Kim Wilde
Artist of the Month

Kim Wilde – Artist of The Month November 2022

Kim Wilde – Artist of The Month November 2022

Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single Kids in America, which peaked at No. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Worldwide, Wilde has sold over 10 million albums and 20 million singles.

She holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles.

Wilde’s father Marty and brother, Ricky, were responsible for writing virtually all of her material in the early-to-mid 1980s. Wilde released her debut single Kids in America in January 1981. 25 when released in 1982, it is often regarded today as Wilde’s signature song. Her debut studio album Kim Wilde repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in Chequered Love and the UK-only single Water on Glass .

Wilde’s follow-up album was 1982’s Select, led by the hit singles Cambodia and View from a Bridge. At the time, there was some controversy about Wilde’s hesitation to do live concerts. Wilde’s third studio album, Catch as Catch Can was a relative commercial failure.

Wilde’s first album for MCA Teases & Dares was again overlooked in her home country, but fared better in Germany, France and Scandinavia as well as scoring another German Top 10 single with «The Second Time» . On Teases & Dares, Wilde made her first songwriting contributions, penning two songs. On her fifth studio album, 1986’s Another Step, Wilde wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. The album’s lead single «Schoolgirl» flopped in Europe and Australia, but Wilde’s fortunes improved in spectacular fashion with the album’s second single, a Hi-NRG remake of the Supremes classic You Keep Me Hangin’ On.

In 1988, Wilde released her biggest selling album to date, Close, which returned her to the UK top 10 and spent almost eight months on the UK album chart. Wilde released her next studio album, Love Moves, in 1990. Wilde embarked on a huge «Greatest Hits» concert tour through Europe in 1994 and also toured Australia and Japan for the first time in six years. From February 1996 to February 1997, Wilde appeared in London’s West End production of the rock musical, Tommy.

After this, Wilde started recording a new studio album. Subsequently, Wilde abandoned the album which remains unreleased.

Since November 2001, Wilde has toured the UK three times as part of the Here and Now Tour, an Eighties revival concert series, together with artists such as Paul Young, the Human League, Belinda Carlisle, Howard Jones and Five Star. In 2006, Wilde signed a new recording contract with EMI Germany and released the first single from her tenth studio album in many countries across Europe, Scandinavia and Asia. The album Never Say Never included eight new tracks plus five re-worked previous hits and has charted in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The second single from the album, which was voted for by fans on her official website was «Perfect Girl», released in November 2006 and spent nine weeks on the German Top 100 singles chart.

Since 2003, Wilde has appeared on numerous festival bills and concerts all over Europe with her own band. In 2010, Wilde signed a new recording contract with Sony Music Germany. The label released her eleventh studio album, Come Out and Play on 17 August, with Lights Down Low preceding that as lead single. The album peaked at No.

Wilde’s twelfth studio album, Snapshots, was released on 26 August 2011 and features cover versions of songs hand-picked from the last five decades. Wilde toured in support of the album in Germany in March 2012. In November 2012, Wilde was featured as the lead vocalist on Reflekt’s A Beautiful House» which can be found on Armada Music’s Antillas & Dankmann’s Best Remix 2002–2012 compilation. Wilde released her next studio album, Wilde Winter Songbook in November 2013.

On 18 December 2017, Wilde released a Christmas single with Lawnmower Deth titled F U Kristmas! Wilde released her fourteenth studio album Here Come the Aliens on 16 March 2018. She thought about it every day and it gave her the idea for her new album. On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Kim Wilde among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

The album was released in August 2021.

Wilde has written two books as part of her gardening career. Translations of the book were released at the same time in Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands, and later in Germany.

Wilde broadened her eco-friendly image by taking on advertising jobs for various ‘green’ companies. In 2019, in a nod to her singing and gardening careers, Cadbury featured Wilde in one of their 30 second TV commercials for their Darkmilk chocolate bar campaign, set in a horticultural setting.

To celebrate her birthday this month, we are offering a 10% discount on all Kim and Marty Wilde had signed memorabilia. Simply use the discount code K3GP2Z5RWilde when you checkout. T&Cs apply.