The heyday of the popularity of the British pop diva Kim Wild was in the early 1980s of the last century. She was called the sex symbol of the decade. And the posters, where the charming blonde was depicted in a bathing suit, were sold out faster than her records. The singer still does not stop touring, having again interested the general public with her work.
Childhood and youth of Kim Wild
The future vocalist was born on November 18, 1960 in a musical family, which determined her future. The girl's father was Marty Wilde, a popular rock and roll performer in the 1950s. And the mother was Joyce Baker, vocalist and dancer of The Vernons Girls. Born Kim Smith studied at London's Oakfield School.
When the girl was 9 years old, the family moved to live in Hertfordshire, where Kim began to learn to play the piano at the Tevin School. Transferring to Presdayls School, she studied both art and design at St. Albans College of Art & Design. The study took place against the background of a part-time job in her father's group, where she and her mother acted as a backing vocalist.
The constant development of vocal data required the realization of the talent laid down by the parents. And in 1980, Kim first helped make a demo recording for Ricky (her brother), and then she tried to record the part herself. These recordings fell into the hands of Miki Most, who represented the interests of the RAK Records label. This was the impetus for gaining popularity as an aspiring singer.
The ascent of Kim Wild to the musical Olympus
In January 1981, Kim recorded her first single, Kids of America. He instantly took the top of the British hit parade and became the hallmark of the performer. The hit got into rotation on radio stations all over the world. Thanks to this hit, the young star immediately gained worldwide success.
A full-fledged album, named after the singer, appeared in the same year. Several tracks from it hit the top 5 European charts at once, securing the fame of the vocalist. The disc received a "gold" status, more than 6 million copies were sold.
The second studio album, Select, was released in 1982. Particularly successful were the compositions View from a Bridge and Cambodia. The singer went on her first tour in support of the already released records only at the end of the year. It took place at concert venues in his native Britain.
The third CD, Catch As Catch Can, was a disappointment (in terms of commercial success). Only one composition, Love Blonde, aroused interest in France, but it was not successful in her native UK. The singer became disillusioned with the collaboration with RAC and moved to MCA Records.
It was possible to slightly increase the failed popularity with the release of the next album, Teases & Dares. A video for one of the tracks from this disc was later included in the popular TV series Knight Rider. For two years, Kim toured extensively, after which in 1986 she recorded the album Another Step, the songs for which the singer wrote on her own.
Thanks to this work, the performer again took the top of the charts. The success was "warmed up" by the disc Close, which appeared in 1988, with the participation of the composer and singer Dieter Bohlen. The disc hit the top 10 in Britain and stayed there for a long time.
Until 1995, the singer released several more records that were not very popular. Now & Forever was recognized as the worst album in the history of the performer. After the "failure" of sales around the world, Kim decided to change direction and focused on staging the musical Tommy in one of London's theaters.
Second wind Kim Wild
Kim Wilde decided to return to the stage as a singer in the early 2000s. In 2001, she went on tour. Then she released a collection of hits, which showed good sales figures. The next few years were devoted to traveling concerts. And the new disc Never Say Never was released only in 2006. It contains cover versions of songs from previous years and several new tracks.
In 2010, the singer celebrated her 50th anniversary with the release of another disc, Come Out and Play. According to her, this is the most successful work in her entire professional career. The singer's tours were with periodic releases of new discs and collections.
Kim Wilde was not going to leave the stage and stop her musical career. An excellent confirmation of this was the album Here Comes the Aliens, released in 2018. The singer wrote the material for it based on her memories of a meeting with an unearthly civilization, which, according to the performer, took place in 2009.
Personal life
In the mid-1980s, when the singer's popularity was at its peak, she liked two members of the Johnny Hates Jazz band at once - keyboardist Kalvin Haise and saxophonist Gary Bernackle. In the early 1990s, she was credited with an affair with British television star Chris Evans.
The first and only wedding in the life of the performer took place on September 1, 1996. The happy chosen one was Hall Flower, whom she met when creating the musical. Two years later, on January 3, 1998, a son, Harry, was born, and in January 2000, a daughter, Rose, was born.
Interesting Facts
While on maternity leave, Kim developed a passion for gardening and showed a talent for landscape design. The result of her passion was a series of television programs, two published books and an achievement that got into the famous Guinness Book of Records for the successful transplantation of the largest tree.
Compositions authored by the performer are gladly included in their albums by many groups around the world and taken by directors as soundtracks for films. There are several songs of the same name dedicated to her work. The very first hit of the singer can be heard in the popular computer game GTA: Vice City, if you turn on one of the Wave 103 radio stations.
