BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981
NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!
Originally posted May 19, 2015
“Kids in America” is a song recorded by British singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982. It has been covered by many artists from different genres.
The song was recorded in 1980 after RAK Records boss Mickie Most heard Wilde singing on a backing track for her brother Ricky Wilde. He liked her voice and image and expressed an interest to work with her. Ricky Wilde, together with his father Marty Wilde (a 1950s/1960s rock and roll star) wrote the song “Kids in America” for Wilde to record. Once the demo was sent, Most remixed the track himself and released it on RAK as Wilde’s first single in January 1981.
The song peaked at number 2 in the United Kingdom. The following year it became a Billboard Hot 100 Top 30 hit in the United States and ranked as the 91st most successful song of 1982 on the Hot 100 year-end chart. In the summer of 1981, the track appeared on Wilde’s self-titled debut album.
The new wave song was the start of Wilde’s career. Her father and brother continued to write songs for her (with the latter also given production credits), although in later years Wilde herself and her brother would usually be credited with the songwriting.
In an interview, Kim laughed that when she recorded the song she had never even been to America.
The song was released as a 7″ in the UK and United States. Germany is the only country that a 12″ was issued.
SIDE A:
Kids In America 3:25
SIDE B:
Tuning In Tuning On 4:30
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Kids In America | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #25 |
| 1982 | Kids In America | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #29 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RAK – 1C 052-64 249 YZ
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: Jan 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Producer – Ricky Wilde
Written-By – M. Wilde*, R. Wilde*
NOTES:
Printed in Germany by 4P Nicolaus GmbH, Köln
Made in Germany.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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The next time I hear this track will be my first time, and my first exposure to Kim Wilde.
Thanks for the reup, Paul.
Just got around to playing this one and I can’t believe how good this rip sounds. I’ve heard this song a million times and have never heard it sounding so rich and spacious before. Just magnificent. And the b-side is one of my favorites of hers as well, so a nice bonus. Thank you!
Thanks for this!
Thanks fore the re-up!
You’re welcome 🙂
I’m curious, is there a reson for removing the rather quiet single kick right at the beginning of the song at 1 second? I always liked that because it sounded a bit… off, as if it was part of a transition from another song, which it wasn’t. I just checked and your original transfer absolutely still had that.
I thought it sounded like a click that was not supposed to be there so I removed it.
Such a tremendous song!! Thanks Paul for this re-rip. The rips as of late sound so incredible and this one will sound phenomenal!! This is a great way to start up the week!
Jeff
Thank you, Jeff 🙂
More Kimmie!! To think that all of Kim Wilde’s great accomplishments started in 1981 with the history above that led to this amazing song. Not only was this song so influential on its own, but all of the classics she released since then underscore an incredible career of fantastic music. Thanks for the great upload and the reminder of how Kim came to be at the hands of Mickie and Ricky. While she’s done a few updates to this song, the best is the 2006 version that takes the heart of Kids In America and updates it for the new… Read more »
You’re welcome, dugn 🙂