Sandra & Kim Wilde

Sandra i Kim Wilde

3 June 2006, Dni Chemika PKN Orlen, Płock, Poland

Article and photos: Pistons
English version: Elfka

Sandra & Kim Wilde in Plock, Poland

When 80s.pl readers first heard about the stars who were to appear at The Day of Chemist in Plock, almost nobody believed that this piece of news is not just a gossip. Thanks to PKN Orlen 80s fans' dreams came true. And we will not forget about it for a long time. The organizers invited the most popular stars of our favourite decade: Sandra and Kim Wilde. This piece of news was soon officialy confirmed, so the only thing we could do was to prepare for a journey and experience yet another return to the past in wonderful company.

Man in motion

While we were travelling from Cracow to Plock, we were listening to the music of the 80s. The journey was unusually quick. Iza, Renata, Sandra, Michał and Marcin were in the Cracow team. Elfka, Wanda, Fox, Liquid, Robo, Skrzypol and other forum members were travelling from all the corners of Poland. Apart from us, also both singers' other fans were coming to Plock. There were so many nicknames, names and surnames that it is impossible to mention them all. Thanks to Misia's help, accommodation was prepared and ready to welcome the guests. While some of the travellers were resting, I, although being hungry, (I didn't have time to eat anything, I got up at 6 a.m. then I visited old stuff market in Bytom and finally I was travelling fast to Plock to be on time) collected press accreditation for the press conference which was to be given by both singers. I was standing next to the stage and I heard Kim's rehearsal. I was lucky, wasn't I?

Cafe

The press conference was to be held in one of the cafes next to the Market Square. It turned out that the reporters of the Polish Radio One, Eska, Teletop, TV Kultura Channel were not the only people waiting for the conference. Sandra's two big fans: Cathy and Inula, the webmasters of Sandra's site, were also there. We had known one another only from the Internet and now, quite coincidentally, we had a chance to get acquainted.

Our conversations were stopped by the moderator of the press conference who invited Kim Wilde to enter the room. Kim Wilde was similing, she was happy, radiant and extremely cheerful and thanks to her, the atmosphere was very nice. I asked her the first question concerning the rehearsal on which the artist performed very well. She said about her methods which help her to stay in shape (sport, gym). She also practises singing a few times a week. She mentioned her latest concerts, her friendship with Nena, with whom she recorded European number one in 2003: "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime". She managed to succeed thanks to the fantastic team who could change the sound to more modern and with more rock sound. Kim Wilde also said something about her private life, about her love for gardening and about her son's fascination for heavy-metal music. She was talking about the forthcoming World Cup with a lot of humour. She described the event as the big fuss and undertaking which gathers people together in pubs, cafes and in their homes. We heard that the concert in Plock is one of the last performances where the hits of the 80s would dominate. The artist finished recording a completely new album and the next show will be connected with promoting of her new record which is to be released by EMI. Of course, the songs inspired by the 80s will also be there. Kim emphasises that the 80s means a lot to her and she still finds the pleasure in singing her old hits. At the end, the star gave the autographs and she posed for photographs. I was lucky again!

After a short break for snack, Sandra entered the room. She looked gorgeous, elegant and cheerful. She answered the questions humorously and openly, just like Kim Wilde. She made the atmosphere relaxing and joyful. We found out about Sandra's new album which is almost finished and which was recorded in the private studio on Ibiza. We also learnt about Enigma's new album with which she will be trying to help her husband (Michael Cretu). She was talking about her loving family who is the most important part of her life and she devotes all her free time to it. She was also talking about music thanks to which she got involved herself in different actions aimed, for example, at the protection of animals. Sandra admitted that thanks to her children and MTV she follows the modern POP scene, but when I asked her about her roots, that is Arabesque, she didn't know what her former partners from the group were doing. She has said that she is not sentimental about this kind of music and she much prefered the second half of the 80s and her solo achievements. My second question concerned her Polish net fans, who, as Sandra admitted, were one of the most important reasons why she decided to record a new album. The final question was connected with football and the World Cup. We learnt that she supports Bayern Munich and the host team that is Germany. She admitted humorously that her home is divided into two parties as her husbands supports Brazil and Romania. She also received a souvenir, Cathy and Inula gave her a plush toy cat from Misia and Samuraj (Sandra herslef has a lot of cats). Next, just like Kim, Sandra posed for photographs and gave autographs. It is difficult to believe but I was lucky once more. The photo with Sandra and her autograph on CD can prove this best.

Intro

The concert was to start at 20:00 and it was opened by the artistic show and a compere from Cracow who stayed with us till the end. There were a lot of people in the Market Square an hour before the the concert began. The souvenirs from PKN Orlen were given away before the concert started. The first to perform was hip-hop group Blog 27. The group is very popular among teenagers and a lot of them were present during Blog 27 concert. The girls from the group gave a very good performance and even 80s team, who prefer music which was popular 20 years earlier, rocked while listening to these English rhymes.

Sandra

Fortunately, soon Sandra appeared on the stage. She was wearing a black jacket and clinging trousers. It was already evening and it was dark and this is why the brilliant lighting made the atmosphere even greater.

Sandra started with her biggest hit "Maria Magdalena". Next, she sang "Stop for minute", "In the heat of the night", "Loreen", "Hi Hi Hi" and "Hiroshima. "Everlasting Love" was the song which impressed all the people most. For a few minutes Plock went crazy and so did we. Sandra felt wonderful on the stage, she was accompanied by the two dancers.

Even young people were impressed by Sandra's old hits. The singer sang more bravely than she did in Dresno (the story on 80s.pl as well). She was pleased, cheerful and she was happy because of the concert atmosphere and the way she was received by the audience. She sang "Maria Magdalena" as an encore. She got a big ovation and then we were waiting for Kim Wilde.

Kim Wilde

Kim's performance was beyond our wildest dreams. Kim gave a spectacular show together with her band where her brother, the guitarist, played the main role. Her voice has become clearer, warmer and when rock arrangement was added to it, the effect was a gorgeous blend. Kim was wearing blue jeans and a dark jacket, she was full of energy, she was having a good time together with the audience and she let us to sing the chorus of her hits. There were 13 songs in the set list: "If I Can't Have You", "Four Letter Word", "Water On Glass" "Love Is Holy", "You Came", "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "Kids In America".

It is difficult to decide which of them was the best. Personally, I liked "You Came" best, but I can say the same about Kim's other hits. The arrangements were unforgetable, exciting "Kids in America", which was the last song Kim sang, great "Anyplace...." or "Never Trust A Stranger" which maybe used to be underestimated and now during the Day of the Chemist became extremely popular.

The whole audience in the Market Square in Plock were dancing and singing together with Kim. The whole audience were chanting her name. Screamings, ovation.... could we dream that the star of our decade would make the whole audience have such a good time? If so, we all could witness such great reaction.

Afterparty

The concert came to the end and then, thanks to PKN Orlen, we could watch spectacular fireworks display, sparkling in the sky, fireworks full of colours and different shapes. Certainly, a lot of eyes filled with tears that the show finished, that the music could not be longer heard in the speakers.

A lot of people, who saw this amazing show, started to dream and reminisce about the past times when Sandra and Kim Wilde were so successful. This time, the two ladies made a big success together in Poland. They impressed us all. This wonderful experience will not be forgotten. We will remember this experience for a long time even when the autograps will be covered with dust and the colours of the photos will be faded.

We were too excited to be filled with nostalgia too quickly. Althougth the Market Square was quite empty, the nearby cafes were full of people and we had a night meeting in one of them. We were talking, showing the first photos and films to one another. Nobody wanted to go to sleep. As the 80s lovers team we had so many topics to discuss. After a few hours, common sense and the necessity of long journey home made us come back to our lodgings. Unofficial afterparty lasted till dawn.

Epilog

We found some time to take photos together and to talk for while next day, in the morning when the emotions dropped a little bit. Tired but happy, we were coming back home. Now, I would like to thank Iza, Renata, Sandra and Michael (with whom I travelled), Elfka, Wanda, Fox, Liquid, Robo and Skrzypol (80s.pl), Cathy, Inula, Misia, Samuraj Thomas (Sandra's fans), Beata, Krzysio, Jokcey and many other nice people who I met. Thank you very much and see during 80s.pl meetning in August!

P.S.
Special thanks for Samuraj for technical support.

Video Clips from the show

There will be official DVD avaible soon so please contact us if interested.