group Motörhead, who was in the Embassy as a guest, looked at the scene with amusement. He noticed the opportunity and started to flirt with the frustrated Kim openly without care for her companion. Steve became so angry about that, that he almost got into a fight with Lemmy – if the management of the club hadn’t stepped in.
Kim looked at it all in horror. She felt like a guy had acted like he was in love with her, just to profit from her name. Steve Strange: “I don’t know who tipped off the guys from the press. It sure wasn’t me.”
