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

Chart performance

Album

Teases & Dares spent only two weeks in the UK Albums Chart, entering at number 66 for the week ending 17 November 1984, and falling to number 79 the week after.[4] The album spent ten weeks on the U.S. Billboard album charts and reached its peak position of No. 84 in early March 1985.[5]

Chart
(1984)		 Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[4] 66
US Billboard Chart[5] 84
Swiss Top 100 Albums[6] 10
Swedish Albums Chart[6] 35

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1984 "The Second Time" UK Singles Chart[4] 29
Dutch Singles Chart[7] 23
Swiss Singles Chart[7] 7
"The Touch" UK Singles Chart[4] 56
Dutch Singles Chart[8] 34
1985 "Go For It"
("The Second Time" US title)		 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 65
"Rage to Love" UK Singles Chart[4] 19

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[10] Gold 25,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^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. "Kim Wilde - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  5. "Billboard 200: March 9, 1985". Billboard.com. Billboard. 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  6. "KIM WILDE – TEASES & DARES (ALBUM)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  7. "KIM WILDE – THE SECOND TIME (NUMMER)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  8. "KIM WILDE – THE TOUCH (NUMMER)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  9. "Kim Wilde Album & Song Chart History". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  10. "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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