Kim Wilde has released many songs during her career. Some of them have been covered by other artists. On Cover Friday, Wilde Life presents cover versions of Kim Wilde songs. This week: Marilyn Martin.
Kim Wilde recorded the track 'Turn it on', written by Holly Knight and Mike Chapman, for the soundtrack of the 1985 movie Weird science. For a long time, it was one of Kim's most obscure tracks until it was included in the expanded edition of Teases & dares, released in 2010.
It turns out that 'Turn it on' was recorded by another singer: Marilyn Martin, in 1986. It was included on her self-titled debut album, which also spawned her biggest solo hit 'Move closer', a cover version of the Phyllis Nelson track. Marilyn Martin became wellknown when she recorded the duet 'Separate lives' with Phil Collins (incidentally written by Stephen Bishop, who at one point recorded a song with Kim, which was never released). In 1988, she followed up her debut album with 'This is serious', which included a track written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard. When the single and the album were unsuccessful, she was released from her contract by Atlantic Records. She continued as a backing singer and eventually released an album of country music in 1994 and a Christian music album in 2012. She currently has a day job as a realtor in Nashville, where she lives with her husband Greg Droman.
Her version of 'Turn it on' is different from Kim's original version. You can listen to it below.
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