Kim Wilde was born Kim Smith on 18 November 1960, and is the eldest child of 50's rock 'n' roller Marty Wilde and Joyce Baker, who had been a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls. When Kim was nine, the family moved to Hertfordshire, and after leaving Presdales School, she took a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design, completing it when she was 20. After leaving college she wanted so become a session backing singer, but RAK Records owner Mickey Most had other ideas, and signed her to his label as a solo artist under the name of Kim Wilde. Virtually all of her material in the early to mid-80's was written by her father Marty and her brother Ricky, and key influences included Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Ultravox, John Foxx, Gary Numan, Skids, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Kraftwerk and the Stranglers, blending punk, new wave and synth-pop from the late 70's. Her debut single was released in January 1981, and 'Kids In America' was an instant success, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart and scaling the Top 5 in other countries such as Germany, France and Australia. Although it achieved only moderate success in the US, peaking at number 25 when released in 1982, it is often regarded today as her signature song, and her debut album 'Kim Wilde' repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in 'Chequered Love' and the UK-only single 'Water On Glass'. 'Select' followed in 1982, led by the hit singles 'View From A Bridge' and 'Cambodia', with the latter sparking some controversy over the lyrics referencing the Operation Menu bombing during the Vietnam war, but despite that it sold a million copies in France alone. Unusually for someone with two hit albums under their belt, Wilde was reluctant to do a live tour, and so her first concerts took place in September 1982 in Denmark, before embarking on a UK-wide tour in October. Wilde's third album 'Catch As Catch Can' appeared in 1983, but failed to equal the success of the previous two, although the first single from the album 'Love Blonde' was another success in France and Scandinavia, although it didn't really perform well in other countries. The relative failure of the album led to her leaving RAK and signing with MCA Records in the summer of 1984, and her first album for the label was 'Teases & Dares', which was once again overlooked in her home country, faring much better in Germany, France and Scandinavia. As well as scoring another German Top 10 single with 'The Second Time', the third single from the album, the rockabilly 'Rage To Love', finally returned her to the UK top 20 in 1985. It was on 'Teases & Dares' that Wilde made her first songwriting contributions, penning 'Fit In' and 'Shangri-La', and 1983 saw the start of four years of constant touring, completing three European concert tours in 1983, 1985 and 1986. On nearly all of her early singles, the b-sides were not taken from the current album, and Japanese fans were even treated to a bonus track on their edition of the 'Select' album, so this collection includes all those songs, alongside a couple of out-takes, plus her contribution to the soundtrack of the hit 1985 film 'Weird Science'.
Track listing
01 Shane (b-side of 'Chequered Love' 1981)
02 Boys (b-side of 'Water On Glass' 1981)
03 Watching For Shapes (b-side of 'Cambodia' 1981)
04 Child Come Away (single 1982)
05 Just Another Guy (b-side of 'Child Come Away')
06 He Will Be There (out-take 1982)
07 Bitter Is Better (bonus track on Japanese edition of 'Select' 1982)
08 Back Street Driver (b-side of 'Dancing In The Dark' 1983)
09 Rain On (out-take 1983)
10 Lovers On A Beach (b-side of 'The Second Time' 1984)
11 Putty In Your Hands (b-side of 'Rage To Love' 1985)
12 Turn It On (from the soundtrack of the film 'Weird Science' 1985)
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