Teases & Dares

Teases & Dares is the fourth studio album by Kim Wilde, released in November 1984 via MCA Records. The song "Is It Over" featured in the film Fletch.

Teases & Dares
Studio album by
Kim Wilde
Released5 November 1984
StudioSelect Sound Studios, Knebworth, England
GenreHi-NRG, pop, pop rock
Length42:08
LabelMCA
ProducerRicki Wilde, Marty Wilde, Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde chronology
Catch as Catch Can
(1983)		 Teases & Dares
(1984)		 Another Step
(1986)
Singles from Teases & Dares
  1. "The Second Time"
    Released: 1 October 1984
  2. "The Touch"
    Released: 26 November 1984
  3. "Rage to Love"
    Released: 15 April 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Background

After leaving RAK Records, who had released her first three albums, Wilde signed to MCA Records in 1984. Her brother, Ricky Wilde, continued to serve as her producer, though was now assisted by their father, Marty Wilde, who also continued to co-write material. For the first time, Kim Wilde also received a co-producer credit and the album also marked the first time in which she earned a sole songwriting credit, for the tracks "Fit In" and "Shangri-La".

Three singles were taken from the album. "The Second Time" reached the UK Top 30 and the Top 10 in Germany, as well as becoming only her second single to reach the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, where it was retitled "Go for It" and peaked at No. 65. The second single from the album, "The Touch", was less successful but the third single, "Rage to Love" (remixed by Dave Edmunds), returned Wilde to the UK Top 20 for the first time in three years.

Image change

Prompted by her new record company, Wilde underwent a change of image for Teases & Dares and found herself being recast "in an entirely new light".[1] She changed from a girl wearing secondhand clothes with self-dyed hair, to a Barbarella-inspired sci-fi heroine (by XL Design) for the cover of "The Second Time". Though this was initially only for the single, MCA Records decided to use the new image for the album cover also, which Wilde objected to. She later claimed that the album sleeve was one of the reasons for its weak sales, stating that it confused members of her audience who still regarded her as the "girl next door". For subsequent single releases from the album, Wilde switched back to an image she identified more with. For the "Rage to Love" promotion, she wore one of her father's Teddy Boy jackets, in keeping with the rockabilly retro theme of the song.

Critical response

Billboard magazine praised Wilde for combining "techno-pop with a torch-styled edge" and described the sound as "somewhere between Sheena Easton and Debbie Harry".[2] Rolling Stone described the "randy" lyrics for "The Second Time", written by Wilde's brother and father, as "somewhat perverse" and found her "too bland and docile a singer to generate much heat or to enliven Ricki's stale wall-of-synths production." However, the reviewer reserved praise for Kim's self-written efforts, writing that "Fit In" and "Shangri-La" "have the passive, yearning tone of a jailhouse diary" and expressed hope that the "vivacious, earnest singer might be smart enough to cut loose her puppet strings."[3]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ricki Wilde and Marty Wilde, unless otherwise noted.

Side one
  1. "The Touch" – 4:13
  2. "Is It Over" – 3:56
  3. "Suburbs of Moscow" – 3:24
  4. "Fit In" (Kim Wilde) – 4:38
  5. "Rage to Love" – 4:20
Side two
  1. "The Second Time" – 3:54
  2. "Bladerunner" – 4:29
  3. "Janine" – 3:47
  4. "Shangri-La" (Kim Wilde) – 4:49
  5. "Thought It Was Goodbye" (Kim Wilde, Ricki Wilde, Marty Wilde) – 4:38

Bonus tracks (2010 remastered CD edition)
  1. "Lovers on a Beach" ("The Second Time" B-side)
  2. "Shangri-La" (Alternative Version)
  3. "Putty in Your Hands" ("Rage to Love" B-side)
  4. "Turn It On" (from the Weird Science soundtrack)
  5. "The Second Time" (7" Version)
  6. "The Touch" (7" Version)
  7. "Rage to Love" (7" Version)

Bonus CD (2010 remastered CD edition)
  1. "The Second Time" (12" Version)
  2. "Lovers on a Beach" (12" Version)
  3. "Go for It" (Extended Dance Version)
  4. "The Touch" (12" Version)
  5. "Shangri-La" (12" Version)
  6. "Go for It" (Dub Version)
  7. "Rage to Love" (12" Version)
  8. "Shangri-La" (Special Re-Mix)
  9. "The Second Time" (US Remix)

Personnel

All info taken from original LP

Musicians
  • Kim Wilde – vocals, solina, dx-7, mini-moog, Roland System 700m, Roland Jupiter 8, Polyfusion Modular system, Emu Emulator II, Fairlight CMI, Buchla Series 200, Memorymoog, Oberheim ob-8, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, arranger on "Fit In" and "Shangri-La", producer on "Fit In"
  • Ricki Wilde – producer, bass, harmonica, arranger, programming, backing vocals, synclavier, solina, dx-7, jupiter 8, mini-moog, fender jazz bass, guitar
  • Steve Byrd – guitar, backing vocals
  • Gary Twigg – bass
  • Andy Duncan – percussion
  • Christopher North – drums
Production
  • Marty Wilde – producer, arranger, backing vocals
  • Nigel Mills – engineer
  • John Shaw – photography

Charts
Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
European Albums (Music & Media)[4] 28
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] 22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 66
US Billboard 200[10] 84

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[11] Gold 25,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Mason, Stewart. "Kim Wilde – Teases & Dares". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  2. "Review – Teases & Dares". Billboard. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  3. "Review – Teases & Dares". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  4. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1 no. 37. 10 December 1984. p. 9. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  5. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  6. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kim Wilde – Teases & Dares" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  7. "Swedishcharts.com – Kim Wilde – Teases & Dares". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. "Swisscharts.com – Kim Wilde – Teases & Dares". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. "Kim Wilde Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  11. "Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music and Media. American Radio History Archive. 26 December 1987. p. 46. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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