That Time Kim Wilde Saw A UFO
DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN – JUNE 20: Kim Wilde performs at the Isle Of Man Bay Festival on June 20, 2010 in Douglas, Isle Of Man. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
It was in 1981 that British Pop singer Kim Wilde first saw success with her breakthrough hit, Kids in America. Five years later, after receiving the Brit award for Best British Female Solo Artist, she had another hit with the Supremes cover, You Keep Me Hanging On. But success in the UK dwindled for years, until she released her 14th studio album, Here Come The Aliens. It was released in March of 2018 and was the first time an album of hers charted in the UK in 25 years, landing at number 21 on the charts.
There’s a cool family aspect to this album. Her brother (and long-time producer) produced it. Kim’s music career has always been a family affair, and she is often collaborating with her brother, Ricky Wilde and her father, Marty Wilde. Here they are when Kim was a kid, As you can see, music has always been a big party of their family.
Singer Marty Wilde with his wife Joyce and children, Ricky and Kim Wilde, October 20th 1964. (Photo by Terry Disney/Express/Getty Images)
But having a producer brother isn’t the most interesting part of this album. That honor goes to the inspiration behind it. And, from its title, you can probably figure out what that inspiration was. Yep, an alien encounter. More accurately, a UFO sighting.
[IgorZh] via Shutterstock
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Kim Wilde attends the VIP preview day of The Chelsea Flower Show at The Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 19, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
Kim said they looked up to see helicopters fly overhead, and wondered what they were chasing. She believes they were trying to track down what she saw next: an unfamiliar looking light in the sky that proceeded to dart back and forth. It was then accompanied by a smaller light and then vanished. A photo was captured by another onlooker and published in the local paper. And Kim credits this “life-changing” experience for inspiring her album that followed.
The song, also titled Here Comes The Aliens, is an upbeat recounting of her experience, with some twists and turns to the narrative. And we’re loving her live performance of it, which she did in a hot bodysuit fit for the Death Star.
Life must be interesting to be a musician. You never know where the inspiration for your next song will come from!
