Date: 11 June 1981
Originally published in: Hitkrant (Netherlands)
Written by: Annemarie den Daas
“Immature when you live at home when you’re 20? I think it’s a sign of maturity that you can still live in harmony with your family at that age!”. Kim Wilde says that she can’t be dragged out of her parents’ house. Together with her parents, her two brothers and her sister she lives in a beautiful house in the English countryside. There’s not much of a nightlife there, but that’s not Kims problem: she’d rather be home anyway.
I have always lived “outside” and then you’re pretty much appointed to yourself anyway. On top of that, one has a few responsibilities as the eldest of four children”, says Kim.
Kims brother Ricky, whom also wrote her second single “Chequered love”, is only a year younger than Kim, so that was easy, but her sister Roxanne (named after the Police-hit), 2 years old, and her brother Marty Jr., 5, need a lot of attention.
“With such busy parents you’re appointed to look after them quite easily, but that is gonna be harder now, because I am very busy now myself”, says Kim.
Before Kim started her career as singer, she was a student at the academy of arts. “I used to sit and paint for hours on end in my room. Now I haven’t got time for that either, but you know that when you start a career in showbusiness.”
The sudden success has surprised Kim a bit, so whenever she can she goes home to catch her breath. “Sometimes I take a walk outside for a little while, but most of the time I just sit here in the house”.
“I don’t go out much, I didn’t do it much anyway because here there aren’t a lot of disco’s and pubs, and I think it’s a bit too much effort to go to London for one night. Besides, you can’t hear what anyone is saying in the noise, so it’s not much use anyway!”
Despite her success, Kim lives quietly at home and is a bit turned inward. Maybe that’s the big secret of big stars: just stay normal!
