Song written by Mars Bonfire. The song is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song ever written and is also said to have inspired the name of the emerging heavy metal genre. The song’s second verse (which refers to ‘heavy metal thunder’, though it is either a reference to the weight of the motorcycle or a powerful car) contains the first recorded reference to ‘heavy metal’ in the context of rock music.

Steppenwolf version

‘Born to be Wild’ was originally released on the debut album by Steppenwolf in 1968. It was the band’s second and most successful single, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde recorded the track in 2002 for use as the official theme song for the TV coverage of the German Touring Car racing championship. It was produced by Jeo Park.

Formats

‘Born to be Wild’ was released on CD-single.
See this page in the discography.

Music video

A music video was filmed to promote the single.
See this page for more information.

Versions

There are four versions of ‘Born to be Wild’: the original version (featuring sounds of cars, available as a download from the official German Touring Car website), the radio mix, the Special Arabian Radio mix and the Chillout mix.

Live performances

‘Born to be wild’ was performed live during a concert in Płock (Poland) on June 3, 2006 and during festival gigs in the summer of 2008.

Kim about ‘Born to be Wild’

I never really liked the original song, ‘Born to be Wild’ by Steppenwolf. But in the end I said: ‘Okay, let’s try it out. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll leave it at that.’ Fortunately, I ended up being very satisfied with the end result. (1)

Highest chart positions

Switzerland: 71 (4 weeks)

Interview source

(1) Still Wilde, Annabelle (Switzerland), 11 December 2002

This song was written by Epic/Sony guitarist Masami Tsuchiya and lyricist Bill Crunchfield. It was recorded in RAK studios in London in 1981.

Versions

There are two versions of ‘Bitter is better’: the original version and the instrumental version. The latter was released by Cherry Pop in 2020.

Formats

In Japan, the single was released in March 1982, in support of a commercial for the B&L Bitter Lemon brand, filmed in London on the same day as the recording of the track. There was also a promotional 12″ single release in Japan, however this record is now very rare and hard to find. The song was also included in the Japanese LP of Select. It was released on cd for the first time in 1989, on the Japanese edition of The Very Best of Kim Wilde.
In France, the track was released as a single in support of the release of ‘The Very Best of Kim Wilde’.
The first Europe-wide release of ‘Bitter is better’ was in 2006, when EMI Gold released The Hits Collection.

Kim about ‘Bitter is better’

It’s like this. (Masami Tschuivya from the Japanese group Ippu Do) produced an advert for the Japanese market. It’s for Bitter Lemon. The advertising company there was interested in Ippu Do’s music and my image. They wanted to bring the two together. The good thing was that I didn’t have to do anything strange. I didn’t have to rise out of the water with a bottle of Bitter Lemon in my mouth or whatever. I just had to drink and record a few songs in the studio. It’s like – this is Kim Wilde, she’s an artist, she makes this music and sometimes she drinks Bitter Lemon. I sing on the sound track behind the advert. It’s cross between ‘Kids in America’, ‘Chequered love’, and something else, made by Masami. It’s not a real pop song, but it’s a good advertising song. It has a very very catchy hook, and it isn’t far removed from the music I make now. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. (1)

Interview source

(1) Kim Wilde: Paul Evers’s bubblegum picture, Muziekkrant Oor (Netherlands), 7 April 1982