Kim Wilde’s five tips to survive the festive season
By Nick Bond
Kids In America
singer Kim Wilde’s journey to releasing her first Christmas album wasn’t quite as calculated as, say, that of divas like Mariah Carey or Kylie Minogue. No record company market research here – rather, Kim’s association with Christmas came when footage emerged of she and her brother, both merrily, gloriously drunk, entertaining passengers on the tube during the 2012 festive season.
From a slightly off-kilter rendition of Kids In America to an equally wobbly take on Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, the clip quickly went viral (it’s since been watched more than 2 million times) and showed that Kim Wilde is a woman who REALLY knows how to enjoy the festive season.
By the next Christmas, she’d logically recorded her first holiday album, Wilde Winter Songbook. Crucially, she’d laid off the sherry before hitting the recording studio, making for a polished listening experience than she delivered during that raucous tube journey.
The album is getting a deluxe edition re-release just in time for this Christmas, and to celebrate, we’ve enlisted Kim Wilde herself to give us her top five tips on how to survive the festive season:
KIM WILDE’S CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL TIPS
1. Music of course! If I wasn’t listening to my album I’d be listening to RuPaul’s Christmas album – me and my daughter Rose have seen every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Can I get an Amen! And of course my buddy Tony Hadley’s new Christmas album will help you get through festivities. He’s got guts going into that Jungle, I’d be terrified of doing it myself – of the celebrities more than the critters!
2. A relentless supply of antlers for home guests, and definitely if you intend to make any journeys on public transport late at night (combined with a hip flask of lychee martini cocktail).
3. Put on your Christmas onesie, grab some mulled wine, sea salted caramel popcorn and watch Love Actually – an irresistible cocktail of romance and humour.
4. I love taking my dogs for a long walk on Christmas Day especially as its our first Christmas with our new Airedale puppy Beau who I’m obsessed with and is my baby.
5. Have a game of consequences – no holds barred, as inappropriate as you like and laugh your way through to the Queen’s speech. I hope she is wearing lemon this Christmas; that colour suits her best!
And, as an added bonus for Attitude readers, here’s an EXCLUSIVE clip of Kim performing one of the songs from her Christmas album, the festive carol Deck The Halls:
Deck The Halls from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.
The re-relase of Kim Wilde’s Christmas album, Wilde Winter Songbook Deluxe Edition, is out now and includes a bonus DVD. Kim performs at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 18th December with special guests Heaven 17 and Altered Images. For more information go to KimWilde.com.