Personality Plus: Kim Wilde

If you were just 20 and woke up one morning to find your first record was at no. 2 in the charts, could you handle the sudden change that overnight success would bring? One person who has proved she could do so is rising star Kim Wilde. When that first single, Kids in America, was riding high in the charts the publicity surrounding her was very intense. Even her dad, famous rock ‘n’ roller of the 50s, Marty Wilde, was saying she would eclipse his fame.

That could have put enormous pressure on Kim, but she ignored what pressure there was to bring out four more top singles and a very successful first album. Now 21, Kim can reflect that she was probably able to cope so well in the pop world because of her family. Mum was a singing star in the 50s, like Kim’s dad, and young brother Ricky was already heavily involved in the music business. In fact, it was Ricky who got Kim started and brought her into the studio where Micky Most, now her manager, first spotted her. These days, Ricky is her producer, and he and Marty write most of Kim’s songs. That’s an impressive backing team which is bringing the very best from Kim’s own natural talent.