Kim Wilde Songs Ranked

Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ, and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single “Kids in America”, which reached number two in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK number two hit with a reworked version of the Supremes’ song “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK singles chart. Her other hits include “Chequered Love” (1981), “You Came” (1988), and “Never Trust a Stranger” (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song “Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime”, which topped the Dutch charts. Worldwide, Wilde has sold over 10 million albums and 20 million singles. She holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles. 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 and Channel 4. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. Here are all of Kim Wilde’s songs ranked.

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14. The Second Time (Teases & Dares, 1984)

“Undeterred by the relative failure of “Dancing in the Dark” in late 1983, Kim was given the full 80’s production number on “The Second Time” as if to drag her sound into synch with everything else that was going on. And while the sound is dated, oddly enough I find that I like this better than most, probably because there’s actually a strong song in there which manages to survive being smothered by technology.”

13. If I Can’t Have You (The Singles Collection 1981–1993, 1993)

“Look at the cover! Kim is hot. And her cover of “If I Can’t Have You” is really great. In her career, Kim has recorded many boring and uninspired songs, but “If I Can’t Have You” has a hit written all over it. The arrangement, production, beats and Kim’s voice are great. I think, it’s better than original.”

12. Water On Glass (Kim Wilde, 1981)

“Big fan of this lovely lady. This is my favorite KW tune. The synth is haunting, brooding, almost lonely. Great vocals from an 80’s artist very much under appreciated.”

11. Child Come Away (Select, 1982)

“With her self-titled debut album, Kim Wilde put herself squarely at the forefront of new wave pop stars. Rather than recycle the formula that made Kim Wilde such a hit, however, she and her songwriting team of her brother and father opted to update their sound on Select.”

See more: Kim Wilde Albums Ranked

10. Chequered Love (Kim Wilde, 1981)

“I loved this song (and video) when it came out, but it stiffed in the US. Maybe because she went from singing about kids in America to releasing a song with a particularly un-American spelling. Anyway, it’s a great ride, from the tense opening to the ker-pow closing.”

9. Love is Holy (Love Is, 1992)

“Love Is Holy” is my all-time favourite Kim Wilde song. It was written by Rick Nowels (who had worked with Stevie Nicks and Belinda Carlisle before). “Love Is Holy” is a pure magic, with its wonderful (yet very simple) melody and sing along chours. It was one of the last big hits of Wilde’s career.”

8. You Came (Close, 1988)

“Wow! I love this song! It’s a typical 80’s bubblegum pop full with synthesizers and rather banal lyrics. It’s not complicated at all, but it’s so catchy, that you just can’t help yoourself from singing a line or two. For me, it’s the best single, that Wilde released during the 80’s.”

7. View from a Bridge (Select, 1982)

” “View from a Bridge” sounds frantic with its depiction of a girl on the brink of suicide, and the deep male vocal comes in again to add a dark streak.”

6. Love Blonde (Catch as Catch Can, 1983)

“It was certainly a brave move to release this jazzy, tongue-in-cheek song. As one could have predicted, some critics just simply didn’t get it, yet overall it was quite well-received by both critics and the record buyers. A quite chic little song with its roots in swing, it’s quite different from the material released by Wilde up until then. Charming in its own right, though perhaps not quite in my personal taste.”

5. Take Me Tonight (Select, 1982)

“The sultry temptress got all moody on this one because she’d spotted her boyfriend getting jiggy with someone else. The fool. ‘Take Me Tonight’ was raunch on a stick. You couldn’t help but say yes. I reckon my acceptance letter got lost in the post.”

4. Cambodia (Select, 1982)

“This is really one fine pop song, from the very start of the pounding drum beat, to the very last fade out. Interesting lyrics alluding to loss and longing, the final lines “… so now the years have passed and not a single word, there is only one thing left I know for sure, she will see his face again” puts the song sadly into perspective, amid a polished arrangement of early 80’s synth.”

3. Kids in America (Kids in America, 1981)

“This song has been done to death, covered nearly as many times as “Turning Japanese” even. Shall we name some of the alumni that has covered this just so you can realize that you do know this song after all? Bloodhound Gang, The Muffs, Lagwagon, The Bouncing Souls….did I make my point? “Kids In America” made for a great anthem type song, after all prostitutes had “Love Is A Battlefield” what were non-trick turners to use? I don’t recall Kim having much in the way of other hits, although I very well could be wrong, but being remembered for this song can’t be so bad.”

2. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Another Step, 1986)

“A couple of moments I particularly like in this are instead of going straight into the chorus like after verse one, the second verse has her hold the ending note a bit longer before launching into a semi-instrumental section (apart from ‘whoa-oa-oa’) – a simple but effective bit of variation. The switch into head-voice for ‘let me find somebody else’ in the third verse is also one little vocal moment I love. Besides that, yeah, monstrous groove, emotive vocal and fine sense of drama that serves the lyrics well.”

1. Never Trust a Stranger (Close, 1988)

“Kimmie’s star had long passed in the States by the time this one came out. Not her best, but it wouldn’t have been horribly out of place on the US airwaves had us Yanks not all forgotten about her by then. Well, aside from the fact it would have been than much else that was playing.”