Kim Wilde: not a toy anymore

“I am in this business for over ten years now and I’ve never felt better. I don’t feel like I am the victim of other people’s interests anymore.” She is slim, sexy and very Kim Wilde. A talk about being beautiful, music and killers.

Two years ago Kim Wilde seemed to become a fatty. Now she is as slim as ever and – again – a sight for sore eyes. But also for the ears, let’s not forget that Kim is one of Europe’s best popsingers. To prove that a cd is released in September with her biggest successes since “Kids in America”. Especially for this album she recorded her new hit “If I can’t have you”. Originally a song from the legendary “Saturday Night Fever” album with compositions by the Bee Gees. Why that song, exactly?
Kim: “First of all it’s always been my favourite song from that album. We chose to do a cover because we couldn’t find a song with the same appeal among our new material.”
What did the Bee Gees think of your version and are they friendly?
Kim: “I met them during a banquet. It was a strange situation. I hesitated about going to them out of fear that they wouldn’t like my version; they were a bit wary of walking toward me because they thought I was a stuckup popstar. Finally we did share a table and they were very generous with compliments. I ended up being very shy.”
The only other cover Kim ever made was “You keep me hangin’ on”, originally a hit by the Supremes. Kim: “People say that I was invited to do the tour with Michael Jackson because he liked the version so much. I never had the courage to ask him.”

“It’s nice to feel good again after two lesser years. The English press always felt it worthwhile to mention the fact that I’d gained weight. It hurt me. I was already having a hard time. I didn’t even dare to look in a mirror anymore. Now I feel good again. I have taken revenge on the tabloids by doing a great photo shoot. I was photographed with chocolate in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other. Eat your heart out fellas, Kim is slim again. I’ve never had the ambition of becoming a model, but it is exciting for a few shoots. It’s the nice thing about my life: I can make all my childhood dreams come true. I’ve never wanted to become an actress, but in a video you can have the illusion that you’re an actress anyway. Europe is big enough for me. In America it’s hard to do these things in a relaxed way, I think.”
Still Kim has had the chance to have a taste of success in America. The aforementioned cover of the Supremes gave Kim her sole number 1 hit in America at the time. How strange that can become was obvious recently when Kim made the front page of the New York Times with a story about a serial killer who had a picture of himself with her between all of his victims.
Kim: “I am not more than a bizarre detail in that awful business. The man turned out to have killed a series of young, blonde prostitutes. In the press there were suggestions that his admiration for me was the cause for it all. And that I could have been one of his next victims.”
But how did he end up with your picture?
Kim: “When I had the number 1 hit in America, I’ve been in New York. I signed pictures in various record stores. Sometimes I posed for pictures with those young people. With him as well, as has become obvious. But he’s never had any more contact with me. He just had a thing for blonde women.”
And he killed them! Kim: “Yes, they were all prostitutes I’ve heard. Tragic.”
What is it like in England, is she ever threatened there, or does she get strange letters in the mail?
Kim: “Not often, but it happens. I have had an expensive and state of the art security system around my house because of it. I don’t take any chances. I’ve got a good relationship with the police in the region where I live. In case of an emergency they can act very quickly. But it’s still a dark side of being popular. I won’t become paranoid as a result of that. It’s one of the less attractive sides of my life, but not more than that.”