Kim Wilde: family music

Stilettos on thick red carpet, black leather mini skirt on tapestry sofa, without a look for reproductions of 18th century landscapes, paneled walls, Kim Wilde, young prodigy of the Anglo-Saxon variety, evolves in this luxurious Parisian hotel with the indifference that is devoted to station halls.
Luxury hotels, champagne, interviews, she is used to it. In two years – two albums and a European tour – she became a star. One million two hundred thousand copies of his first album, ‘Cambodia’, double gold record for the second. In France, it has, it seems, more fans than the Stones (fifty letters per day against twenty-five a week for Mick Jagger). At the height of her twenty-two years and her sixty meter, she observes the situation with a lot of calm. It is true that she knows music. His father, Marty Wilde, was, in the opinion of experts, the English Elvis from 1957 to 1962. Her brother Ricky, twenty in one years, composed since the age of fifteen and her mother directed ‘Big M. Productions’, the production house Wilde.

Do not imagine as far as dad and mom Wilde pushed their offspring to follow in their footsteps. “Mom made us give piano lessons from our youngest age, explains Kim, but she also took care of our studies. Papa knew too well the pitfalls that we can meet in show business to encourage us to do “Ricky started composing very early on. I liked to improvise on the piano, but I hated working on my scales.”

In the studio next to her parents’ house, about 40 kilometers from London, she sometimes did the backing vocals for her father and friends. “The more I sang, the more I wanted to make it my profession. My father encouraged me to continue my studies, while telling me about his experience, the public, etc. Ricky was dreaming of recording one of his compositions. One day my dad rented the studio, and since he couldn’t work there because he hadn’t finished his album, he said to Ricky, “Since I booked the studio, go ahead. If you have an idea, don’t hesitate! “Ricky had two songs. He played one on the guitar and offered to sing it. I thought it didn’t really suit me, but I said yes and we recorded it. When he listened to it, my father said to us: “It will be a hit”. He was right, the song was called “Kids in America”, it is immediately entered the charts. “

Recordings, tours, promotion shows, Kim is caught in the gears. Back in London, she will attend the mixing of her new album under the aegis of Mrs. Wilde. “Fortunately, I work in family, without that I think I would have had a lot of difficulty in doing this job. Mom organizes my tours. She knows what I need. I trust her completely. It’s great. “

Thanks to this entourage, Kim’s life was not too upset by her new star status. She still lives with her parents who live in a large house in the London countryside. “Dad is building a studio in the basement so we don’t have to go anywhere to record.” However, Kim bought an apartment in London. As if there was a need to justify it, she added very quickly: “When I’m in town and I have to change quickly, it’s more practical. Normally, the apartment should be furnished at Christmas, but I’m waiting for the carpets. It’s very long. Maybe because they come from France!”

In her living room, she has already installed an all-white grand piano. She also planned several guest rooms, one for her brother. But there is still no place for love in his life. “I really like my freedom. When I’m installed, I will be able to write poems, play the saxophone and compose in the middle of the night without disturbing anyone. I need to go out, go to shows, to see lots friends, without being accountable to anyone. Marriage scares me a little. I saw so many ruptures around me. Fortunately, I have the example of my parents. They have lived together for half a century and it works very well for them. Anyway, the most important thing for me right now is my career. “

She seems to have adopted the maxim that serves as the title for her album: “Catch as catch can”.