Teases & Dares

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Teases & Dares

Studio album by Kim Wilde

Released

1984

Professional reviews

All Music Guide link

Kim Wilde chronology

Catch As Catch Can
(1983)

Teases & Dares
(1984)

Another Step
(1986)

Teases & Dares is the fourth studio album by Kim Wilde, released in 1984.

In 1983, Kim Wilde left RAK Records, who had released her first three albums, and signed to MCA Records. Ricky and Marty Wilde produced this album together, and wrote most of the songs. However, it also featured for the first time two songs written and composed by Kim: "Fit In" and "Shangri-la", both made remarkable for their personal lyrics. "Fit In" was inspired by Kim's neighbours banging on the ceiling when she was playing a 12" single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Shangri-la" seemed to describe a longing for a place without a care.

At first, the singles taken from this album seemed to continue the trend of receding sales figures, as both "The Second Time" and "The Touch" were relatively unsuccessful. Still, "The Second Time" reached the Top 10 in Germany and was welcomed as her big comeback single. By the end of 1984, Kim was voted for the third time since 1981 "Most popular female popstar" by Germany's biggest teen magazine "Bravo", putting Madonna on hold in the lesser regions of that poll. In addition, "The Second Time" was Kim's second single to reach the U.S. charts — retitled "Go For It", it peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single, "Rage to Love" (remixed by Dave Edmunds), was Kim's first in three years to break the UK singles Top 20. By then, she had started her third live tour to mostly sold out halls all over Europe.

Kim's image changed from a girl wearing secondhand clothes and self-dyed hair to a Barbarella-inspired sci-fi goddess (by XL Design) for "The Second Time", which confused some fans who still regarded her as the girl-next-door. The album sleeve was cited as one of the reasons for weak sales, and Kim quickly switched back to an image she felt more comfortable in for the next two single releases. For "Rage To Love" promotion, she wore one of her father's Teddy Boy jackets; in keeping with the rockabilly retro theme of the song.

Wilde taking control of her own image seemed to be a wise choice, as the success of the next album would prove.