Wilde World: Koninklijke Militaire Kapel

Kim Wilde’s first records were written and produced by her father and brother, Marty and Ricky. The three of them have had a great influence on the music world, as this regular series ‘Wilde World’ shows.

The Koninklijke Militaire Kapel was the Royal Military Band of the Netherlands, founded in 1829. Based in The Hague, their primary function was to perform for the Royal Family as well as the Royal Army. The band has made several recordings (at least one CD every year) and has performed in concert halls from Norway to Italy and from Canada to Russia.

Their recording of ‘Abergavenny’ was released around 1970 on a single. It was later included on a compilation CD.

On January 1, 2005 the Koninklijke Militaire Kapel ceased to exist. The band had to move to Assen to merge with the Johan Willem Friso Kapel (founded in 1819) in that city. From February 25, 2005 onwards, the new band got the predicate ‘Koninklijk’ (Royal), the official name of the new orchestra is Koninklijke Militaire Kapel “Johan Willem Friso”.

Listen to ‘Abergavenny’