Kim Wilde (born November 18 1960) was born in Chiswick, West London as the first child of 1950s Rock & Roller Marty Wilde and Joyce Baker , formerly of the British singing 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 Magazine's 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 Ricky Wilde.
Seven subsequent albums for MCA Records have included international hits such as "Another Step (Closer to you)", "You came", "Never trust a stranger", "Four letter word", "If I can't have you" (a cover of the Bee Gees 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.
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.
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 continues to juggle family life, music life and gardening life, enjoying success and fulfillment in all areas.
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Last updated: 05-16-2005 06:35:06
