Robbed hit of the week 4/18/16 - Kim Wilde's "You Came"...

"You Came" - Kim Wilde
from the album Close (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #41

This week's "robbed hit" comes from British pop singer Kim Wilde, who had shed her new-wave beginnings to ride the HI-NRG train all the way to #1 in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and #2 in her native UK with her cover of the Motown classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On". However, her original follow-up, the slinky mid-tempo "Say You Really Want Me", stopped short of the top-40 in America in 1986.

Two years later, Kim released her sixth album Close, which would go on to be her biggest set internationally. The first single in the UK was the slower-paced "Hey Mister Heartache", which stopped at #31 on the British singles chart. So for release #1, she again went to the clubs and came up with the dance anthem "You Came". Written by Kim and her brother Ricky, who co-produced the album version with Tony Swain (who helmed Bananarama's pre-SAW work), the track was enhanced even more for American ears with a single remix done from Shep Pettibone...

While "You Came" climbed to #3 on the British chart, the single stopped at the frustrating rank of #41 in October of 1988. The song also went to #10 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the single was a huge success, though, reaching #1 in Denmark, top-10 in Finland (#2), Ireland (#3), Switzerland (#3), Italy (#4), Norway (#4), France (#5), Germany (#5), Sweden (#7), Austria (#8), and Belgium (#10). In Australia, the track made it to #34, while in Canada it mimicked the US by stalling at #42.

This would be her last moment on the chart until 1993, when another remake of hers, this time the disco classic "If I Can't Have You", went to #14 on the Dance chart. She still remains a fan favorite just a notch below the Kylie's and the Cheryl's in Europe.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


Here's the original video from the UK release, which used the album mix...

In 2006, a rock-tinged re-recorded version of the song, titled "You Came 2006", was a top-40 hit across continental Europe...

Kim Wilde - You Came from Krystian Feledyn on Vimeo.

Finally, an acoustic live take on that version for Belgian TV in 2006, that spotlights the beauty of the song...