Europa Countdown

45 minute programme dedicated to an interview with Kim Wilde. Host Adam Curry interviews Kim, in between videos by Kim plus one chosen by her.

The videos are:
The Touch (Countdown performance)
Kids in America
Chequered love
Cambodia
Love blonde
The glamorous life (Sheila E)
The second time
Schoolgirl (Countdown performance)

First of all, that song, ‘The touch’, let’s see, it was a year ago since you were last in our studio, singing that song, could you give me the executive summary of what’s been happening since then and now?
Since ‘The touch’, I had ‘Rage to love’ out, which did pretty good, then after ‘Rage to love’ I started writing for my new album, I was writing with my guitarist Steve Byrd, and Ricky and Marty, they were writing as well. We concentrated mostly on the album. Going into the studio, my recording studio in Knebworth, and doing very good demos, I did a few gigs, I did a benefit gig for Greenpeace, and I did a Rock against Racism gig in Paris.

Now, this writing, is it writing the songs or composing? Lyrics, or music as well?
Oh both, both yeah.

How is that coming along?
Very good! (smiles) A lot of my songs will be on my new album and I’m really very happy with the way it’s been going. I’ve been working very hard and that’s why I’ve been very silent.

(Music video for ‘Kids in America’ shown.)

(As the video plays out, Kim is singing a song)
What was the song you were singing?
It was ‘The nearness of you’, Julie London.

Uh-huh, I know, way back when, when I was a little kid.
When you were a little kid and I was much older. You can’t be that young anyway. How old are you?

Wait a minute, I’ll ask how old you are first, you can lie about it.
Okay, I’m 25.

Okay, I’m 21 going on 30. Marty and Ricky have always been working on the Kim Wilde projects, of course, and mum stays at home and keeps everything together…
Yeah, and the business.

…and the business, right, was it a natural thing to happen in the beginning or did you all sit down and say, hey let’s make this a family deal?
No, you know, I mean. No, it was never like that. It just happened like that. My dad was first and foremost a performer and a writer, and that was all happening a long time before I ever had anything to do with the music business. My mum was managing and taking care of him. But as soon as I became famous and needed looking after, mum came in at the helm and kindof did the more boring side of the music business, like publishing and business and contracts and GPL and PRS, you know what I mean.

ABC and KLM…
I just listen for as long as I can take it but the business side is another world.

What do Marty and Ricky do?
They write. Ricky got married last year.

That I didn’t know. Congratulations when you see him.
He’s having a baby this July.

He is? That’s interesting.Maybe his wife is.
He’s really happy, he’s still writing, he’s also working on producing other projects. A guy called Alan Cowley who’s a singer/songwriter, who will be doing very well, I’m sure you’ll see. And Marty’s doing his thing, you know, being a dad also, ’cause I have a six year old sister and a four year old brother, so there’s a lot of people around all of a sudden. A new wife, more kids… And then there’s me, all on my own, still.

How about the men in your life? Anyone I should know about?
…or the life in my men? Oh well you know it’s a shady subject.

You don’t have to answer all the questions. Let’s take a look at another one of your videos, how about ‘Chequered love’? Tell me something about that before we take a look at it.
It was my second hit single, and I thought of the title.

(Music video for ‘Chequered love’ shown.)

How do you come up with things like that? It just pops up in your head, or…?
Well, you know, I wasn’t writing songs at that time. My dad wrote it with my brother. And he was coming up with all sorts of really not very good titles. I didn’t like any of them very much. And in the end I just thought ‘Chequered love’, an inspired piece of thinking there. Rare for me, of course, but…

1982, I heard that you were voted runner up for the most beautiful woman in England? Is that true?
Oh really? Oh, how nice. I don’t know. Where?

Probaby ‘The Sun’ or something like that.
Oh well… I’m truly flattered, ‘The Sun’. (Looks unimpressed.) Well, you know I remember doing well in those sorts of things in magazines like the Sun, but I mean, that’s not Vogue.

Ever been on the cover of Vogue?
No.

No, you want to?
Why not?

I can give them a ring…
No, I mean, I’ve no… I don’t want to be a model. But it would be very flattering to be voted a more beautiful woman in Vogue than it is in the Sun really.

We’re gonna have another look at a video, It’s ‘Cambodia’. You like this one?
I like the song.

You don’t like the video?
The video… The best bits are the bits that I’m not in.

(Music video for ‘Cambodia’ shown.)

What do you do for kicks? I mean, spare time, do you have any spare time at all?
I don’t have much but I have many good friends and they are a joy to me in my life. So I spend as much time with them.

Do you collect stamps or any other…
What kind of kicks do you get?

Do you want to see my stamp collection? (They laugh.)
No thank you.

Why don’t we take a look at another video, then. Here’s the love blonde.

(Music video for ‘Love blonde’ shown.)

Do blondes have more fun?
Some do.

How about yourself?
I do sometimes.

You’re working with a German producer, Reinhold Heil. Why did you choose him?
Initially it came about because Ricky was going to be working with Nena’s band, except that he couldn’t work with them in Berlin, because his wife was having a baby. So he had to postpone that project. But through Nena he met Reinhold and I met him too. They came over to England. He’s a wizard on the Fairlight and we just bought the new Fairlight, and it made a lot of sense that he came over and worked with Ricky and myself. And he was a lovely person. He produced two of the tracks and couldn’t finish it off because he had a commitment to his girlfriend who he also produces. Rosa. So I’m gonna finish the rest of the album with Ricky in the studio.

We have something called the video request on this show, which gives you the opportunity to not only choose your own video but to announce it as well.
Yes, well this is really difficult because to tell you the truth, I don’t really see or watch that many videos and even in England there aren’t that many outlets for videos on TV. So I’ll take a stab in the dark and say that I would like to see Sheila E’s ‘The glamorous life’. A, because I love the song, and B, because she’s dead cute.

(Music video for ‘The glamorous life’ shown.)

What is the all time high in your career up until now?
I’ll tell you one time I really felt very good was when I was awarded the BPI Award in London a few years ago for Best Female singer and that was fantastic.

And all time low? Choose one (laughs).
I don’t know. You know, my life very rarely has lows, which I could talk about. They exist, but they’re not really good conversation pieces.

One more video, and after that you’ll be doing your new single on stage. So let’s take a look at ‘The second time’.

(Music video for ‘The second time’ shown.)

I’m sure you know Sade says it’s ‘Never as good as the first time’.
I don’t know. I’d have to disagree there. I’ve had quite a few good experiences the second time around, but I won’t even go into that now.

Why don’t we talk about what going to happen from here? What are you gonna be doing now?
When I get back I finish rehearsing in the studio with my band before we go in and record the rest of my album at my studio. And then in October and November I’m doing a big European tour and I should be here and elsewhere and beyond. Maybe even go off to America.

(Performance of ‘Schoolgirl’ shown)