HANGIN’ ON
around in the jungle dirt in the video for Cambodia, Kim didn’t have to wear next to nothing like today’s young female pop stars.
But she still believes the skimpily-dressed stars are serving as role models for younger fans.
She said: “Rihanna and Miley (Cyrus) look incredibly toned and fit to me – a lot of young people would do well to aim to be as healthy in this age of obesity.”
What does she think about another aspect of modern pop music – reality shows such as The X Factor?
“I expect I would have thought about (entering),” Kim said. “Sometimes it is a really good thing to jump in at the deep end. You invariably come up stronger, whatever the outcome.”
It’s nearly three decades since she last had a UK top 10 album, 1988’s Close, but there’s a real buzz about Here Come The Aliens, which is released next week.
Radio 2 made the album’s first single Pop Don’t Stop record of the week. Kim said: “I can’t even tell you how happy it makes me to hear our record on the radio again.”
Ricky duets on the tune and while other musical siblings in The Kinks and Oasis are famous for falling out, he and Kim have been pals and music partners for four decades.
She added: “We virtually work telepathically in the studio. Falling out is a lazy way of dealing with relationships, especially with those you love – sometimes you’ve just got to put in the extra hours.”
They began working on Here Come The Aliens in 2014 after Kim had her own close encounter.
She said: “The album is a direct response to an encounter I had in 2009 in Hertfordshire, where I live. I was in our garden and looked up into the sky and saw phenomenal lights, at times static and at other times moving unbelievably fast.
“Locals also witnessed this happening and the story made our local paper. I am convinced we are not alone and that it is just a matter of time before we have confirmation of that.”
Fans will get to hear the new album when Kim goes on her first major UK tour since 1982, although she’s been playing live shows such as Rewind since 2001.
She said: “I’ve played Rewind at Scone Palace several times and was overwhelmed by the Scottish fans’ reaction.
“This tour is my first for 30 years and a visit to Scotland is long overdue – but a Kim Wilde gig anywhere is long overdue.
“I remember driving up to Scotland with my dad and asking for porridge at the B&B where we stayed and being so surprised it had salt in it.”
Mention of the Scottish scenery turns talk to her second love: gardening. It was when the mum of two was pregnant with her first child, and she decided to create a garden for her family, that she became green fingered.
Kim appeared on BBC’s Garden Invaders and in 2005 won a gold award at Chelsea Flower Show.
She said: “I still love gardening. It began as a kind of therapy for me, before becoming a career of sorts, but has now returned to a private passion where I prefer it to be.” ● Here Come The Aliens is out on March 16. Kim plays the Old Fruit Market in Glasgow on April 2.
It’s a direct response to an encounter I had in 2009. I was in our garden and looked up and saw phenomenal lights in the sky