34 years ago today, one of the most memorable anthems to emerge from the UK during the â80s first hit record store shelves, kicking off Kim Wildeâs career in a big, big way.
âKids in Americaâ may have been Wildeâs first single, but she came into the music business with the right background: she was the daughter of â50s rock ânâ roller Marty Wilde. Unsurprisingly, it was family connections which helped pave the way for her own success, but what is surprising is that the first connection wasnât her dad: she was discovered by legendary producer Mickie Most while she was recording vocals for a song by her brother, Ricky Wilde. Impressed by both her voice and her image, Most was interested in working with her, which led to Ricky and Marty collaborating on a song for KimâŠand given this particular post, youâve probably guessed what that song was.
For a song thatâs become so readily associated with the â80s, it might surprise you to learn that âKids in Americaâ wasnât nearly as big a hit in America as it was in England, only hitting #25 in the US. In the UK, however, it was a #2 hit for Wilde, and she was able to maintain that career momentum, scoring additional substantial hits with âChequered Loveâ (#2), âWater on Glassâ (#11), âCambodiaâ (#12), and âView from a Bridgeâ (#16), none of which charted in the States at all. Indeed, it wasnât until 1986 that Wilde was able to secure a big hit in America, although when she did, she managed to have one that was bigger than any sheâd ever had at home: âYou Keep Me Hanginâ Onâ topped the Billboard Hot 100, whereas it only made it to #2 in the UK.
Still, although Wildeâs Supremes cover may have been her most successful US single, itâs in no way as anthemic as âKids in America,â which earned a new life â and a new generation of fans â when The Muffs covered it for the soundtrack of Clueless in 1995, and itâs also been tackled by everyone from Alvin and the Chipmunks to Lagwagon, so itâs clearly got cross-demographic appeal. Meanwhile, Wilde may not have released a new studio album of original material since 2010âs Come Out and Play, but sheâs not sitting idle: in 2013, she released a Christmas album, Wilde Winter Songbook, and she enters 2015, sheâs already got several live dates booked for the year.
