By 1986 Kim Wilde was writing more of her own material, with her fifth album 'Another Step' featuring mostly songs that she wrote herself or co-wrote, and although the album's lead single 'Schoolgirl' flopped in Europe and Australia, her Hi-NRG remake of The Supremes' classic 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' was a huge success, topping the charts in Australia and Canada, and peaking at number two in the UK. It also belatedly hit number one on the US Billboard chart in 1987, and with that hit she became the fifth UK female solo artist ever to top the US Hot 100, following Petula Clark, Lulu, Sheena Easton, and Bonnie Tyler. Her popularity, especially in her native UK, was revitalised and she scored further Top 10 hits in 1987 with 'Another Step (Closer to You)' and the Comic Relief charity single 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, recorded with comedian Mel Smith as Mel & Kim. In 1988 she released her biggest selling album to date, with 'Close' returning her to the UK top 10, spending almost eight months on the UK album chart. It produced four major European hits in 'Hey Mister Heartache', 'You Came', 'Never Trust A Stranger' and 'Four Letter Word', and she toured the album throughout Europe as the opening act for Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour. In 1990 she released her next album 'Love Moves', but she found that the public can be very fickle, with the record barely making the UK Top 40, and only spawning two minor hit single. A collaboration with Rick Nowels, who had produced hits for Stevie Nicks and Belinda Carlisle, resulted in the guitar-driven pop of the single 'Love Is Holy', and the 1992 album 'Love Is', but once again the album's success was limited to a small number of countries, though the single was another Top 20 hit in the UK. In 1994 Wilde embarked on a huge "Greatest Hits" concert tour throughout Europe, Australia and Japan, but her next album 'Now & Forever' was a commercial failure worldwide, and after a couple more relatively unsuccessful singles she took a year off from February 1986 to February 1987 to appear in the West End production of the musical 'Tommy'. Since 2001, Wilde has resumed her singing career, releasing records and touring, while at the same time reviving an old interest in gardening and appearing on TV gardening programmes 'Better Gardens' and 'Garden Invaders', as well as writing two books on the subject. This second collection of non-album singles and b-sides takes us up to that Greatest Hits tour in 1994, and includes a number of fine self-penned songs from the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980's.
Track listing
01 Loving You (b-side of 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' 1986)
02 Songs About Love (b-side of 'Schoolgirl' 1986)
03 Hold Back (b-side of 'Another Step (Closer To You)' 1987)
04 Tell Me Where You Are (b-side of 'Hey Mr. Heartache' 1988)
05 Wotcha Gonna Do (b-side of 'Never Trust A Stranger' 1988)
06 Virtual World (b-side of 'It's Here' 1990)
07 Birthday Song (b-side of 'Love Is Holy' 1992)
08 I've Found A Reason (b-side of 'Heart Over Mind' 1992)
09 If I Can't Have You (single 1993)
10 Never Felt So Alive (b-side of 'If I Can't Have You' 1993)
11 In My Life (single 1993)
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