Kim Wilde in the Rock ‘n’ Roll steps of father Marty

‘I was incredibly nervous’, Kim Wilde confesses. ‘It was so long ago I’d been on stage that I felt like a newcomer all over again. When I appeared on stage the tension disappeared at once’. We were there when blonde Kim kicked off her European tour in Germany.

‘I have arranged everything upfront’, says a visibly relaxed Kim after the beautiful first concert. ‘Together with the boys I have rehearsed in a London studio for weeks. In the room next to us Paul Young was working just as hard. We have even made it a competition’.
‘Rage to love’ is the title of Kim’s most recent single and rock-rage is also the theme of her tour. Her band, with guitarist Steve Byrd in the starring role, produces an aggressive sound, but the singer also looks very rocky these days. ‘The sexy short skirts and black jeans have disappeared’, she says. ‘My father has told me such great stories about his rock ‘n’ roll heydays, that I submerged myself into a fifties atmosphere. Hence the wild show and nostalgic clothing.’

‘The new image is the work of my best friend Clare Smith, who I usually call Smitty’, Kim goes on. ‘She always accompanies me on tour and take care of everything: clothing, make-up, tea and even the meals, which are made in the great tourbus. I don’t know what I would do without her.’
It’s remarkable that father Marty and brother Ricky are not part of Kim’s tour caravan for the first time. ‘They want me to stand on my own two feet’, she says. ‘Ricky has composed some new songs and father has given me lots of advice before I left, but I have to do it on my own now. Until now I do like that.’