Kim Wilde

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 2 in the UK In 1983 she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist In 1986 she had a UK No 2 hit with a reworked version of the Supremes 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 on the song Anyplace Anywhere Anytime which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts She holds the record for being the mostcharted 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 and Channel 4 In 2005 she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Societys Chelsea Flower Show The eldest child of 1950s rock and roller Marty Wilde birth name Reginald Smith and Joyce Baker who had been a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls Kim Smith was born in the West London suburb of Chiswick and attended Oakfield Preparatory School in the Southeast London area of Dulwich When she was nine the family moved to Hertfordshire 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 Wildes father Marty and brother Ricky were responsible for writing virtually all of her material in the earlytomid 1980s Key influences on the songwriting process included Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark OMD Ultravox John Foxx Gary Numan Skids Sex Pistols the Clash Kraftwerk and the Stranglers Wilde released her debut single Kids in America in January 1981 An instant success it reached No 2 in the UK Singles Chart and scaled the Top 5 in other countries such as 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 Wildes signature song Her debut studio album Kim Wilde 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 UKonly single Water on Glass UK No 11 Source Article Kim Wilde from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30