Kim Wilde is a pop musician (born Kim Smith on 18 November 1960 in Hertford… Read Full Bio ↴Kim Wilde is a pop musician (born Kim Smith on 18 November 1960 in Hertfordshire, UK) that's the daughter of 50s singer Marty Wilde. She released her debut single, "Kids In America", in 1981 at the age of 21. The song was written by both her father and her brother, Ricky. Ironically, Kim had never been to America at the time. "Kids In America" was a huge success in the United Kingdom and around the world, being a U.K. #2 hit. Her debut album, 'Kim Wilde', (released on RAK records) came out in July 1981 and stayed in the U.K. album charts for 14 weeks, peaking at number 3 and getting much acclaim. Two more hits from her debut were released: "Chequered Love" and "Water on Glass".

Picking up fame as a part of the popular 'new wave' movement, her second album, 'Select', was released in May 1982. It contained the hits "Cambodia" and "View From a Bridge". Her third album (and last album with RAK), was 'Catch as Catch Can', which came out in November 1983. Sadly, it wasn't much of a success, though tracks "Love Blonde" and "Dancing In the Dark" from the album became minor hits.

When Kim signed with MCA records in 1984, many doubting critics believed that her run of hits were over. Simply put, they were wrong. Kim's first album with MCA, 'Teases & Dares', came out in November 1984. Though not a huge commercial success as an album, it earned praising critical reviews and much fan support while also including three hit singles. Popular tune "Rage To Love" became Wilde's first top 20 hit in two years.

In October 1986, Kim released a cover of The Supremes song You Keep Me Hangin' on - it was a huge hit, number 2 in the UK and in the singles chart for 14 weeks, even better the song got to number 1 in the USA. Kim was now a superstar around the globe. Another Step (her 5th studio album) was released in Nov 1986 and spent 5 weeks in the UK charts. The title track Another Step (Closer to You), (a duet with Junior) and Say You Really Want Me were also singles.

In June 1988, Kim released her most successful studio album to date Close which spent 38 weeks in the UK album charts. Close contained 3 top ten hits You Came, Never Trust A Stranger and Four Letter Word. Around this time Kim was the support act on Michael Jackson's huge Bad tour.

Her 7th and 8th albums, 1990's Love Moves and 1992's Love Is did not match the success of Close, however Love Is boasted another top 20 hit single with the Rick Nowels penned Love Is Holy.

In September 1993, MCA released the first 'official' greatest hits album called The Singles Collection 1981-1993 (which contained all her biggest hits from the RAK years as well as the more recent MCA hits and two brand new singles If I Can't Have You, a top twenty hit in July 1993 (a cover version of the Yvonne Elliman classic) and the Kim penned In My Life.

In 1995, Kim released her 9th studio album Now and Forever, it was not a hit album in the UK but suffered no promotion. It contained two top 50 hits Breakin' Away and This I Swear.

In 1996, Kim released Shame, a cover of the disco song made famous by Evelyn "Champagne" King. Unfortunately the song failed to dent the UK top 100.

In 2001, to celebrate the release of another greatest Hits album, Kim released a new song Loved, co-written by Ronald & Masterton who are famous for their work with Dannii Minogue. Sadly Loved failed to enter the UK singles chart.

Kim is still making music and is also equally famous for her gardening skills. She continues to have success in Europe and had a huge hit in 2003 with Anyplace Anywhere Anytime, a duet with Nena.

In 2006 Kim released a studio album, "Never Say Never." The album includes new tracks and some remixes and remakes of classic Kim songs such as You Came, Cambodia and Kids In America. Also for the new album called Never Say Never Kim has re-recorded You Keep Me Hangin' On as a duet with Nena.

In 2018 she released "Here Come The Aliens," which is in a pop-rock style. Reviewing the album for MusicPlayers.com, Scott Kahn states "There’s not a weak song to be found in this collection of pop rock songs. We love that Here Comes The Aliens has the vibe of a real rock record, with strong musical performances throughout."

Real Life
Kim Wilde Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wanna know if it's real love
Do you feel the same?
I wanna know if you're calling
Out of hope or pain?
I wanna know if real love
Never fades away
I wanna know how it ends

'Cause you've got a story to tell
With tears on every page
There's so much left to say and do
But I know
That the story's gonna change
If I could write it all again
I'd save the final page for you

I wanna start a new chapter
I wanna write some more
I wanna know if your character
Feels anger or remorse
I wanna change the ending
From tragic to romance
I wanna learn how to read you

'Cause you've got a story to tell

Do you know this isn't fiction
Do you know this story's true
Do you realise this is real life
Do you know that I still love you
Do you know that I still do
Do you realise this is real life

I wanna know if real love
Never fades away
I wanna know how it ends

'Cause you've got a story to tell

Do you know this isn't fiction?
'Cause you know I got a story to tell
It's not for anybody else

I read it all tonight
Each word to you

Overall Meaning

In the lyrics of Kim Wilde's song Real Life, the singer expresses her desire to know if the love she shares with her partner is true and lasting. She questions whether her partner's actions are motivated by hope or pain and whether their love is strong enough to never fade away. The singer also longs to change the ending of their story from tragic to romantic and wishes to understand her partner's character better. Through these lyrics, the singer reveals her vulnerability and her hope for a deeper connection with her partner.

The song's chorus repeatedly emphasizes that her partner has a story to tell, a narrative that is not fictional but rather real life. The lines "Do you know this isn't fiction? / Do you know I got a story to tell" show that the singer acknowledges the complexity of their relationship and the unspoken emotions and experiences they share. The final line "Each word to you" suggests that the singer is speaking directly to her partner, sharing her thoughts and feelings in an attempt to bridge any distance between them.

One interesting fact about the song is that it was released as a single in 1990 but did not chart as high as some of Kim Wilde's earlier hits. However, the song has since become a fan favorite and is often performed live by the singer. Another interesting tidbit is that the song was co-written by Wilde and her brother Ricki, whom she had not collaborated with for several years. Real Life was also remixed and released in dance versions by DJs such as Nick Scott and K-Klass. Additionally, the song's music video features stunning views of the Scottish highlands and was directed by English filmmaker Daniel Kleinman, who went on to direct the opening credits for numerous James Bond films.

Chords (as played in the original recording):

Intro: Am7 - C - G - D (x2)

Verse: Am7 - C - G - D (x4)
Chorus: Am7 - C - G - D (x4)

Bridge: F - G - C - Am7 - F - G - Dsus2 - D

Outro: Am7 - C - G - D (x4)

Line by Line Meaning

I wanna know if it's real love
Is our love genuine and not just infatuation or physical attraction?

Do you feel the same?
Is your love for me as deep and genuine as mine for you?

I wanna know if you're calling out of hope or pain?
Are you reaching out to me because you're hoping for a future together, or are you hurting and seeking comfort?

I wanna know if real love never fades away
Can we be sure that our love will endure the test of time and not wither away?

I wanna know how it ends
What does the future hold for us? Will our love survive or will it come to an end?

'Cause you've got a story to tell with tears on every page
You have a troubled past filled with emotional pain and challenges, and I want to understand it all to help us move forward.

There's so much left to say and do, but I know that the story's gonna change
There's a lot of unfinished business between us, and although I'm not sure how it will all play out, I know that things won't stay the same.

If I could write it all again, I'd save the final page for you
If I could go back in time, I'd make different choices and ensure that our love story has a happy ending.

I wanna start a new chapter, I wanna write some more
I want to move forward with you, leave the past behind, and create new memories together.

I wanna know if your character feels anger or remorse
I want to understand your personality traits and emotions, even if some of them are negative, so that we can work through them together.

I wanna change the ending from tragic to romance
I want to turn our story around from being filled with sadness and disappointments to one that's filled with love and happiness.

I wanna learn how to read you
I want to understand you better, so that I can anticipate your needs and feelings and be a supportive partner.

Do you know this isn't fiction?
Do you realize that our love story is not a work of imagination, but rather a real-life journey that we are experiencing together?

'Cause you know I got a story to tell, It's not for anybody else, I read it all tonight, Each word to you
I have my own story to share with you, one that I've kept to myself. I want to confide in you and let you in on my deepest thoughts and emotions so that we can deepen our relationship.

Do you realize this is real life?
Do you understand that this is not a movie or a book, but rather our real-life experiences and emotions that we're sharing?

Do you know that I still love you, Do you know that I still do?
I want to reaffirm my love for you and ensure that you know that it's still strong and unwavering.

Contributed by Isabelle F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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