"From New York to east California,
There's a new wave coming, I warn ya..."

Natural talent aside, it never hurts to have family in the industry. Take the case of Kim Wilde, the most successful solo female artist in the history of British music. Besides her pretty looks, pleasing voice, and ability to write catchy songs, music for her had always been a family affair. Her brother Ricky worked as produced at Britain’s RAK Records, her father, Marty, had been a successful singer in the earliest days of rock and roll her mom, Joyce, was a member of the British singing group, The Vernon Girls. It was only natural to enter into the family business and Kim soon proved that she had hit making potential.

 RAK Records first noticed Kim when she lent her voice to one of her brother’s demos. By 1981, at the age of 21, she was signed to her own recording contract and working on her self-titled debut album. An excursion into the synthesized world of electronic pop, her first album would produce five hit singles, most notably “Kids in America.” Featuring a vocal performance reminiscent of Blondie’s Deborah Harry atop a bed of driving synth tracks, the song not only won over audiences in the UK, but rose up to the Top-30 ranks on the US charts, with the help of an MTV video that received regular rotation. Kim Wilde was well on her way to stardom.

As she grew more mature, both in look and sound, it was time for a chance. In 1984, she joined the roster at MCA Records and continued to develop her unique blend of new wave electronica and pop hooks, all while staying solidly on the British charts. In 1986, she covered a classic Supremes tune, “You Keep Me Hanging On.” Giving the song a decidedly new persona and style, the song went to #2 in Britain and all the way to the top slot on the American charts. As a result, Kim became only the fifth female artist from England to reach the top of the coveted Billboard chart in America. Two years later, in 1988, she released her biggest selling album, Close, and later found herself traveling Europe as the opening act for the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson.

Kim continued to score hits well into the 90s, expanding her usual dance style to include more adult-oriented tunes.  But her days of touring didn’t mesh with her new foray into motherhood, so she decided to devote her attention to one of her other passions in life, gardening. She starred in the UK television series, Garden Invaders, and wrote a number of well-received books on the subject. By 2003, however, she was back in the studio, this time pairing up with the "99 Red Balloons" girl, Nena for another hit on the European charts called “Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime.  This led to a new recording contract in 2006 with EMI and an ambitious new album titled You Came 2006, which did fairly well in Europe. Of course, it is of little surprise that she was able to bounce right back up the charts. She was simply continuing on in the family business that she had embraced many years ago. And she will always be most fondly remembered for her contributions to the new wave electronica scene of the late 80s, where she most certainly made her stylish mark.