Date: 22 December 1982
Originally published in: Hitkrant (Netherlands), Joepie (Belgium)
Written by:
Just turned 22 and there’s only one birthday gift she would have liked to get: holiday. She has to wait until January, but she doesn’t feel too bad. Her work involves music and that is the most important thing in her life. She wants to say that she is flattered by the regular comparison with Brigitte Bardot. “I never saw her movies, but I did see photographs. She is a bit slimmer than I am. If I have to be compared, then I’d rather it be Brigitte Bardot than Miss Piggy.’ That’s Kim Wilde for you.
1. Music
I get more pleasure from listening to music than anything else. Even if I like doing something, it gets better when there’s music. I buy a lot of records and listen to as much as I can to new things I don’t know. I also study music and there’s little other things I would like to study. In school I had to do that too much, I was terribly bored there. I am very interested in the history of music, hoe far back everything goes, how it was approached in different times and countries. I speak about music in general too, classic, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, the whole spectrum. Of course there’s music everywhere I go, because it is my job as well. But most of all it’s a passion, the only thing that interests me greatly.
2. Friendship
During my short career my friends have meant more than all the rest. When I get back home I look them up, after listening to some music of course. I want to know what they’re doing, how they’re doing. In January I go on skiing holiday with my best friends. They call me and they watch my concerts. Some even travelled to Scandinavia to see my very first live concert. Aside from my friends, people in general are very important. I have a lot of respect for people. My career is filled by the two most important things, music and people. The people I work with, I appreciate them all. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big friendship, but accepting who they are is enough. Getting on with people is a challenge, especially people who you don’t have close to your heart. My biggest fear is becoming a lonesome person. So I always look out for new friends and take care of old friendships. I am not the type to say ‘I’m okay, let me be, I don’t need anyone’.
3. Health
My health has a great influence on how I feel. I went jogging every day before the tour and I felt in shape. Now I haven’t been able to do it and I feel less good. Yesterday I went swimming in the hotel and it made me more relaxed and more calm. I worry about my health and I want to do anything for it. I take care of my skin, I quit smoking one and a half years ago, I’d rather walk than sit in a car. I prefer sunlight and fresh air. In this profession, everything happens inside: soundchecks, performances, interviews, photosessions, studio recordings. That’s why I appreciate the outside even more. For most people it’s something that comes naturally, but I’ve learned to appreciate it.
4. Mental balance
Most things in this top 10 are as important as the other things. Without one the other would fall away. Music, people around me, my health: it all influences my mental health. I want to keep my balance. I have a searching spirit, I want to learn as much as possible. I collect as much knowledge as I can, not to get a certificate as in school, but I’m hungry for information about anything that interests me. I didn’t think school was inspiring except for things that had to do with art or music. I learned a lot more since I left school than in school itself.
5. Humour
Most people may think I don’t have a sense of humour, because I never smile on photographs. That’s nonsense of course. I dare say of myself that I have a big sense of humour. Maybe I’m not very funny myself, but I do appreciate other people’s humour. On this tour I regularly laughed myself to bits because of all kinds of little stupid events. Laughing is a good way to escape from hard work. There’s a sense of urgency in everything and it’s good to get some perspective. Bad things will still be bad, but they get more meaning. ‘Look at the bright side of life’, as Monty Python sings.
6. My family
Of course, not just because I love them to bits, but also because my family is so important for my career. My father and brother take care of my songs and my mother takes care of management, together with a few others. Ricky plays an important part in my band and mum and dad have followed me throughout my recent tour. I have a smaller sister and brother and I love them just as much as my big brother. They will never leave me. I know they will always be there when I need them, even when other people let me down. They give my life stability. They are an incredible help for my career. Without them I’d be lost, like a boxer without a trainer.
7. Art
This is something I miss, because I have no time for it right now. Drawing for instance, has a therapeutic meaning for me, like yoga or something. It relaxes me. My work is like a 24 hour job, but I always keep a third eye open for designs, details, colours, that sort of thing. And that’ll always be like that.
8. Clothes
I love well made clothes. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot around, or you have to pay a fortune for them. I used to buy second hand clothes a lot, now sometimes new ones. I have bought enough junk in the old days. Those clothes get worn out easily, so that it isn’t a lot more expensive to buy more expensive better ones. The design of clothes, the material, the colours: that’s what I look at. Especially shoes, because I have always had unsolvable problems with those. I have bigger feet than the average girl in England. I am still very happy whenever I find a pair I like that also fit. I can also have them made now, which makes me feel heavenly. Still I prefer the second hand markets and stores.
9. Love
Love is of course very important, but I can’t say much more about it. You can find most of that under the headers ‘friendship’ and ‘family’.
10. Asking questions
I have a reputation of always looking sad or melancholic. That isn’t totally right, I’m more the thinking type, that’s the right word. I think a lot about what I’ve done, what I do and why, where I want to go and why. These are questions people should ask themselves more often, even if they don’t have an answer. I think I don’t do it enough myself.
