LIVE REVIEW: Kim Wilde – Astor Theater Perth 22 October 2024

2016 was the last time Kim Wilde performed in front of a Perth audience on this very stage, and tonight you got the feeling that some of them were counting down the days almost to the day until her return in just 8 years. The Astor is in “concert mode” tonight, meaning the seats have been removed, which of course gave us all plenty of room to dance – what else could you do at a Kim Wilde show?

With a setlist spanning a career spanning five decades and spanning 15 studio albums, with another due out at the end of January, there’s something for fans of every era. Before the show, the anticipation was confirmed by a line around the block excitedly sharing memories and moments, and it was great to see a range of ages in the line for what must have been close to a full house. Many, of course, saw Kim at one time, but for many it was a big premiere!

Tonight, without support, Kim and the band took the stage at 8:30 sharp. Kim sported her signature blonde curled bob in a red and black outfit, paired with dark wraparound sunglasses and boots. The roof almost lifts as she takes center stage and the band launches into “Rage to Love” from its fourth album, Teases and Dares. This is a rocker that starts the set with a lot of energy and immediately sends the crowd into overdrive.

“Never Trust A Stranger” isn’t far behind: the band is on point and Kim delivers impeccable vocals (despite rumors that she was not feeling well) this is a great sign of things to come when, no matter how you look at it, everyone is focused on the stage and singing along. “Water On Glass,” her third single and first song since her 1981 debut, received thunderous applause, and Kim simply beamed back at us. The Astor is a great place to spend the evening tonight.

And in a set that continues to make you realize what a career Kim has made – “Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Love)” has us buzzing and most dancing while the rest of us look on frozen. The sound today is great and the band aren’t afraid to deliver some amazing moments amidst the poppier, darker numbers.

Kim’s banter is wonderful on stage, she talks about Perth and visiting Kings Park and comes across, as in my pre-tour interview (check it out on the website or YouTube), as completely positive, humble and a little touching. filthy! Audiences love it until the bad stuff gets in the way of “Words Fell Down,” a song that was an unexpected gem from Wilde’s second album, Select. You can never tell by the sing-along numbers that it was meant to be this way!

“The Second Time”, another one from “Tease and Dare” (I’d love to hear Bladerunner too!) segues into M’s “Pop Muzik”, making it a little more ’80s, adding a bright splash of vintage joy to the song. The first of the incredibly well-chosen cover versions of his career was the Bee Gees album “If I Can’t Have You” (I’ve always preferred Yvonne Elliman’s version to the Bee Gees’ version.) and sees the last of those sitting on their feet!

Kim takes to the microphone again to lighten the mood with tales of previous visits to our shores and news of a new album in the new year, a follow-up to 1988’s Close called Closer. We get an idea of ​​what’s to come when the band plays “Trail Of Destruction” before it, although we hear “Four Letter Word” and “Love in the Natural Way” from “Close” and the softer “Yours Till the End” from “Close”. new album “Here Come the Aliens”.

More conversation follows and Kim talks for a long time before her brother reminds her that it’s a small matter of introducing the group she forgot! And what a band she has behind her that is doing a wonderful job of reproducing and even expanding the catalogue. The key to the sound, of course, is brother Ricky and her niece Scarlett, a writer herself.

We go back to the 90’s for the wonderful “Love is Holy” before the next track from Close, “Stone”. Although it was “Cambodia” that arguably drew the biggest applause, even those in the back were back on their feet. “Cambodia” has always been one of those beautiful moments in time—a song that doesn’t sound like the pop or rock that Kim is synonymous with. It’s obvious that he still occupies a large part of everyone’s hearts here.

The selection of songs before the encore sort of sums up much of Kim’s appeal – that wonderful 80s retro pop sound, the energy and crash of the guitar, the sing-along choruses and the perfectly chosen cover, which in this case is wonderful. HOURThe composition olland-dozier-holland, made famous by The Supremes – “You keep me on my toes.” But it comes after the classic double whammy of “View From A Bridge” and “Chequered Love” that lift the crowd a little higher.

Most artists have nowhere to go from there, but Kim and her group do. Returning to the stage for an encore, resplendent in a sparkling red cape and captain’s cap, she looks like the sparkling denizen of an updated ’80s Flash Gordon film. In the song “You Came”, cracks form around the roof as everyone inside begins to sing along to the song. If you could bottle this, you might even have an antidote to today’s negative society.

We can only end with one song, of course, and as the synths pulsate with the intro to Kim’s first smash hit, “Kids in America,” it’s a song I’ll never get tired of, and it reminds me of my teenage self with the Kim Wilde poster. on my wall. I see that even the crew and staff were singing, and when the band bowed, the crowd erupted. What a wonderful way to spend a spring night in Perth. With the promise of returning, perhaps even next year, and with a new album due out at the end of January, it’s a great time to become a fan of Kim Wilde’s Downunder.

All I can say is if you have tickets to tomorrow’s sold out Adelaide show you’ll be in for a night to remember and if you’re thinking about attending the final show of the tour in Melbourne then grab your tickets now!