In February 2026 Demon Records are reissuing three of Kim Wilde’s classic ’80s albums, including Close, which is being made available on LP again for the first time in more than 35 years.

Now released on red vinyl and as an eye-catching picture disc for the first time, Close was Kim’s sixth studio album, originally released in June 1988. It includes five UK Top 40 singles including ‘You Came’ (No. 3 and US No. 41), ‘Four Letter Word’ (No. 6), ‘Never Trust A Stranger’ (No. 7), ‘Hey Mister Heartache’ (No. 31), and ‘Love In The Natural Way’ (No. 32).

Both formats come with the bonus tracks ‘Tell Me Where You Are’, originally the B-Side of ‘Hey Mister Heartache’, and the 7-inch edit of Shep Pettibone’s remix of ‘You Came’.

Kim’s growing confidence as a songwriter saw her name attached to all but two of the ten songs that originally appeared on the album – ‘Four Letter Word’ (by Marty and Ricki Wilde), and a cover of Todd Rundgren’s ballad ‘Lucky Guy’ were the only tracks that didn’t give Kim a co-writing credit. Junior Giscombe returned to add backing vocals to the funky ‘Hey Mister Heartache’, while Bias Boshell, writer of Kiki Dee’s ’74 hit ‘I’ve Got The Music In Me’, was drafted in to add keyboards to ‘Lucky Guy’.

Once again, Ricky Wilde was behind the production desk, where he shared the task with Tony Swain; his significant success in the ’80s saw him work with Imagination on ‘Body Talk’, Spandau Ballet on ‘True’, Alison Moyet on ‘Love Resurrection’, and Bananarama on ‘Cruel Summer’ – contemporary reviews drew comparisons with his work here, and his previous output with Keren, Sara, and Siobhan.

The picture disc recreates the original Close artwork, with photography by Russell Young, who was also responsible for the images that so memorably adorned George Michael’s ‘Faith’ and Enya’s ‘Watermark’.

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