Kim Wilde turned 61 today. Other than “Kids in America”, are you familiar with “Chequered Love”?
“Chequered Love” is the second single and was released in the spring of 1981 to follow Wilde’s successful debut “Kids in America”. Written by her father Marty and brother Ricky, it became another hit for Wilde, reaching the number four on the UK Singles Chart, number one in South Africa (succeeding “Kids in America”) and has sold over a million copies worldwide.
The lyrics are about how opposites attract and were inspired by Kim’s parents who are very different people. “Chequered Love” featured in the end credits of the 2011 British comedy film Chalet Girl.
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith) holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles throughout the decade. A number of artists have performed covers of Kim Wilde Songs, ranging from pop and rock to dance and death metal versions. “Kids in America” was covered by Foo Fighters, Tiffany, Bloodhound Gang, Cascada, etc.
Wilde has also provided inspiration for other artists, including Charlotte Hatherley, who wrote a song about her entitled “Kim Wilde”. East German punk rock band Feeling B also recorded a song called “Kim Wilde”, which featured on their debut album. In 1985, French singer Laurent Voulzy paid tribute to Wilde in his song “Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde” (“Nights Without Kim Wilde”). In her graphic novel Persepolis, Iranian cartoonist Marjane Satrapi has a comic strip titled Kim Wilde. In it the main character Marji, a young Iranian girl, sings “Kids in America” in the streets of the Iranian capital.
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. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show.
Happy birthday, Kim Wilde!
PS: I don’t know, I always think Kim Wilde’s guitarist, he’s somewhere between Steve Stevens & Benjamin Orr (ha!).
⢠Read also ALL FEMALE VOCALISTS: YOU KEEP ME HANGINâ ON.
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Featured image: last.fm.
Text: Pitchfork, Wikipedia.
