In the late 70’s, veteran rockerΒ Marty WildeΒ had the idea of co-writing songs with his failed pop star son, Ricky, for his not-unattractive daughter Kim.
Kim was signed to Mickie Most‘s RAK label in 1980 after the producer heard one of their demos.
Her first single, an exuberantΒ collision of synth-pop andΒ New WaveΒ entitledΒ Kids In AmericaΒ (1981) was composed by Ricky and co-produced by MartyΒ and climbed to #2 on the UK charts.
It launched a run of hits;Β Chequered Love,Β Water On Glass,Β View From A BridgeΒ and the deliriously weirdΒ CambodiaΒ in which Kim sang about the micro-sociological effects of US foreign policy.
By 1982, Kim had already sold more records than her father had done in his entire career.
Her second technofied phase (see 1986’sΒ You Keep Me Hanging On) wasn’t nearly as interesting but, after appearing on the Ferry Aid charity single,Β Let It Be, Kim was back in the Top 10 withΒ Another Step (Closer To You), a surprise duet with soul singer Junior Giscombe.
In 1988, the dance-orientedΒ You Came kicked off another string of Top 10 hits, includingΒ Never Trust A StrangerΒ andΒ Four Letter Word.
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In the late 70’s, veteran rockerΒ Marty WildeΒ had the idea of co-writing songs with his failed pop star son, Ricky, for his not-unattractive daughter Kim.
