The peak of the popularity of British singer Kim Wilde came in the eighties. Her first single, "Kids in America, " reached the second position in the UK main chart UK Singles Chart. At the moment, Kim has already released 14 albums. In addition to this, at the beginning of the 2000s she made significant progress in gardening and wrote several books on this subject.
The early years and the release of the first albums
Kim Smith was born in 1960. She was the first daughter in the family of rock and roll artist Marty Wilde (quite in demand in the fifties). Her mother's name was Joyce Baker, she was a singer and dancer.
In her childhood, Kim changed several schools. In addition, she was educated at the St. Albans College of Art.
Even before the start of her career, she sang along at her father’s concerts. In 1980, Wilde's talent caught the attention of reputable British producer Mickey Must, and soon she signed an agreement with the record company RAK Records.
Wilde made her debut as an independent singer from the single "Kids in America". It was released in January 1981. This single was characterized by a rather aggressive performance style and emphasis on synthesizer sound. The song "Kids in America" has become incredibly successful in Britain. She also made it to high positions on the charts of some other countries, for example, France, Germany and Australia. But in the United States, despite the name, the track did not receive such fame, it could only reach 25th place in the main US hit parade Billboard Hot 100. Today, the song "Kids in America" is considered one of the best in Kim’s repertoire Wilde.
The first album (it was simply called “Kim Wilde”), like the first single, was expected to be a resounding success. The album received the status of "gold" and sold six million copies.
It is also worth noting that at the end of 1981 another wild single was released - "Cambodia" ("Cambodia"). This song was remembered not only for its melody, but also for the fact that its text contained a certain anti-war message. She is also considered one of the best in Kim's work. In general, 1981 can be called the most successful in the singing career of Kim Wilde.
In 1982, the second album of the singer was released - "Select". He reached the top of the French charts, and in Germany and Australia hit the top ten.
The first concert of the singer took place in September 1982 in Denmark. It is also worth noting that in October of the same year she went on her first tour of the UK.
But the third album (its title "Catch as catch can", it was released in 1983) was unsuccessful - from a commercial point of view it failed. This failure forced the singer to stop working with RAK Records and enter into an agreement with another studio - MCA Records.
Kim Wilde on MCA
The first record recorded and mixed on the new label is "Teases & dares" (1984). She, too, was not too successful at home, in Britain. Although the single "Rage to love", written in the rockabilly genre, still reached the top twenty UK Singles Chart. Moreover, in 1985 the song "Rage to love" was performed in the television series "Knight of the Road."
The album "Teases & dares" had another important feature. If earlier all the compositions (including the most recognizable hits) were composed by the singer’s father, as well as her brother Ricky, then there were two compositions authored by Kim herself.
In 1986, Kim Wilde released the fifth album, "Another step". And on it already the vast majority of compositions were written by the singer herself. By the way, this album includes the famous cover of The Supremes 'greatest hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On". This cover, at one time, soared to the first position of the American chart, which for the singer from the United Kingdom is undoubtedly an outstanding achievement. Wilde was just the sixth British performer to climb to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts.
In 1988, Kim Wilde's most successful "Close" record appeared on sale. She was in the top ten UK charts for over 50 days. The sales of the record were accompanied by a big tour of Europe, where Kim sang on the opening act with Michael Jackson himself.
The seventh number album "Love moves" was published in 1990. In the UK, he was not even included in the thirty best albums, but in some countries of Scandinavia he rose to the top ten. Especially significant on this album are the songs "It's here" and "Can't get enough". In support of "Love moves", a tour of European cities was again organized, this time with David Bowie.
Wilde's eighth album, "Now and Forever", was released in 1995. He is considered one of the most unsuccessful in her discography.
In 1996 and early 1997, Kim Wilde collaborated with the West End Theater (this is one of the most famous theater venues in London). Here she was busy in the musical "Tommy". After completing work on the musical, she was preparing to record new tracks, but there were difficulties with a recording studio. At that time, MCA Records was already swallowed by a larger label. As a result, Wilde was forced to interrupt work on the album; it was never released.
The work of the singer in the XXI century
After "Now and forever", Wild's new records have not been released for about 10 years. And the live singer also did not perform long enough, until January 13, 2001. On this day, she appeared as a guest at a concert hosted by the musical project Fabba.
After that, Kim decided to tour again with her songs. And, starting in November of that year, she spent three tours in the UK and another in Australia.
The concerts were followed by new tracks. In the summer of 2003, the single "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime" was released, which Kim recorded together with German singer Nena. The composition was in the TOP 10 in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
In 2006, Wild signed a contract with the German representative office of the EMI record company. It was under this label that she released her next album, "Never say never." The album had 8 completely new tracks and 5 old ones that were processed. As a result, the album was financially successful in several European countries. But in the UK it was not even published.
On August 27, 2010, Kim’s eleventh record “Come Out And Play” was presented to the public.
A year later, in August 2011, the release of the twelfth album Wilde. It is called Snapshots. There are fourteen tracks in the album, all of which are cover versions of hits from previous years. The first track from the album deserves special mention - It's Alright. This is a very unusual re-recording of the eponymous composition of the British band East 17. This cover not only became one of the leading singles from the album, but also received a separate clip, which was shot in the city of Bonn. This clip was posted on the site MyVideo.de (this is the most popular German video hosting) in July 2011.
In 2013, Kim Wilde released her first Christmas album, Wilde Winter Songbook. It included classic Christmas songs, several covers, as well as original compositions.
The next studio album appeared only five years later, that is, in 2018. The record of 57-year-old Kim Wilde, entitled "Here Comes The Aliens" ("Here come the aliens") included 12 tracks, including a duet with rising star Frida Sundamo. Interestingly, the cover of the album was made in the style of movie posters of the fifties (this niece was created by Kim named Scarlett).
Kim Wilde as a gardener
At the dawn of her musical career, Kim worked in a flower shop. During her first pregnancy, she again became very interested in plant growing and gardening and completed the relevant courses. And a little later, she created an original, very beautiful garden especially for her children.
Her talent was quickly appreciated, and she was involved as an expert in the Better Gardens program, which was broadcast on one of the British channels. Wilde then took part in two television series from the BBC Garden Invaders.
In 2001, her name was entered in the Guinness Book of Records for transplanting the largest tree from one place to another. At the same time, we must admit that it did not stand in a new place for too long, in 2007 it was thrown by a storm.
In 2005, Wild won a gold award at the prestigious flower show in Chelsea.
On top of that, she released two gardening books. The first of them is called "Gardening with children", it was published not only in English, but also in several languages, in particular, in Spanish, German and French. The name of the second book is "First-time gardener".
