Child Come Away

Song written by Ricky and Marty Wilde. Released as Kim's sixth single for RAK Records in the UK, originally it did not appear on any of Kim's albums. As such, it was expected to have considerable success, but despite its rarity value at the time it did not make many charts around Europe. The haunting tale of a girl with a mark on the side of her face, found at the beach at night, was too unusual for many people's taste.

After its release as a single in 1982, the track later appeared on The Very Best of Kim Wilde, as well as a lot of compilation albums released over 10 years after its original release.

Formats

In the UK, the single was only released on 7" format. However, in Germany a 12" single was also made and distributed around Europe. This 12" single contained no special versions, it contained the same tracks as the 7" single. The sleeve of the single was designed by Simon Halfon with a photograph by Anton Corbijn.
See also this page in the discography.

Versions

Three versions of 'Child come away' exist: the original version, and two remixes, released by Cherry Pop in 2020: Matt pop remix and Matt Pop Instrumental.

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single. It was directed by Tony van den Ende.
Go to this page for more information.

Live performances

'Child come away' was performed live during the Debut Tour in 1982 only.

Cover versions

'Child come away' has been covered by Lynn Sweet.

Kim about 'Child come away'

After my second album Select, we put out 'Child come away' as an interim single and it didn't do anything. I think that made us realise that there's no point putting out something if you're not 100 percent behind it. (1)

Highest chart positions

Australia: 76
Belgium: 21
Denmark: 3
Germany: 36 (13 weeks)
Sweden: 10 (8 weeks)
Switzerland: 6 (5 weeks)
United Kingdom: 43 (4 weeks)

Interview source

(1) Return of the love blonde, No. 1 (UK), 16 July 1983

Listen
Audio file
Child Come Away - Cadence 3 (French TV), 1982