I always look askance at proponents of 1980s music as if they are somewhat taste deficient, but perhaps the fault is mine with a lazy and shallow recollection of shoulder pads and all things synthetic. It’s not helped by unimaginative radio station playlists, either back then or now. As the decade came to a close, it seemed as if there was a cartel or around six artists complete with drum machines, synthesizers and dancing around handbags at nightclubs to a back beat of Stock Aitken and Waterman.
If I talk about 80’s money then I will have to refer to politics, so for the sake of our collective blood pressure let’s simply recall that for many it was a decade of remarkable formative artistic experience.
“Top of the Pops is the only thing that I miss about the 1980s” Kim Wilde tells me in advance of her forthcoming tour to promote her new album, Here Come the Aliens. “It was however a very diverse time with so many different genres – disco, new wave, post punk, new romantic, to name a few. It’s great that there is the ’80s revival, many of the artists still have great voices and a great passion for performing.”
A great voice is the first impression of playing tracks from Kim’s new album. “Her voice sounds so young”, said my son, and I straightaway identified with her well-known and unique vocal timbre, first heard on her debut 1981 single Kids in America.
I asked Kim what was the inspiration behind the new album. “I have always been captivated by space. The first song on the album is called 1969. I saw the moon landing on TV, I was captivated by it and found it quite shocking. I have also had a close encounter myself more recently, experiencing bright lights from my back garden with no rational explanation.”
“These and other experiences have given me a different view of space and I follow a number of UFO accounts on Twitter. However I have not seen new Star Wars film as yet but the family know that sci-fi films are the only way to get me to sit down and watch TV!”
Kim’s father Marty and brother Ricky are also interested in space, the latter produced the new album. “Ricky and I are very close, almost like twins, in fact there are two weeks a year when we are the same age. We still feel excited and inspired about the music and have much fun working together.”
Talking about the supernatural leads suitably on to mentioning Glastonbury. Kim has neither played there or attended so there’s a project for locals to get her on the band roster.
“I have been writing this album for 3 years at Ricky’s home studio. It was then recorded RAK studios in London, the very same studio where I began my career recording early hits.”
Kim followed the 1981 worldwide hit ‘Kids in America’ with some of the most memorable hits of the 80s including, ‘Chequered Love’, ‘Cambodia’, ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On'(number one in the USA), ‘You Came’, ‘Never Trust A Stranger’ and ‘Four Letter Word’.
Voted Best British Female Singer at the BPI Awards in 1983 (Forerunner to the Brits), Kim also supported Michael Jackson on his ‘Bad’ tour in Europe, playing to more than two million people and supported the legendary David Bowie across Europe on his 1990 ‘Greatest Hits’ stadium tour. The 90s saw Kim continue to remain in the spotlight with the albums ‘Love Moves’ and ‘Love Is’, featuring singles including ‘Love Is Holy’ and the Bee Gee’s classic ‘If I Can’t Have You’ from ‘The Singles Collection 1981-1993’.
After a break from music to get married, have children and re-discover a love for gardening, Kim returned to playing live in 2001 with various festivals and tours including Australia in 2003 before signing to EMI in Germany in 2006 and releasing the ‘Never Say Never’ album.
After several chart successes with the singles from the album, Kim and her band took to the road, performing more than 50 shows in 2007 including two tours and various festivals in 2008.
2009 saw another European tour followed by the ‘Come Out And Play’ album in 2010, which went top 10 in Germany and Switzerland and was followed by a sell-out European tour, 2011 also saw the release of ‘Snapshots’, Kim’s album of her favourite cover versions.
In 2013 KIm released the beautiful and critically acclaimed ‘Wilde Winter Songbook’ album, which featured her favourite Christmas and winter inspired songs, both cover versions and original material.
2015 and 2016 saw Kim continuing with her popular radio show on Magic FM and putting in some amazing performances at festivals across Europe, while also touring Holland twice and doing a tour of Australia in November 2016 with Howard Jones.
“It’s great to be creating again”, Kim summarises. “I’m back with a vengeance!”
