Kim Wilde’s fifth album gave her the biggest American success of her career, taking her version of The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in November 1986, Another Step also captured an artist expanding beyond her established synth-pop sound and taking a greater role in her songwriting.
Kim Wilde’s Another Step reaches its 40th anniversary on 3 November 2026, marking the release of the album that delivered her only number one single in the United States. The 1986 MCA Records release became a defining moment in Wilde’s international career, largely through her reworking of The Supremes’ Motown classic ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’.
The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6 June 1987, giving Wilde a breakthrough in a market where she had previously enjoyed considerably less success than in Britain and Europe. It also became a major international hit, reaching number one in Australia and Canada and number two in the UK.
For Wilde, the American achievement was particularly significant. She had established herself as one of Britain’s most recognisable female pop performers earlier in the decade with ‘Kids In America’, ‘Chequered Love’, ‘Cambodia’ and ‘View From A Bridge’. Another Step took that established European success into an entirely different commercial territory.
The album was also a change of direction.
Produced primarily by her brother Ricky Wilde, Another Step retained the melodic accessibility of her earlier records but introduced a stronger rock influence. Guitars became more prominent, the arrangements were broader and the material moved between energetic pop, dance-oriented production and more reflective songwriting.
Wilde was also becoming increasingly involved in the writing process. She received songwriting credits on more than half the album, working with Ricky Wilde, her father Marty Wilde and guitarist Steve Byrd on different compositions.
The opening tracks established the album’s commercial intentions. ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ provided the immediate hook, followed by ‘Hit Him’ and ‘Another Step (Closer To You)’, the latter featuring British singer Junior Giscombe.
‘The Thrill Of It’ and ‘I’ve Got So Much Love’ continued the energetic approach, while ‘Schoolgirl’ showed another side of Wilde’s developing songwriting.
The album’s closing material offered a different perspective. ‘She Hasn’t Got Time For You’, ‘Brothers’, ‘Missing’ and ‘How Do You Want My Love’ broadened the emotional range, before Wilde closed the record with ‘Don’t Say Nothing’s Changed’, a song she wrote herself.
That final track was particularly important in demonstrating her development as a songwriter. Another Step was no longer simply a vehicle for songs written and assembled around a young pop performer. Wilde was increasingly shaping the material herself.
An impressive group of collaborators
Although Ricky Wilde remained the principal producer, Another Step involved several notable outside contributors.
One of the most unusual collaborations came through ‘Say You Really Want Me’, which brought together Rod Temperton, Bruce Swedien and Richard Rudolph.
Temperton had written some of Michael Jackson’s most successful songs, including ‘Thriller’ and ‘Rock With You’. Swedien was the celebrated recording engineer and producer closely associated with Jackson’s classic albums, while Rudolph had an established background in American music production.
Their involvement gave the track a different production character from the Ricky Wilde-led recordings.
Richard James Burgess and Reinhold Heil also contributed production work elsewhere on the album. The result was a collection that drew on several different production approaches while retaining Kim Wilde’s voice and musical identity as its centre.
The combination of the Wilde family’s established production partnership and these outside collaborators reflected an artist whose career was moving into a new phase.
‘Schoolgirl’ was among the first songs released from the project, appearing in selected territories in June 1986. ‘Say You Really Want Me’ also received an early single release.
The major international breakthrough came with ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’.
Written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, the original Supremes recording had reached number one in the United States in 1966. Wilde’s version took the song into the electronic pop territory of the mid-1980s, replacing much of the original Motown arrangement with harder production, synthesised textures and an insistent dance rhythm.
The reinterpretation proved successful on both sides of the Atlantic. Its American number one remains the only Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper of Wilde’s career.
The album’s title track was also released as a single. ‘Another Step (Closer To You)’, featuring Junior Giscombe, reached number six in the UK, providing another Top 10 result.
‘Say You Really Want Me’ completed the principal singles campaign, although its commercial performance was more modest.
Interestingly, the enormous success of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ did not translate into an equally dominant album performance.
Another Step reached number 40 on the Billboard 200, making it Wilde’s highest-charting album in America. In the UK, it peaked at number 73. Its strongest album result came in Norway, where it reached number two. It also reached number five in Switzerland and number 12 in Canada.
The contrast between the single and album performances remains an important part of the record’s story. Wilde had achieved the kind of American breakthrough that many British pop artists sought, but the opportunity was not fully converted into a sustained American album career.
In later years, Wilde has spoken about regretting that she did not pursue the American market more aggressively after the number one success. The breakthrough had opened a door, but the follow-up campaign did not establish the longer-term presence that might have followed.
A 2010 remastered reissue expanded the album with additional material, including B-sides, remixes and extended versions, giving collectors a more complete picture of the Another Step period.
Forty years after its original release, Another Step remains an important point in Kim Wilde’s catalogue. It delivered the biggest single of her career, introduced a broader musical approach and demonstrated her growing confidence as a songwriter.
For all the success of ‘Kids In America’ and her other early European hits, it was a Supremes song, reimagined for the 1980s, that finally took Kim Wilde to the top of America.
Original album tracklisting
Side One
1. You Keep Me Hangin’ On
2. Hit Him
3. Another Step (Closer To You)
4. The Thrill Of It
5. I’ve Got So Much Love
6. Schoolgirl
Side Two
7. Say You Really Want Me
8. She Hasn’t Got Time For You
9. Brothers
10. Missing
11. How Do You Want My Love
12. Don’t Say Nothing’s Changed
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