Kim Wilde
From Free net encyclopedia
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith on November 18 1960) is a British pop singer, gardener, and pop cultural figure. She debuted in 1981 with the hit Kids in America, which was number two in the British music chart.
Contents |
Biography
Kim was born in Chiswick, West London as the first child of 1950s Rock & Roller Marty Wilde and Joyce Baker, formerly of the British singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls.
She moved with her family to Hertfordshire at the age of 9 where she was educated at Presdales School, Ware, before completing a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design in 1980.
Kim was signed to Mickie Most's RAK Records in 1980 and released her first single, Kids in America, in January 1981. It was an instant success, reaching no. 2 in the UK singles chart and ending up in the top 5 all over Europe. In the US, the single peaked at no. 25 on Billboard Hot 100, and in their year-end Hot 100 chart for 1982, it ranked at no. 85.
The debut album Kim Wilde followed later that year and spawned a further two hits, "Chequered Love" and "Water On Glass". Kim recorded a total of three albums for RAK Records before signing to MCA Records in the summer of 1984. Most of the songs, including all her major hits, were written by her father Marty and brother Ricki Wilde.
Image:Kwfc0704.jpg Six subsequent albums for MCA Records have included international hits such as "Another Step (Closer To You)" (recorded with Junior), "You Came", "Never Trust A Stranger", "Four Letter Word", "If I Can't Have You" (a cover of the Yvonne Elliman (Bee Gees written) song from the movie Saturday Night Fever) and a remake of the Supremes classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On" - which gave Kim her first USA Number 1 single in 1987 - all of which have contributed to total worldwide album and single sales in excess of 7 million and 12 million respectively. This same period corresponded with Kim's development as a songwriter having written or co-written the majority of the songs on the MCA albums including many of the above hit singles.
Kim received the Best Female Vocalist Award from the British Phonographic Industry in the United Kingdom in 1983 and has subsequently received two further nominations in this category. Also, she has received numerous silver, gold and platinum records from all over the world.
Kim has undertaken five solo tours and has performed as opening act for Michael Jackson in 1988 and for David Bowie in 1990.
Adding a new dimension to this highly successful career, Kim appeared in London's West End production of the musical Tommy from February 1996 to February 1997.
During the 1980s, Kim went out with saxophonist Gary Barnacle, keyboard player Calvin Hayes of Johnny Hates Jazz, and later her band's keyboard player Jeff Hammer, previously of Teardrop Explodes and Stray Cats. In 1993 Kim also went out with TV presenter Chris Evans. On September 1, 1996, Kim got married to her co-star in this musical, Hal Fowler, and wanted to have children as soon as possible. On January 3, 1998 she gave birth to Harry Tristan. Two years later, on January 13, 2000, Rose Elisabeth was born.
During her first pregnancy an old interest in gardening resurfaced, and she attended the famous Capel Manor college to learn about horticulture, so as to create a garden for her children. She was spotted by talent scouts of Channel 4, who asked her as a designer for the program Better Gardens. A year later she started a two year commitment with the BBC, recording two seasons of Garden Invaders. In 2005 she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show. [1] Her first book about gardening was published in 2005, entitled 'Gardening With Children'. The second book is to follow in April 2006, entitled 'The First-time Gardener'. Translations of the first book are released at the same time in Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands.
On January 13, 2001 she performed live for the first time in years, as a guest star in a show by ABBA tribute band Fabba for a local charity. This sparked her interest in performing live again. Since November 2001, she has toured the UK in three times in the Here & Now Tour, an Eighties revival concert series together with artists such as Paul Young, Human League and Howard Jones. New music also followed: in 2001 she recorded a new track ("Loved") for a compilation album which became a surprise hit in Belgium, and in 2003 she had pan-European success with "Anyplace, anywhere, anytime", a duet with another 1980s pop icon German singer Nena. Kim has signed a new record deal with EMI Records and is currently working on a new album.
The studio albums
Kim Wilde (1981)
Image:Kim Wilde album cover.jpg
Kim Wilde's debut album was released when she was 20 years old. Most of the music on this album was played by the symphonic rock band The Enid, and the songs were all written by Marty Wilde and Ricky Wilde. Production duties were fulfilled by Ricky Wilde. Musically, the album was mainly rock-oriented, which wasn't surprising because of the appearance of The Enid, but it also featured a reggae track ("Everything We Know") and a brass section appeared on "2 6 5 8 0". Lyrically, Marty Wilde provided a few surprises: besides the obligatory love songs there was also a song about a rare minority of people who continually hear sound in their head ("Water On Glass"), the deterioration of inner cities ("Our Town") and a song about a theory that sound is alive ("Tuning In Tuning On"). The singles Kids In America and Chequered Love were big hits all over Europe, the former would later become a classic pop song.
The album entered the British album charts at no. 10, moving into the top three the next week. During promotion, Kim's band consisted of Ricky Wilde, James Stevenson and later boyfriend Calvin Hayes, who also appeared on the sleeve of the album. Kim later commented that, at that time in the industry, it was passe for a female to attempt to launch a serious career in pop music on her own, and that the backing band had been shown on the sleeve to give credibility to the album.
Select (1982)
Image:Kim Wilde Select.jpg The first single from this album, Cambodia, was released in December 1981 and signalled a different sound from the Wilde camp. The Enid was out, synths and electronic music was in. Again, the songs were written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, production by Ricky Wilde. This was a cause for concern for the "serious" music press at the time: was Kim just a puppet being manipulated by her family? In reality, Kim simply profited from the craftsmanship of her father and brother. The lyrics of the songs were as imaginative as they were on the first album: the second single View From A Bridge and the album track "Wendy Sadd" seemed to be about suicide, "Chaos At The Airport" described a nightmare about flying and "Ego" was quite the opposite of a lovesong. Musically, the 1980's had really begun: lots of synthesizers and drum computers seemed to dominate the soundscape. One old-fashioned rocksong appeared near the end of the album: "Can You Come Over" was recorded at the Wilde's home. The striking cover image was a photograph from Gered Mankowitz.
This long-awaited sequel to the debut album Kim Wilde stormed the charts in a host of mostly European countries, although it did not surpass the success of its predecessor.
Catch as catch can (1983)
Image:Kim Wilde Catch as Catch Can.jpg Having toured the UK and Europe in November and December 1982, there was a silence of six months. Kim Wilde returned with the single Love Blonde, an oldfashioned rock 'n' roll track that lyrically mocked the blonde bombshell image that some media had dealt Kim in the preceding year. The album 'Catch As Catch Can' didn't contain any track similar to this single, it rather continued the electronic music theme that was introduced on 'Select'. Most of the songs were again written by Marty and Ricky Wilde, except the second single Dancing In The Dark which was written by Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz. Ricky Wilde produced the album. Some of the songs seemed to be telling a story ("House Of Salome", "Sing It Out For Love") whereas "Dream Sequence" was one of Marty's more imaginative lyrics, describing what seems to be a random sequence of images. The cool blue cover image was provided by photographer Sheila Rock.
The album seemed to suffer from negative reports in the press and the lack of successful singles. Even a second European tour couldn't help the decline in sales, although with hindsight it is easy to recognise how well the album has aged. Quirky electronic noises and beautifully layered soundscapes make this one of the more appealing albums in Kim's repertoire.
Teases & dares (1984)
Image:Kim Wilde Teases and Dares.jpg Kim Wilde left RAK Records, who released her first three albums, and signed to MCA Records. This was her first album for them. Ricky and Marty Wilde produced this album together, wrote most of the songs. However, it also featured for the first time two songs written and composed by Kim: "Fit In" and "Shangri-la". One obvious thing leapt out: both songs were remarkable for their personal lyrics. "Fit In" was inspired by Kim's neighbours banging on the ceiling when she was playing a 12" single by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, "Shangri-la" seemed to describe a longing for a place without a care. At first, the singles taken from this album seemed to continue the trend of mediocre sales figures, as both The Second Time and The Touch were relatively unsuccessful. The third single, Rage To Love (remixed by Dave Edmunds), was Kim's first in three years to break the singles top 20. By then, Kim had started her third live tour to sold out halls all over Europe.
Kim's image was changed from a girl wearing second hand clothes and self-dyed hair to a Barbarella-inspired sci-fi goddess (by XL Design) for The Second Time, which confused some fans who still regarded her as the girl next-door. The album sleeve was cited as one of the reasons for misleading record buyers resulting in weak sales and Kim quickly switched back to an image she felt more comfortable in for the next two single releases: For Rage To Love promotion she wore one of her father's Teddy Boy jackets, in keeping with the rockabilly retro theme of the song. Kim taking control of her own image seemed to be a wise choice, as the success of the next album would prove.
Another step (1986)
Image:Kim Wilde Another Step.jpg Boasting 12 tracks (13 on the CD and cassette) and a varied team of songwriters, Another Step was an artistic and commercial triumph for Kim. She'd co-written more than half of the tracks herself. The first half of the tracks ('Side A' in the days of vinyl) was uptempo, whereas the other half ('Side B') contained ballads. Most of the tracks were produced by Ricky Wilde, but there were also production duties fulfilled by Reinhold Heil, Richard James Burgess, Rod Temperton, Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien. The album's first track was a cover of the Supremes hit You Keep Me Hangin' On. Released as a single in America, it became number one in the summer of 1987. The track was almost equally successful in the UK, where it peaked at no. 2. The next single was Another Step (Closer To You), a duet with British soul singer Junior Giscombe. This UK top 10 hit single was the first one Kim had co-written herself. The third and final uptempo single off the album was Say You Really Want Me, causing a minor controversy when the video was banned from children's programming because it showed Kim writhing on a bed having fun with a pearl necklace. Despite the raunchy image and publicity which accompanied the specially-remixed song, it didn't set the charts alight and the album saw no further single releases. All of the tracks on Another Step were a departure from the synth sound of the previous albums. There was more guitars on most of the tracks: "The Thrill Of It" and "I've Got So Much Love" had a dinstinctive 'rock' feel. The ballads were touching and well produced, the most noteworthy being Kim's self-penned and produced "Don't Say Nothing's Changed" which closed the album. The sound of Kim Wilde had obviously matured. Kim cemenetd her reputation as a singles artist with his album, as again sales were weak, despite the success of the songs released from it. A re-package of this album was released a few months after the initial launch, with a new sleeve design and the addition of bonus tracks, but this failed to reignite interest and has since become a collectors item for fans. The single versions of "Another Step (closer to you)" and "Say you.." were added, and a megamix of all three singles tagged onto the end, making Another Step Kims longest album at nearly 80 minutes.
Close (1988)
Image:Kim Wilde Close.jpg Produced by Ricky Wilde and Tony Swain, Close contained the songs Marty Wilde had co-writer credits, and the first where Kim had many, co-writing eight out of the ten tracks included.
No less than five singles were taken from this album. Hey Mister Heartache, the debut, featured again backing vocals from Junior Giscombe, You Came, a tribute to Kim's nephew Marty, Ricky's first child, was the biggest hit of the five singles and combined touching lyrics with a very catchy pop melody, and it remains one of Kim's strongest compositions. Never Trust A Stranger was a throwback to early Kim Wilde songs, a largely guitar-driven, melodramatic affair. Four Letter Word, the last song to be written by Marty and Ricky Wilde for Kim, was a moving ballad lamenting lost love, and Love In The Natural Way was a poppy ballad. Further tracks included "Stone", a dynamic song accusing the world leaders of doing nothing about environmental problems that the world was facing, "Lucky guy", a cover of the song by Todd Rundgren, and "European Soul", a song about the painter Marc Chagall. Released in the summer of 1988, it stalled at first in the UK charts, but became a slow burner and ended up the first album since her debut to reach the top 10, staying in the chart for 38 weeks. Attention for the album was further helped by Kim's live opening shows with Michael Jackson across Europe.
Love moves (1990)
Image:Kim Wilde Love Moves.jpg Love Moves contained six tracks written by Ricky and Kim Wilde and four tracks written by Kim Wilde and Tony Swain. Production was done by Ricky Wilde. This album was an attempt to follow on from the success of Close, but unfortunately it didn't. There were no clear indications why not: the lyrics were as heartfelt as any lyric written by Kim, and the music was melodic as ever, particularly the debut single release It's Here which was as strong as any single from the previous album. Some critics lamented the MOR feel of the album and the use of similar production sounds used throughout. Perhaps this was the point, as unlike the varied styles of sounds contained within previous albums, Love Moves seemed to nudge towards concept album territory (albet in a mainstream pop way) in the fact the tracks were musically succinct and cohesive. As usual, every effort had been made to create an impressive album. It included guests like Jaki Graham who contributed backing vocals and Deon Estus playing bass guitar. The song "It's Here" describes Kim's search for a place of her own in a competitive world. "World In Perfect Harmony" and "Who's To Blame" showed two faces of a similar problem: hope for a better world and despair at how mankind is treating the environment respectively. "In Hollywood" is about a world of glamour where love seems to lose out in between famous people. Kim wasn't especially "Wilde" on this album, except for the track "Can't get enough (of your love)" where the guitar rips one more time. This was the first Wilde project to yield no top 40 releases in the UK (Time, the second release is the lowest charting single in her discography). Astonishingly, five singles in total were released across Europe, with only Can't Get Enough making any impact, notching up a long run on the French singles chart.
Love is (1992)
Image:Kim Wilde Love Is.jpg Kim Wilde found herself working with Rick Nowels on this album, the same songwriter who had written for Belinda Carlisle amongst others. Three of the eleven tracks were produced by him, the remaining eight were produced by Ricky Wilde. The majority of the tracks on this album were co-written by Kim. She'd taken a long hard look at herself, resulting in the song "Who Do You Think You Are?", in which she reflects on how she had behaved through the years in her career. There were more love songs than ever before on this album, titles such as "Touched by your magic" and "Heart Over Mind" are an indication of the themes of the lyrics. Nowels provided "Love Is Holy", a song that immediately struck a chord with Kim when she heard it in his studio in America, and became the first single release, giving Kim her first UK top 20 hit in nearly four years, and although the following two singles fell short of equalling it's success, the project as a whole was well-received by critics, who noted the Carlisle connection in some tracks. The rest of the album, however, was more consistent with the Wilde sound: guitar riffs over synths. Overall, the sound is more introspective and organic than the commercial pop of Love Moves, and especially haunting of all was the closing track, "Too Late", in which the loss of love is described in mournful tones.
Now & forever (1995)
Image:Kim Wilde Now and Forever.jpg With the previous three albums somewhat more alike one another than the first five, Kim decided it was time for another change, and she chose to make an album with a decided soul/R&B feel to it. Ricky Wilde still produced the album, but joined forces with CJ Mackintosh for four of them and the Serious Rope team for seven others. Opening with "Breakin' Away", an obvious dance track, and including R&B tracks like "C'mon Love Me", "You're All I Wanna Do" and "Where Do You Go From Here", the album was a departure from the familiar Wilde sound and didn't please the fans and audience like other albums had. It was the first album not to break the albums chart in the UK, whilst Radio One refused to add Breakin Away to it's airplay lists. Both this song, and it's follow up "This I swear" were massive hits across the world, reaching number 1 in every territory and returning Kim Wilde to her rightful position as the world's biggest selling female vocalist in the world ever. By the way, the Matt Darey remixed version the Now and Forever album tracks as b-sides went to number one in the dance charts. The album was a daring move for Kim, who wanted to make something to please herself first and foremost. Her interest in music by artists such as Chaka Khan and Pebbles influenced this album heavily. Lyrically, the songs were either very happy ("Sweet Inspiration", "Heaven", "High on you") or bordering on depression ("Now & Forever" (...Time will never mend this broken heart), "Hold On" (...In the day I can smile though I want to die). It was Kim's last album before she started working in the musical Tommy when her pop career started to wind down before the top-ten European hit, "Loved", and the number 1 smash hit "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere".
Discography
Notes: US top data: for singles from The Billboard Hot 100, for albums from The Billboard 200; UK top data for singles and albums from UK Singles Chart.
Main albums
| Year | Album Name | Label | US Top | UK Top | WW sales mil. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Kim Wilde | RAK Records | 86 | 3 | |
| 1982 | Select | RAK Records | 19 | ||
| 1983 | Catch As Catch Can | RAK Records | 90 | ||
| 1984 | Teases & Dares | MCA Records | 84 | 66 | |
| 1986 | Another Step | MCA Records | 40 | 88 | |
| 1988 | Close | MCA Records | 114 | 8 | 1.5 |
| 1990 | Love Moves | MCA Records | 37 | ||
| 1992 | Love Is | MCA Records | 21 | ||
| 1995 | Now & Forever / Breaking Away | MCA Records | 114 |
Compilations
| Year | Album Name | Label | US Top | UK Top | WW sales mil. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Very Best of Kim Wilde | EMI Records | 78 | ||
| 1993 | The Singles Collection 1981-1993 | MCA Records | 11 | ||
| 1996 | The Best Of | EMI Records | |||
| 1996 | The Gold Collection - Greatest Hits | EMI Records | |||
| 2001 | The Very Best of Kim Wilde | EMI Records | different track listing to 1984 release | ||
| 2001 | The Collection | EMI Records | |||
| 2006 | The Hits Collection | EMI Records | including rare RAK b-sides |
| Year | Single Name | Label | US Top | UK Top | WW sales mil. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Kids in America | RAK Records | 25 | 2 | 2 |
| 1981 | Chequered Love | RAK Records | 4 | ||
| 1981 | Water On Glass | RAK Records | 53 (M.Stream Rock) | 11 | |
| 1981 | Cambodia | RAK Records | 12 | ||
| 1982 | View From A Bridge | RAK Records | 16 | ||
| 1982 | Child Come Away | RAK Records | 43 | ||
| 1983 | Love Blonde | RAK Records | 23 | ||
| 1983 | Dancing In The Dark | RAK Records | 67 | ||
| 1984 | The Second Time (US title: "Go For It") | MCA Records | 65 | 29 | |
| 1984 | The Touch | MCA Records | 56 | ||
| 1984 | Rage To Love | MCA Records | 19 | ||
| 1986 | Schoolgirl | MCA Records | |||
| 1986 | You Keep Me Hangin' On | MCA Records | 1 | 2 | |
| 1987 | Another Step | MCA Records | 6 | ||
| 1987 | Say You Really Want Me | MCA Records | 44 | 29 | |
| 1987 | Rockin' around the Christmas Tree (with Mel Smith) | 10 Records | 3 | ||
| 1988 | Hey Mr. Heartache | MCA Records | 31 | ||
| 1988 | You came | MCA Records | 41 | 3 | |
| 1988 | Never Trust a Stranger | MCA Records | 7 | ||
| 1988 | Four Letter Word | MCA Records | 6 | ||
| 1988 | Love In The Natural Way | MCA Records | 32 | ||
| 1990 | It's Here | MCA Records | 42 | ||
| 1990 | Time | MCA Records | 71 | ||
| 1990 | Can't Get Enough | MCA Records | |||
| 1990 | World in Perfect Harmony | MCA Records | |||
| 1990 | I Can't Say Goodbye | MCA Records | 51 | ||
| 1992 | Love is holy | MCA Records | 16 | ||
| 1992 | Heart Over Mind | MCA Records | 34 | ||
| 1992 | Who Do You Think You Are? | MCA Records | 49 | ||
| 1992 | Million Miles Away (Germany, France) | MCA Records | |||
| 1993 | If I Can't Have You | MCA Records | 12 (Billboard Hot Dance) | 12 | |
| 1993 | In My Life | MCA Records | 54 | ||
| 1994 | Kids In America 1994 | MCA Records | |||
| 1995 | Breakin' Away | MCA Records | 43 | ||
| 1995 | This I Swear | MCA Records | 46 | ||
| 1995 | Shame | MCA Records | 86 | ||
| 2001 | Loved-#7 (Belgium) | EMI Records | |||
| 2002 | Born To Be Wild #82 (Germany) | Edel Records | |||
| 2003 | Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime (with Nena) | Warner |
Impact
Kim Wilde is still the UK's best-selling solo female pop singer of all time, and holds the record for being the most-charted UK female act of the 1980's. She was even more successful in France where she is known as the "Brigitte Bardot of Rock". Cambodia sold over a million copies there and many of her early singles reached number one. Germany and Switzerland were also big fans, and she sold very well in Australia right up until If I Can't have you which went platinum in 1994. The Americans took an interest in 1987, making You Keep me Hangin' On became a number one hit. Indeed most of her achievements were made in the 1980's and some of her songs from this period became international standards. Her second career as a gardener has been equally successful, having received many accolades within only five years as a serious gardener, including a Gold at the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show. She also held an entry in the Guinness Book of records for successfully moving and replanting the world's largest tree with fellow horticulturist Dave Fountain.
Trivia
Kim completed a whole album in 1998 which never saw the light of day. Very little is known about the project other than it was rumoured to be a return her rock-pop musical beginnings and was shelved after difficulties over ownership rights between the Wilde camp and one of the album's collaborators. Rumour has it that recordings from this album cannot be released without the permission of this person and therefore may never be heard by the public. Kim mentioned the un-named project was 'close to completion' in a light-hearted interview with columnist Nina Miskov earlier in '98 and that it would be released at a later date, preferably after she had lost some weight (after having had her first child that January). A year later she was asked on a live online chat with fans if the album would be released soon, but the response was vague. No mention of it was heard again until Kim recalled it during an interview for Record Collector in 2005. She is also mentioned as a contact on Brian's phone on the UK TV Series Teachers.
Collaborations
Kim Wilde provided backing vocals for Johnny Hates Jazz on their 1987 hit Turn back the clock and on two songs of their second album Tall Stories (1991).
In 1987 she recorded Rockin' around the Christmas tree together with comedian Mel Smith for Comic Relief.
She appeared in various songs that were recorded for charity: Something better for the Anti-Heroin Project (1986), Let it be by Ferry Aid (1987) and Spirit of the forest for the project of the same name (1989).
She duetted with the French living legend Johnny Halliday and with famous composer and singer Michel Berger, both on French TV.
In 2002 she contributed vocals to the song You and me by German band Readymade.
Her duet with Nena, Anyplace, anywhere, anytime was a major hit in various European countries in 2003.
In 2006 a remix of the classic song You Came was made by Groovenut, to be released as Love you more by Groovenut vs. Kim Wilde. However, this track never made it to a commercial release.
Kim Wilde as an inspiration for other artists
In 1985, French singer Laurent Voulzy released the song Les nuits sans Kim Wilde ("Nights without Kim Wilde") in France. He apparently wrote the song after seeing Kim on television and finding himself totally fascinated by her image. Kim heard the recording and finally agreed to sing a few lines on the song herself.
The East-German punk band Feeling B released a song called Kim Wilde in 1989. The lyrics are almost entirely in German dialect.
Ash guitarist, Charlotte Hatherley, wrote a song about her, entitled Kim Wilde, in 2004 and included it on her debut album Grey will fade.
Sandra Caldarone, a Belgium singer ('72) named herself Sandra Kim, after Kim Wilde. Sandra Kim won the Eurovision SongContest in 1986 with "J'aime la vie".
Kim Wilde covering other artists
Kim has recorded seven cover versions, four of them being released as singles (see discography)
- Putty in Your Hands (1984) - previously sung by The Yardbirds
- You Keep me Hangin' on (1986) - previously sung by The Supremes
- Lucky Guy (1988) - previously sung by Todd Rundgren
- If I Can't Have You (1993) - previously sung by Yvonne Elliman
- Shame (1996) - previously sung by Evelyn 'Champagne' King
- Because the Night (1998) - previously sung by Patti Smith and later 10000 Maniacs
- Born to be Wild (2002) - previously sung by Steppenwolf
Kim Wilde covered by other artists
Many artists around the world have done cover versions of Kim Wilde songs, ranging from pop and rock to dance and death metal versions. Here are just a few of the professional ones:
- 25 Idiots in a box: "Kids in America" (in Dutch as "Kids in het lage land") (2006)
- American Juniors: "Kids in America" (2003)
- Apoptygma Berzerk: "Cambodia" (2005)
- Archon: "Cambodia" (199?)
- Atomic Kitten: "Kids in America" (live in 2002)
- Audia: "Kids in America" (2004)
- Aura: "You came" (2001)
- Bessy Argyrakis: "You came" (in Greek as "Eisai oti agapo") (1988)
- B. City Crew: "You came" (2005)
- Bloodhound Gang: "Kids in America" (1995)
- Bouncing Souls: "Kids in America" (199?)
- Camilot: "You came" (1999)
- Mona Carita: "Kids in America" (in Finnish as "Kaupungin lapset") (1981)
- Cascada: "Kids in America" (2006)
- April Crimson: "Cambodia" (199?)
- Eläkeläiset: "Kids in America" (in Finnish as "Heil Humppa") (199?)
- Euphrasia: "Kids in America" (1993)
- Fourth Grade Nothing: "Kids in America" (1996)
- Guter: "Kids in America" (1996)
- Harvard Din & Tonics: "Kids in America" (199?)
- Charlotte Hatherley: "Kids in America" (Live in 2005)
- Hausmylly: "You came" (in Finnish as "Niin tein") (1994)
- Hearse: "Cambodia" (2004)
- Hiddys: "Kids in America" (199?)
- Hot Chocolate: "You'll never be so wrong" (1981)
- Human hamster hybrids: "Chequered love" (2001)
- Ken: "View from a bridge" (2005)
- Kim-Lian: "Kids in America" (2004)
- Lasgo: "Loved" (performed live in Antwerp, March 2002)
- James Last: "Chequered love" (1987)
- Lawnmower Deth: "Kids in America" (1993)
- Belle Lawrence: "Never trust a stranger" (2005)
- Len: "Kids in America" (2000)
- Marsha: "Kids in America" (1998)
- Marilyn Martin: "Turn it on" (1986)
- Morella's Forest: "Kids in America" (1998)
- Muffs: "Kids in America" (1995)
- Naked Aggression: "Kids in America" (1994)
- No Secrets: "Kids in America" (2001)
- Orange Sector: "Kids in America" (1994)
- Pulsedriver: "Cambodia" (2001)
- Stacey Q: "Dancing in the dark" (1983)
- Sabrina: "Stay awhile" (in Italian as "Alice Rivivra") (1999)
- Sex appeal: "Kids in America" (1999)
- Shebang: "Kids in America" (2005)
- Strawberry Slaughterhouse: "Kids in America" (199?)
- Tony Sherman: "Dancing in the dark" (1983)
- Teremoto Party: "Kids in America" (1995)
- Terminus City: "Kids in America" (199?)
- Tiktak: "Kids in America" (in Finnish as "Kaupungin lapset") (2001)
- Sarah Walker: "Kids in America" (2001)
- Candy Warhol: "You came" (2005)
- Wynona Riders: "Kids in America" (1995)
- Petra Zieger: "Chequered love" (1981)
Books
Gardening with children
Image:Gardeningwith.jpg Kim Wilde's first book was written in 2004 and released on April 4, 2005 by Collins publishers. Bursting with ideas for getting - and keeping - kids interested in the outdoors, Gardening with Children is a comprehensive guide to making the garden fun and safe. Kim Wilde offers many projects in which children play an active role in gardening, along with insightful tips for making a family garden educational and exciting. Along with guidelines for safety in the garden are there are ideas for maintaining a child's attention span throughout the sometimes slow gardening process. Children like to feel grown-up and to see the results of their labours: this book shows parents how to help them. Illustrated, step-by-step projects range from creative ways to plant, such as rainbow and sensory gardens, to making scarecrows, wormeries and tile mosaics. For families with a small garden, or none at all, windowboxes and other activities are suggested. Indoor projects for rainy days are also included, as well as a plant directory identifying good plants for children, chosen for their speedy growth, smell, cost-effectiveness, ease of handling and other child-friendly characteristics.
The First-time Gardener
Written in 2005 and released on April 3, 2006 by Collins publishers. Full of practical tips and detailed step-by step instructions, The First-Time Gardener is the beginner's guide to gardening. Beautifully illustrated throughout this one-stop guide will teach you the very basics of what gardening is about. The book assumes no prior knowledge and takes you through the basics of planning a garden, choosing plants and turning your ideas into reality - including how to make the most of climbers, containers, and hanging baskets. But it will also help you assess what you've already got in your garden. Not all gardens should be created from scratch, as per the TV makeovers. In fact, if you can wait a while to see what happens in your new garden, then you may find you've inherited some weird and wonderful plants.
Gardens
Kim Wilde has designed and created numerous gardens during her involvement in the Better Gardens and Garden Invaders TV programmes and commissioned by individuals and organizations. She has also created gardens for Flower Shows across the UK, a few of them are described here.
All about Alice (2001)
Kim Wilde and David Fountain designed and created 'All about Alice' for the 2001 Tatton Flower Show, 18 to 22 July 2001. The garden represented the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The garden was built on two levels, with a large gnarled oak tree as its centrepiece displaying a carving of Cheshire Cat. The lower level of the garden contained a grotto, with tapered walls to give the impression of the room becoming smaller, like the rabbit hole down which Alice tumbled to her adventures. A maze of tall, clipped hornbeam enclosed contorted mirrors to add to the sense of distortion. Throughout the garden, scale was increased or decreased and the planting was wild and unkempt, in keeping with Alice's confusion during her strange experiences. The upper level of the garden represented four stories taken from Alice's adventures. The Mad Hatter's tea party amongst wild woodland planting was littered with crockery and a top hat carved from tree trunks. The Queen's croquet lawn was set in a wild flower meadow. The figures of the Queen, King and a pawn stood on a chessboard of grass and water, which was surrounded by playing cards from the four suits, created from clipped box trees. This garden was awarded the 'Best Show Garden' award.
The Cumbrian Fellside Garden (2005)
Kim Wilde and Richard Lucas designed and created 'The Cumbrian Fellside Garden' for the 2005 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. This romantic Cumbrian Garden was inspired by the gently sloping landscapes of the Lake District. A constant trickle of water is guided gently through the garden by a rill, providing a simple and relaxing feature. The rear of the garden is still mostly wild, with nature being held back in its attempt to reclaim its former territory. Wild flowers grow in the long grass and in crevices within the dry stone walls. The front of the garden is romantically planted with Aquilegia, Geranium, Linaria and Astrantia. Natural Cumbrian slates are put to use, both as flagstones and to retain the wildflower bank while a narrow pathway leads out of the garden over a stile and on to the fell side. The garden won a Gold medal and 'Best in show' in the Courtyard Gardens category, as well as the BBC RHS People's Award for small gardens.
See also
- Best selling music artists - World's top-selling music artists chart.
- List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
External links
- KimWilde.com
- Kim Wilde Gardening - site about Kim Wilde's horticultural career.
- Kim-Wilde.co.uk - fan site.
- KimWildeTV - fan site.
- Kim Wilde & Kylie Minogue - fan site.
- Ego - message board.de:Kim Wilde