Ricky Wilde

Ricky Wilde (born Ricky Smith, 6 November 1961) is a British songwriter, musician, record producer and brother of singer Kim Wilde, and son of the singer and actor, Marty Wilde.

At the age of eleven, Wilde was signed by record producer Jonathan King to King's UK record label, and released his first single in November, 1972, called "I Am An Astronaut". King became his mentor and had great faith in Wilde and groomed him for stardom as the teenybopper star of 1973. Subsequent singles were "Do It Again, a Little Bit Slower", "I Wanna Go to a Disco" and "Teen Wave". [1] However, the singles were not successful in the UK, although he was featured in youth magazines at the time and appeared with his father alongside eleven years old pop rival Darren Burn in BBC Television's Man Alive documentary film Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, made in July, 1973. [2] He had some hits in Scandinavia and Spain at the time.

Recordings of new material in 1980 led to the 'discovery' of his sister Kim. Wilde's new role was that of producer and co-writer, a role he has fulfilled up until now. By his own admission, he was happy to be more in the background as of that moment. [3] After Kim Wilde paused her career in pop music, Ricki Wilde continued to work in the music industry. In 2005 he was one of the initiators of the band, Sonic Hub, and of the record label Sonic Hub Records.

With his wife Mandy he has two sons, Marty III (born in 1986) and Mason (born in 1997), and one daughter, Scarlett (born in 1989).

He is currently directing the film 'Shoot The DJ' as well as continuing his studio work. [4]

"I Am an Astronaut" was covered by Snow Patrol for the Save the Children compilation album, Colours Are Brighter; it also featured as a b-side to their single " Open Your Eyes". It was translated into Swedish, and recorded by 9-year-old Linus Wahlgren in 1985. The Swedish version was later covered by Wahlgren’s nephew Benjamin Ingrosso Wahlgren in 2007, also at 9 years of age. [5]

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