She is one of the most successful singers of the Eighties and scored a large amount of hits throughout the decade. After that things went quiet, until she sang ‘Anyplace, anywhere, anytime’ to the top of the charts together with Nena Since then Kim Wilde is back. On June 18 she was at Metropool in Hengelo.
It’s not the first performance Kim Wilde does today. Earlier that afternoon she was in Emmen at the festival Retropop, where according to reports she fell down on stage and hurt her knee. You couldn’t tell in Hengelo. She looks very energetic and there’s not one moment during the night when you think you’re looking at a 50 year old.
Family party
Kim Wilde looks for her band members quite close to home. On guitar we see her brother Ricky Wilde, who writes a big part of her hits since the beginning of Kim’s career. As backing vocalist niece Scarlett Wilde is asked, who by the way sounds like she is as good as her aunt. Another remarkable appearance is bassist Nick Beggs, from the very successful Eighties band Kajagoogoo. He’s playing the stars from the sky with his kilt and top hat.
Rockchick
Besides the big hits (and there are some) Kim Wilde also plays songs from the most recent album Come Out And Play from 2010. These new songs are quite rock oriented and a big part of her older songs have much more of an edge too during this performance. Drum computers and synthesizers are not at the forefront at all, and bubblegum hits like You Came and You Keep Me Hanging On even sound a bit out of place. Kim Wilde proves she is a real rock chick.
Covers
One of the songs on the new album is Hey You, with a riff that sounds suspiciously like Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. That riff is not the only Depeche Mode influence during the evening. Kim Wilde stays true to her Eighties roots and covers some big bands from that decade. There’s Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence, but also Erasure (A Little Respect) and Alphaville (Forever Young). The last one disappoints a bit because it sounds very much like the original but Depeche Mode and Erasure get a real Kim Wilde makeover and sound like they have always been hits from the British singer.
Energetic
There’s a good atmosphere in Hengelo all night. The band plays with a lot of pleasure and the audience is up for it. Kim Wilde has the luxury of having enough hits to spread them over the whole set, and that is what happens. That way the concert goes from climax to climax, without a moment of boredom setting in. Even an acoustic set doesn’t cause a boring moment because of the singalong caliber. It’s an accomplished an energetic evening with a nice whiff of nostalgia.