Date: 1 January 1981
Originally published in: Joepie (Belgium)
Written by:
Like father, like daughter is the phrase which is gradually nauseating Kim by now. Although she has part of her success thanks to her dad, she recently said during an interview she didn’t want to do too much with her father. “I am Kim Wilde and not the daughter of Marty Wilde”, she said to the interviewer. “I have proved that I can fend for myself”.
Everything is coming up roses for Kim. Now that her second single “Chequered love” is an even bigger success than “Kids in America” she has no worries for the moment. America is still new territory for Kim and it seems likely that American teenagers will also fall for Kim’s charms. But father Wilde feels it is still too early to break into America and that seems to bother Kim a lot. Insiders tell us that she doesn’t want him to make all the decisions for her and constantly protecting her as if she would be a little girl that is fearful of her first few steps on stage.
Marty can understand the need to get some space of her own, but his showbizz experience tells him that Kim would fall prey to the sharks in the business, especially if Kim would go to America on her own.
“I know that it’s rough for her to be approached as the daughter of Marty Wilde all the time by everyone, but that will certainly change”, he says. “She will soon be Kim Wilde and then she won’t need her father anymore. But for the moment she can still use my support, I just know that.”
Father Wilde reacted very surprised upon hearing that Kim would want to work on her own from now on. Kim’s success is in fact a victory for the whole family. It was dad who teached Kim the basic rules of the industry. It was also dad who got Kim her record deal and wrote songs. And it was brother Ricky who co-wrote “Chequered love” and “Kids in America”. And it was mum who turned around home life to turn Kim into a star.
“People shouldn’t act as if I’m ungrateful”, Kim says slightly bored with the remarks. “I do know what my family has done for me, but they do need to give me some space to let me be myself. There would be some things I would handle differently and I just don’t get the chance. I want to do more myself. I am a sensible person and I won’t forget the lessons I got from dad. But I want to conquer the world and it seems like my own family is putting a stop to that.”
Marty is also very surprised about the enormous success his talented daughter has at the moment. “I knew that she was good”, says Marty. “But I am flabbergasted by her enormous qualities. In six months time Kim has grown from a debutante to a world star. She deserves it, but I want to do everything I can to protect her. It seems like nothing can happen, but chances have a way of turning around on people. I can certainly speak from experience.”
There is a rumour that Marty Wilde, who is getting attention thanks to Kim, was approached by a record company to make a come back himself. But he didn’t take them up on the offer. “One star in the house is enough”, says Marty. “Kim’s career is more important than anything right now and I will put all my energy into that. I would like to perform more, but I simply do not have the time.”
It is unlikely that Marty will be in Kim’s band, the one she will use during a tour next year. There are no definite plans yet.
If Kim sticks with her current view on things, Marty will not be welcomed into the band, and if so, he will probably take up the offer of that come back with both hands.
