Kim Wilde
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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 "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...
", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist.BRITs Profile: Kim Wilde
Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 29 February 2012
In 1986, she had a UK no. 2 hit with a reworked version of
the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
' song " You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Her other hits include " Chequered Love" (1981), " You Came" (1988) and " Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with
Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena (band), Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". I ...
on the song " Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts. She holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles. Starting in 1998, while still active in music, she has branched into an alternative career as a landscape gardener, which has included presenting gardening shows on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
's Chelsea Flower Show.


Early life

Wilde was born as Kim Smith in the West London suburb of
Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
, the eldest child of 1950s
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
er Marty Wilde (birth name Reginald Smith) and Joyce Baker, who had been a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls. She attended Oakfield Preparatory School, in the Southeast London area of
Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
. When she was nine, the family moved to
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, where she was educated at Tewin and later Presdales School. In 1980, at age 20, she completed a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design. As Kim Wilde, she was signed to RAK Records by
Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...
.


Music career

Wilde's first professional singing credit was as a backup singer to her brother Ricky's 1972 song "I Am an Astronaut."


RAK years

Wilde's father Marty and brother, Ricky, were responsible for writing virtually all of her material in the early-to-mid 1980s. Influences on the songwriting process included
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
(OMD),
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...
, John Foxx,
Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...
, Skids,
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
,
the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
,
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
and
the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...
. Wilde released her debut single "
Kids in America "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...
" in January 1981. An instant success, it reached no. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and scaled the top five in Germany, France and Australia. Although it achieved only moderate success in the US, peaking at no. 25 when released in 1982, it is often regarded today as Wilde's
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
. Her debut studio album ''
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 ...
'' (1981) repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in " Chequered Love" (Top 5 in the UK, France, Australia and Germany) and the UK-only single " Water on Glass" (UK No. 11). Wilde's follow-up album was 1982's '' Select'', led by the hit singles "
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
" and " View from a Bridge". Both were no. 1 hits in France and reached the top ten in Germany and Australia. At the time, there was some controversy about Wilde's hesitation to do live concerts. Her first concerts in September 1982 took place in Denmark, before embarking on a UK-wide tour in October. Wilde's third studio album, '' Catch as Catch Can'' (1983) was a relative commercial failure. The first single from the album, " Love Blonde", was another success in France and Scandinavia, but failed to have major success in other countries. The failure of the album led to her leaving RAK and signing with
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
in the summer of 1984.


MCA years

Wilde's first album for MCA '' Teases & Dares'' (1984) 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" (which was Top 30 in the UK). The video for this song appeared in an episode of the 1980s TV hit '' Knight Rider'' in 1985. The second single, " The Touch", was not a commercial success, but the third single, the
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
" Rage to Love" (the video for which features a cameo appearance by Justin Hayward, guitarist and frontman of
the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...
) made the UK top 20 in 1985. On ''Teases & Dares'', Wilde made her first songwriting contributions, penning two songs. Meanwhile, she had embarked on three European concert tours (1983, 1985 and 1986). 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 Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...
remake of
the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
classic " You Keep Me Hangin' On". After topping the charts in Australia and Canada and peaking at No. 2 in the UK, it became a US No. 1 single in 1987. With that hit, she became the fifth UK female solo artist ever to top the US Hot 100, following
Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
,
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
,
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 ...
, and Bonnie Tyler.Leona Lewis, First UK Woman In 21 Years To Top Billboard Hot 100
BBC America, 27 March 2008
Her popularity, especially in her native UK, was revitalised and she scored further Top 10 hits in 1987 with " Another Step (Closer to You)" (recorded with Junior) and " Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a
Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
charity single, recorded with comedian Mel Smith). 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. It produced four major European hits: " Hey Mister Heartache", " You Came", " Never Trust a Stranger" and " Four Letter Word" (the last 3 were Top 10 hits in the UK). The release of the album coincided with a tour of Europe, where she was the opening act for
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 Bad World Tour. Wilde released her next studio album, '' Love Moves'', in 1990. The album barely made the UK Top 40, and, although it was a Top 10 success in Scandinavian countries, it failed to sell as well as its predecessor and only spawned two minor hits, " It's Here" a Top 20 success in Middle and Northern Europe as well as " Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)", her last Top 20 hit in France. She toured Europe again as the opening act for
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
. A collaboration with
Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...
and
Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
, resulted in the guitar-driven pop of the single " Love Is Holy" and the album '' Love Is'' (1992). The album's success was again limited to a small number of countries, though the single became another Top 20 hit in the UK, and the second single (" Heart over Mind") also made the Top 40. In 1993, she released her first official compilation album '' The Singles Collection 1981–1993'', which was a success throughout Europe and Australia and the dancefloor-influenced single " If I Can't Have You" (a cover of the Yvonne Elliman song from the film ''
Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...
'' that was penned by the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
), became her last UK Top 20 Hit as well as a No. 3 hit in Australia. 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. Her next studio album, '' Now & Forever'' (1995), was a commercial failure worldwide. Her single " Breakin' Away", however, was a minor hit, and the follow-up, " This I Swear", was also a minor hit in Europe. She released the single "
Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
" in 1996, an Evelyn "Champagne" King cover. From February 1996 to February 1997, Wilde appeared in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's West End production of the rock musical, '' Tommy''.


Return to pop

Wilde performing live at Let's Rock Bristol in 2014 Since November 2001, Wilde has toured the UK three times (and once in Australia during 2003) as part of the Here and Now Tour, an Eighties revival concert series, together with artists such as Paul Young,
the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...
,
Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
, Howard Jones and
Five Star Five Star (also styled as 5 Star) were a British Pop music, pop group, formed in 1983 and comprising siblings Stedman Pearson, Stedman, Lorraine, Denise Pearson, Denise, Doris, and Delroy Pearson. From 1985 to 1988, Five Star had four top-20 a ...
. New recordings also followed; in 2001, she recorded a new track, " Loved", for a
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
which became a surprise hit in Belgium. She recorded the single "Born to be Wild" in 2002, and in summer of 2003 she had a major hit with " Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", a
duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
with German pop star
Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena (band), Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". I ...
. The single was a Top 10 hit in Germany, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland. In 2006, Wilde signed a new
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
with EMI Germany and released the first single from her tenth studio album in many countries across Europe, Scandinavia and Asia. " You Came 2006" charted Top 20 in most of these countries and became her biggest solo hit in Germany since 1988. 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. A third single, " Together We Belong", was released in March 2007 and a fourth single, "Baby Obey Me", was released in Germany as a remix featuring German rapper Ill Inspecta. Since 2003, Wilde has appeared on numerous festival bills and concerts all over Europe with her own band. In early September 2009, a brand new single, "Run to You", recorded as a duet with Swedish rock band Fibes, Oh Fibes!, was released in Sweden. The song reached the Swedish Top 30. 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. 10 in Germany and was followed by a tour in Europe in February and March 2011. 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. It was inspired by an encounter with a UFO she had in 2009. While sitting in her
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
with her husband and a friend, they noticed something odd about the sky and experienced an eerie silence. They observed a huge bright light behind a cloud. Being curious she walked down the grass to track the source of the light and what she noticed was that the light was swiftly moving back and forth. She thought about it every day and it gave her the idea for her new album. In May 2021, Wilde confirmed she would celebrate 40 years of music with the release of a
box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
greatest hits album titled, '' Pop Don't Stop: Greatest Hits''. The album was released in August 2021.


Impact and recognition

Wilde performing in 2007 Wilde holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles throughout the decade (including her duets with Junior Giscombe and Mel Smith). A number of artists have performed covers of Kim Wilde songs, ranging from pop and rock to dance and
death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
versions. On 16 February 1991, then
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
drummer
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
recorded a version of "
Kids in America "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...
" in an
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
basement studio. It is the third track on the rare 2015 " Songs from the Laundry Room"
Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...
EP, a clip of which plays during the credit roll of the
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
episode of Grohl's Sonic Highways
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
TV series. American pop star Tiffany recorded a version of "Kids in America" in 2007 for her album '' I Think We're Alone Now: '80s Hits and More''. German
eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...
act
Cascada Cascada (, Spanish language, Spanish, 'Waterfall'), is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/composers/ producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They functioned as a trio from 2004 to 2021, with their last track ...
, recorded a version of "Kids in America", on their '' Everytime We Touch'' album in 2007. Wilde has provided inspiration for other artists, including Charlotte Hatherley, who wrote a song about her entitled "Kim Wilde", and included it on her debut album, '' Grey Will Fade''. East German punk rock band Feeling B also recorded a song called "Kim Wilde", which featured on their debut album, '' Hea Hoa Hoa Hea Hea Hoa'' (1989). In 1985, French singer Laurent Voulzy paid tribute to Wilde in his song " Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde" ("The Nights without Kim Wilde"). In her graphic novel ''
Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
'', Iranian cartoonist
Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; ; born 22 November 1969) is a French-Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her best-known works include the graphic novel ''Persepolis (comics), Persepolis'' and Persepo ...
has a comic strip titled ''Kim Wilde''. In it the main character Marji, a young Iranian girl, sings "Kids in America" in the streets of the Iranian capital. Also, when her parents go on holiday in Turkey, they buy a poster of Wilde and smuggle it into
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
for Marji. Marji pins the poster on her bedroom's wall and practises emulating Wilde.


Gardening career

During her first
pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...
, an old interest in gardening resurfaced and she attended Capel Manor College to learn about
horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
, so as to create a garden for her children. As a celebrity, she was asked by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
to act as a designer for their programme ''Better Gardens''. A year later, she started a two-year commitment with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, recording two series of ''Garden Invaders''. In 2001, she (along with fellow horticulturist David Fountain) created the "All About Alice" garden for the Tatton Flower Show and was awarded the 'Best Show Garden' award. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
's Chelsea Flower Show.Singer Kim Wilde wins garden gold
BBC News, 24 May 2005
She has designed and created numerous gardens during her involvement in the ''Better Gardens'' and ''Garden Invaders'' TV programmes and commissioned by individuals and organisations. She has also created gardens for flower shows across the UK. In 2001 she was involved in setting a world record for the largest tree transplantation, when a
London plane The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' Ã— ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a Hybrid (biology ...
was moved from Belgium to a development site in
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
. After standing in its new location for six years, however, the tree was toppled by Cyclone Kyrill in January 2007.


Publications

Wilde has written two books as part of her gardening career. The first, ''Gardening with Children'', was released on 4 April 2005 by Collins publishers. Translations of the book were released at the same time in Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands, and later in Germany. Her second book, ''The First-Time Gardener'', was released on 3 April 2006 (again by Collins), and is a beginner's guide to gardening.


TV and radio

Wilde broadened her
eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
image by taking on advertising jobs for various 'green' companies. For two years, she featured on advertisements for the highstreet health food shop Holland & Barrett. She wrote
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...
s for Bold and Timotei, and in 2008, she started advertising 'green kitchens' for
Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
. In 2019,
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...
featured Wilde in one of their 30 second TV commercials for their Darkmilk chocolate bar campaign, set in a horticultural setting.


Radio

Wilde presented ''Secret Songs'' on Magic 105.4 every Sunday between 10am and 1pm. It later became ''The Request Show''. In 2021, Wilde joined Ireland's Classic Hits Radio, presenting ''The Kim Wilde 80's Show'' which airs in the evenings, four days a week.


Personal life

On 1 September 1996, Wilde married her co-star in '' Tommy'', Hal Fowler, and expressed a desire to have children as soon as possible. On 3 January 1998 she gave birth to Harry Tristan, who is now a guitarist in the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band, Wunderhorse. On 13 January 2000, Rose Elisabeth was born. They announced their separation and subsequent divorce via a statement on Twitter on 21 December 2022.


Discography


Studio albums

*''
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 ...
'' (1981) *'' Select'' (1982) *'' Catch as Catch Can'' (1983) *'' Teases & Dares'' (1984) *'' Another Step'' (1986) *'' Close'' (1988) *'' Love Moves'' (1990) *'' Love Is'' (1992) *'' Now & Forever'' (1995) *'' Never Say Never'' (2006) *'' Come Out and Play'' (2010) *'' Snapshots'' (2011) *'' Wilde Winter Songbook'' (2013) *'' Here Come the Aliens'' (2018) *'' Closer'' (2025)


Compilations and other albums

*'' The Very Best of Kim Wilde'' (1984) *'' The Singles Collection 1981–1993'' (1993) *'' The Remix Collection'' (1993) *'' The Very Best of Kim Wilde'' (2001) *'' The Hits Collection'' (2006) *'' Pop Don't Stop: Greatest Hits'' (2021)


Awards

*1996 RSH-GOLD Female Classic of 1995 (Germany) *1993 Bambi Award for "The Singles Collection" (Germany) *1990 Diamond Award (Netherlands) *1988 European Platinum Award as female singer who sold the most records across Europe (she shared this award with equally successful 80s singer Sandra) *1984 Golden Otto Best Singer (Germany) *1983 Silver Otto Second Best Singer (Germany) *1982 Silver Otto Second Best Singer (Germany) *1981 Golden Otto Best Singer (Germany) *1981 Rockbjörnen – Best female singer (Sweden) Billboard Music Awards !Ref. , - , 1985 , rowspan=4, Herself , Top Pop Singles Artist – Female , , , - , rowspan=6, 1987 , Top Pop Singles Artist , , rowspan=6, , - , Top Pop Album Artist – Female , , - , Top Dance Sales Artist , , - , rowspan=3, " You Keep Me Hangin' On" , Top Pop Single , , - , Top Hot Crossover Single , , - , Top Dance Sales 12' Single , Brit Awards !Ref. , - ,
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, rowspan=4, Herself , rowspan=4, British Female Solo Artist , , , - ,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, , , - ,
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
, , , - , 1988 , , Classic Pop Reader Awards , - , rowspan=3, 2019 , rowspan=2, Herself , Artist of the Year , , - , Live Act of the Year , , - , "Kandy Krush" , Single of the Year , Smash Hits Poll Winners Party , - , rowspan=2, 1981 , rowspan=18, Herself , Best Female Singer , , - , rowspan=2, Most Fanciable Female , , - , rowspan=2, 1982 , , - , rowspan=2, Best Female Singer , , - , rowspan=2, 1983 , , - , rowspan=2, Most Fanciable Female , , - , rowspan=2, 1984 , , - , rowspan=2, Best Female Singer , , - , rowspan=2, 1985 , , - , rowspan=3, Most Fanciable Female , , - , 1986 , , - , rowspan=3, 1987 , , - , Worst Female Singer , , - , rowspan=2, Best Female Solo Singer , , - , rowspan=2, 1988 , , - , rowspan=2, Most Fanciable Female , , - , rowspan=2, 1989 , , - , Best Female Solo Singer ,


Bibliography

*''Gardening with Children'' (2005) *''The First-Time Gardener'' (2006)


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Kim 1960 births Living people Brit Award winners English dance musicians English garden writers English gardeners English new wave musicians English women songwriters English television personalities British women new wave singers English women rock singers English new wave singers British hi-NRG musicians Singers from the London Borough of Hounslow People from Chiswick Rak Records artists English women pop singers 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English singers English women in electronic music