UFO KEEP ME
Eighties icon Kim Wilde’s new album could earn her a place in the charts for the first time in three decades.. and it’s all down to an alien encounter
SHE was the British Debbie Harry who supported Michael Jackson and David Bowie and had an American No1 as well as a string of British hits in the 80s.
Now Kim Wilde, 57, who had a second career as a TV gardener for the BBC, is back with a poptastic album about her brush with aliens and her first full UK tour since 1982.
The comeback will evoke memories of the sultry blonde sex symbol who found fame with 1981 debut Kids in America, which she followed with timeless new wave classics like Chequered Love, Water on Glass, Cambodia and View from a Bridge.
But for Kim, one of the keys to fame was never to buy too much into her public image.
She said: “Of course I knew the effect I was having as a sex symbol but I never took myself very seriously when I played up to it, which I did a lot.
“The only pressure these days is from myself as I try to age gracefully but with a proper amount of dare and humour.”
Fans weren’t the only ones to take notice of Kim, who topped the US charts with a reworked version of The Supremes’ You Keep Me Hangin’ On in 1986.
Michael Jackson, at the time the biggest superstar on the planet, invited her to support him on his 1988 Bad tour in Europe, performing on 36 shows.
She said: “I only met him briefly backstage for a publicity photograph while in Munich.
“He seemed very sweet and shy, sadly not in the mood for chatting, but then again he was just about to perform for hundreds of thousands of people.
“My little brother and sister who were nine and seven at the time, met him before I did and went on stage with him and a small gang of children to sing and dance along to Bad at the concert in Rotterdam, it was magical.”
Kim also supported David Bowie across Europe on his Greatest Hits tour in 1990.
As a huge fan, she was hoping to hit it off with the Thin White Duke – but he only had eyes for future wife Iman. Kim said: “On several occasions he’d pop his head into my dressing room to wish me a good show, before heading off to drink strong coffee and wow the crowds.
“I had been a huge fan since Hunky Dory (in 1971), and loved singing along to all his incredible hits every night.
“I remember I had a massive crush on him but he was falling madly in love with Iman at the time so I didn’t stand a chance.”
While she never toured with Blondie, she has met Debbie Harry – the singer whose look and style she emulated at the start of her career.
She said: “I met Debbie about five years ago at a festival in Germany. She was walking towards me as I came off stage and congratulated me on a great gig.
“Debbie Harry inspired me to go blonde while I was at art college and has inspired songs on my new album too. She’s a legend in every sense of the word and I adore her.”
Kim is the eldest child of 50s rocker Marty Wilde and, after studying at art college, followed her dad’s career path.
Her debut Kids in America was written by her dad and brother Ricky, who also produced the single – beginning a musical relationship with her sibling which has lasted ever since.
The track is a timeless classic and has been covered by the Foo Fighters, as well as featuring on video game Grand Theft Auto.
“My favourite cover,” said Kim, “is by Lawnmower Deth, who did a thrash metal version in 1991.”
Kim remembers the early 80s with great fondness. She said: “I loved it. Sometimes growing up in public was a bit tough but I’m made of tougher stuff.”
While she may have appeared crawling