“Brilliant, honest, and brave”: Kim Wilde picked her favourite album by The Beatles
Growing up, Kim Wilde was like any other music-loving kid in 1960s England. This was the decade that saw The Beatles tearing up the playbook, showing young and impressionable minds the exciting nature of fame and fortune. 1950s rock ‘n’ roll might have altered the stale parameters of musical segregation, but the 1960s platformed the power of an entirely new beast—the birth of youth culture.
During this time, The Beatles did more than just break down barriers. Their innovative style and sophisticated songwriting redefined the possibilities of pop rock, setting standards for artistic expression while teaching young audiences all about liberation and individuality. They represented the hopes and dreams of an entire generation, providing solace in the face of political adversity.
Wilde was no different, growing up experiencing endless songs by the Fab Four leaking out of her family car radio as she drove up to Liverpool to visit her grandmother. We all remember what it’s like to stare outside of a car window as a child, coasting down the highway, the music appearing to soundtrack the thoughts and feelings existent only in one perfect coming-of-age moment. For Wilde, songs like ‘Penny Lane’ provided vivid imagery within her formative memories.
Later, Wilde would discover the beauty that lies within the subtle lines of Carole King’s Tapestry, alongside Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions. She would take what her father, Marty Wilde, had loved and cherished, including the sounds of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, and learn to establish her own mentors. However, The Beatles provided the necessary gap in order to do so.
The Beatles, to Wilde, were more than a pit stop; they were a gateway to a world of artistic possibility and emotional resonance. Their music was a constant companion that accompanied her through pivotal moments of her youth, parallel lines that taught her about youthful rebellion and unity, about the upsides of pursuing the American dream, and the adventure that often came hand-in-hand with escape.
In other words, they were her guiding principle during a time when her future as a female musical trailblazer was yet to be ignited. She has a lot of favourites to choose from, of course, but the album that best represents her eternal love for the Fab Four, she once revealed, is The White Album. “[It’s] is eclectic, brilliant, honest and brave. I grew up with The Beatles and love them with all my heart,” she told Goldmine.
The White Album is, of course, one of The Beatles’ most eclectic efforts, a quality that likely appealed to a young Wilde who was absorbing various musical influences like an insatiable sponge. Not only this, but many of the songs are incredibly catchy, which, for a young person, is like kryptonite. The tenderness of songs like ‘Blackbird’ and ‘I Will’ also offers a more poignant side to The Beatles, the kind that once heard stays with you for a long, long time.
The rich and diverse nature of Wilde’s later music reflects the same allure she admired in The Beatles, but it also incorporates something even more profound—critiques and celebrations of youthful attitudes and breaking the rules.
