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.
Norwegian singer Stein Ingebrigtsen was called ‘Mr. Norsktoppen’ for his countless hits at the top of the Norsktoppen singles chart in Norway. In the 1960’s and 1970’s he sold more than one million albums. His albums featured Norwegian translations of contemporary hits like ‘It never rains in Southern California’ (‘Solen skinner der du aller helst vil være’).
His 1973 single ‘Bare du’ was a translation of the Platters’ 1955 hit ‘Only you (and you alone)’. The B-side featured the track ‘Legenden om Joe Hill’, a Norwegian version of Marty Wilde’s ‘Spirit of Joe Hill’, translated by Elvind Torp. Interestingly, Elvind also translated ‘I am an astronaut’ for Anicken Loken. More about that in a future installment of Wilde World…