''Close'' is the sixth studio album by

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

, released in June 1988. Produced by Ricky Wilde and Tony Swain, ''Close'' was the final album on which Marty Wilde had co-writer credits. The album's lead single was "

Hey Mister Heartache "Hey Mister Heartache" is a song by the English pop singer Kim Wilde, released as the first single from her sixth studio album, '' Close'' (1988). The song features vocals by Junior Giscombe; this part of the song was edited down for the single ver ...

", featuring backing vocals from

Junior Giscombe Norman Washington "Junior" Giscombe (born 6 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter often known as Junior who was one of the first British R&B artists to be successful in the United States. He is best known for his 1982 hit single, " Mama Us ...

– but its success was dwarfed by the follow-up single, "

You Came "You Came" is a song by English singer Kim Wilde from her sixth studio album, ''Close'' (1988). It was released on 4 July 1988 as the album's second single. The song was written by Wilde and her brother Ricky Wilde, after the birth of his first ch ...

", which hit the top 10 in many countries and just missed the US top 40. " Never Trust a Stranger" and " Four Letter Word" also reached the UK top 10, although a fifth single " Love in the Natural Way" was less successful. Attention for the album was bolstered by Wilde's support slot on

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's European tour. ''Close'' reached the top 10 in the UK, almost all Scandinavian countries, Austria and Germany and went on to become Wilde's biggest selling album, being certified platinum in the UK. In Australia, the album was less successful, peaking at number 82 on the

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

albums chart. A 2-CD 25th anniversary edition of ''Close'' was released in the United Kingdom in September 2013, with the album's original 10 tracks bolstered by an additional 21 B-sides and remixes.

Critical response

Anne Lambert, noting the ups and downs of Wilde's career, concluded that ''Close'' was "proof that Kim will still be around when her rivals are fighting it out in the bargain bins." Despite expressing hope that the singer would "experiment and take some chances", the reviewer singled out both the "luscious ballad" "Four Letter Word" and the "brilliant funk" of "Hey Mister Heartache". ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave a mixed review, expressing dislike for the tracks "Four Letter Word" and "Lucky Guy" but again describing "Hey Mister Heartache" as "brilliant" and "Love in the Natural Way" as "steamy". Caroline Sullivan of ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' gave a mostly positive review but noted the similarities of the production to recent work by

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and wrote "Many songs here could be

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

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'' tracks with Kim's voice superimposed." '' Q'', while describing Wilde as an institution in British pop (along with Bananarama), wrote that "You Came" sounded "dated" and "like an out-take from

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's ''

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''". However, praise was reserved for a "really special moment"; Wilde's faithful version of Todd Rundgren's "Lucky Guy". "Writing for ''

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'', Peter Kane compared the "pure pop" album unfavorably to the work of

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and

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, specifically citing "Four Letter Word" as "having been discarded by

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

while clearing her wardrobe of Crimplene jumpsuits."

Track listing

Side one #"

" (Kim Wilde, Steve Byrd) – 4:34 #"

" (Kim Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:33 #" Four Letter Word" (Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:02 #" Love in the Natural Way" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:07 #"Love's a No" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:16 Side two #" Never Trust a Stranger" (Kim Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:04 #"You'll Be the One Who'll Lose" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:32 #"European Soul" (Kim Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 5:20 #"Stone" (Kim Wilde, Marty Wilde, Ricky Wilde) – 4:41 #"Lucky Guy" (

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

) – 2:38 * Bonus track on CD: "Hey Mister Heartache" (12" version) – 8:06

25th anniversary edition

* The bonus beats and acapella with percussion versions of "Hey Mister Heartache" were previously unreleased.

Personnel

* Kim Wilde – lead and backing vocals *

Ricky Wilde Ricky Wilde (born Ricki Steven Reginald Smith, 6 November 1961, sometimes credited as Ricki Wilde) is a British songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the younger brother of singer Kim Wilde; their father is singer and songwriter Marty ...

– keyboards, programming, guitars, backing vocals, producer * Tony Swain – keyboards, programming, producer (1–5, 7–10) *

Bias Boshell Tobias Boshell (born 20 July 1950) is an English songwriter and musician, best known as the founder of the folk rock band Trees. He was born in Wye, Kent, was educated at Bedales and the Royal College of Music. Boshell formed Trees in 1969 wit ...

– additional keyboards (10) *

Steve Byrd Stephen John "Steve" Byrd (25 September 1955 – 2 October 2016) was an English guitarist and session musician who has worked with artists including Kim Wilde (from 1982–95), Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, ZZebra and many others. Initially a self-t ...

– guitars *

– backing vocals, additional vocals (1) * Nicci Sun – backing vocals * James Richards – engineer * Richard Lengyel – mixing * Michael Nash – album design * Russell Young – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

*
Wilde Life: the official Kim Wilde fansite Discography – Close
{{Authority control 1988 albums Kim Wilde albums MCA Records albums