Kim Wilde Newcastle City Hall 9th October 1982
Another (semi) guilty pleasure today? Kim Wilde burst onto the music scene in 1981 with her debut single “Kids in America”, which reached number two in the UK charts. Kim is, of course, the daughter of 1950s rock ‘n’ roller Marty Wilde. The single was a great catchy pop song with a new wave / rock’n’roll edge, and was promoted by a wonderful video of a pouting dancing Kim, accompanied by her brother Ricky and band. I went to see Kim in concert at Newcastle City Hall on her first UK tour, which took place in 1982. Support for the tour came from BB featuring Stevie B and Jo Burt, who had both been members of Tom Robinson’s Sector 27. By the time of this concert Kim had been in the singles chart on five occasions with, in addition to “Kids”, “Chequered Love”, “Water on Glass”, Cambodia” and “View from a Bridge”. All classic pop singles. The songs on Kim’s debut album were all written by Marty Wilde and her younger brother Ricky and most of the music was played (rather surreally 🙂 ) by The Enid! However, by the time she went out on tour, Kim had her own backing band, which wasn’t The Enid and featured her brother Ricky. 
The concert was great fun, and featured all of her hits. I found this short review on the Wilde Life site: “Her music is catchy, pleasant but not very memorable, and Kim Wilde’s first visit to Newcastle was much the same. But that is not to detract from Miss Wilde for at least she knows her limitations. She will never be Chrissie Hynde, for example. She has waited a long time before touring which is a measure of the concern she has to give of her best. And for her devoted fans the wait was worth it. The quality of sound was first class, and for a new band, the musicians knitted together extremely well. The highlights for me were “Water on glass”, “26580” and the encore number “Kids in America” – MR”.
I saw Kim once more, when she supported Michael Jackson at a massive concert at Leeds Roundhay Park, shortly after she had a UK No. 2 hit with her great version of the Supremes’ song “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.
Setlist: Water on glass; Tuning in tuning on; Our town; Everything we know; Take me tonight; Words fell down; When the boy’s happy (the girl’s happy too); View from a bridge; Child come away; Watching for shapes; You’ll never be so wrong; Boys; 26580; Falling out; Cambodia.
Encore: Kids in America.
Archive for the ‘KIm Wilde’ Category
20 Jan
Kim Wilde Newcastle City Hall 9th October 1982
3 Aug
Michael Jackson Roundhay Park Leeds August 29th 1988
Michael Jackson Roundhay Park Leeds
Ashleigh was massively into Michael Jackson around the release of his Bad lp. I aslo fancied seeing him, but his tour of the UK sold out straight away, before we decided we should go. So we agreed to drive to Leeds, on the off chance of picking tickets up outside Roundhay Park. It was actually quite difficult to buy tickets that day. There were touts outside the venue, but they were asking a lot more than face value for the tickets. We eventually managed to buy a couple of tickets for a reasonable price, and we excitingly entered the gates of Roundhay Park. Roundhay is a large park to the north of Leeds city centre, and has hosted concerts in the past by massive acts such as the Stones, Genesis and Springsteen. Laura, David and I went to see Robbie Williams there a good few years after this Michael Jackson gig. Support for Jackson came from Kim Wilde, who put in a good performance; but everyone was of course waiting for the main man. It was Michael’s Jackson’s 30th Birthday on the day of this concert, so it was a special event. He opened with Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, and played a selection of his well known songs, going right back to the days of the Jackson Five. He was, as you would expect, a great showman and performer, and the crowd loved him, cheering his every dance move. Ashleigh was just amazed by him. I enjoyed the gig, it was very spectacular with lots of fireworks and explosions, although I also remember that the sound was quite poor. 
From the Yorkshire Post: “More than 60,000 fans turned out for the concert which was hailed at the time by critics as perhaps the most dazzling two hours of showmanship ever witnessed in Britain. One reviewer wrote: “When the opening fanfare reached a climax he shot out of the stage in a Jack-in-a-box and stood motionless in front of a seas of adoring faces for a full two minutes.” Jackson returned to Roundhay a few years later as part of the Dangerous tour, although we didn’t attend that gig. Laura and I had tickets to see him at the London O2 gigs which never, of course, took place. Setlist: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’; This Place Hotel; Another Part of Me; I Just Can’t Stop Loving You; She’s Out of My Life; I Want You Back / The Love You Save / I’ll Be There; Rock With You; Human Nature; Smooth Criminal; Dirty Diana; Thriller; Bad Groove; Workin’ Day and Night; Beat It; Billie Jean; Bad. Encore: The Way You Make Me Feel; Man in the Mirror.
17 Dec
Status Quo, Roy Wood and Kim Wilde Newcastle Arena Dec 16 2011
Status Quo, Roy Wood and Kim Wilde Newcastle Arena Dec 16 2011
Quo at Xmas has become an annual event for me. This year’s end of year tour is entitled QuoFestive and sees the guys heading a three band bill alongside Roy Wood and Kim Wilde. They have also reduced the number of gigs on the tour and moved from a mix of theatres and arenas to a smaller number of arena gigs. This is going to be the pattern for the future, so instead of visiting the City Hall, Quo are at Newcastle Metro Arena.Â
I arrived around 8pm, which meant I missed Kim Wilde and Roy Wood had just started. I am a big fan of  Roy and the Move, and saw him support Quo in Sheffield a couple if years ago. His set was good, and he got the crowd going, finishing with that Xmas song.
Quo came on stage around 9pm and played their usual set, with a few small changes from last year. Â The sound was clear and loud, and Francis was on good form, with the usual cheeky comments to the crowd. The show was usual Quo; good solid rock played perfectly. I enjoyed it more than I expected, but much prefer the City Hall as a venue. The encore saw the guys joined by Roy Wood and Kim Wilde for Winter Wonderland and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Good stuff. I must have seen Quo around 30 times now, and to be honest it is getting a little samey, but hey ho they are what they are, and they do it well. So will I go again next year? Of course I will.Â
Setlist: Caroline; Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like; The Wanderer; Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ You; Rain; Mean Girl; Beginning Of The End; Medley (What You’re Proposin’/Down The Dustpipe/Little Lady/Red Sky/Dear John); Big Fat Mama;
Two Way Traffic; The Oriental; Let’s Rock; Paper Plane; Living On An Island; In The Army Now; Drum Solo/The Killer; Roll Over Lay Down; Down Down; Whatever You Want; Rockin’ All Over The World
Encore: Burning Bridges; Walking In A Winter Wonderland; Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
I hate printed tickets
programme
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