Kim Wilde thrilled to duet with 'icon' Boy George

Kim Wilde is so glad she got “icon” Boy George on her recent single ‘Shine On’.

The ‘Kids In America’ hitmaker asked the ‘Karma Chameleon’ hitmaker if he would lend his vocals to the track and it ended up on her 2021 ‘Pop Don’t Stop: Greatest Hits’ LP.

She told Best magazine: “We recorded a song in lockdown – that ended up in my greatest hits record.

“I wanted him to be on it, he’s such an icon!”

Kim, 61, is joining Boy George and Culture Club on tour next month and “can’t wait”.

The 80s pop star will then head out on her delayed headline tour in September, celebrating more than 40 years in mu.

And the ‘You Came’ singer – who is the daughter of 83-year-old rock and roll legend Marty Wilde – admits it feels like a “lifetime” has passed since she was a fresh-faced 20-year-old singing ‘Kids In America’.

She said: “I’ve got a great band behind me and we’re throwing a lot at it as joyful as we can … that 20-year-old that sang ‘Kids In America’ feels like a lifetime ago, hanging out with Hot Chocolate and Suzi Quatro – the days of ‘Top of the Pops’, before mobile phones and the internet.

“I feel like I’m living in a parallel world now.”

Meanwhile, Kim previously revealed she lost out on her “dream job” because of her pop success.

Her instant fame meant she had to turn down the opportunity of being a sales assistant at a local record store, somewhere she’d always wanted to work.

She recalled: “Mum sent me to the Job Centre and they said, ‘What do you want to do? I said, ‘I want to work in a record shop.’

A few months later, a record shop in Hertford needed an assistant and the Job Centre sent me details.

“I felt pretty ­confident I could get the job because I had an immense mu knowledge. We almost had a record shop in the house.

“But ‘Kids in America’ charted and scuppered my plans. I was all set to have my dream job and it got snatched away from me by a hit record.”