Jun 13, 2023
Kim Appleby of Mel & Kim
Razzmatazz [1986]
seen from Türkiye
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Kim Appleby of Mel & Kim
Razzmatazz [1986]
mel and kim, showing out. |1986|
2586. Kim Appleby - ‘Don’t Worry’ (1990)
Don’t you know things happen for a reason
It’s meant to be, just like the change of seasons
from the album Kim Appleby
Though their discography would amount to just one album and four singles, for eighteen glorious months between 1986 and 1988, Melanie and Kim Appleby - as Mel & Kim, of course - encapsulated the joy of young British pop, their Stock Aitken Waterman anthems espousing the merits of being yourself, having a good time and setting the scene for an eventual explosion of Girl Power. Unlike many other SAW artists, it seemed feasible that Mel & Kim had the charisma and drive to extend their fame for at least another couple of years, but it wasn’t to be: Mel was sick, and she tragically passed away in January 1990, aged just 23.
Mel’s death left Kim in an unimaginably difficult situation. Nobody would have blamed the elder Appleby if she chose to retire from music, but she pressed on - armed with several songs co-written with her sister intended for their second album, and the assistance of ex-Bros member and boyfriend Craig Logan, Kim launched her solo career in October 1990 with the unexpectedly euphoric single ‘Don’t Worry’.
Standing all on my own...
Considering their shared image was built on positivity, addressing Mel’s passing in Kim’s solo work was always going to be a difficult task. The ultimate result, ‘Don’t Worry’, was perfectly realised: a dance track with an optimistic lyric, technically about romantic relationships but broad enough to be applied to any hardship or loss, the single developed the Mel & Kim sound while allowing Kim the scope to push her solo career into more mature, nuanced territory. One of Mel & Kim’s key selling points was the notion that their teenage fans could be just like them, carefree and rebellious. As you get older, however, life takes unexpected, often terribly sad turns - ‘Don’t Worry’ is an assurance that those situations can also be approached with the same sense of self-assurance and hope.
‘Don’t Worry’ music video:
Chart peak: UK #2
Written by Richard Eric, 2/3/19
Time for a true tale of rags to riches, with elements of tragedy and triumph… Melanie Appleby was a model looking to start a career in the music business. When her management felt she should recruit a supporting singer, she asked her older sister Kim Appleby (who was working in a clothing factory) to join her and “Mel and Kim” was born. In 1986 the London duo rocketed up the charts to worldwide fame. First “Showing Out” kept climbing up the British charts; eventually reaching #3 and topping charts in Europe, including the US dance chart. Then the British press discovered Melanie had posed for nude photos in the past. With the realization that the tabloids had threatened to reprint the photos, Mel and Kim worked with their management to formulate a PR response. The outcome was the single “Respectable”, a proverbial middle finger to the press. Fans loved it, and it went number 1 worldwide. The republishing of Melanie’s photos seemed to do little to impede the duo’s success and more hit singles followed. Sadly, Melanie was diagnosed with cancer the following year and the sisters retreated from the limelight. They continued to sing and produce music behind the scenes until Melanie’s worsening condition made carrying on unrealistic. The paparazzi had been cruel and relentless trying to figure out the duo’s disappearance. In 1988 the sisters went public with Melanie’s battle against cancer on the talk show “Wogan”. Kim helped take care of her sister the last few years of her life. Tragically, Melanie passed away in 1990 at the young age of 23. Kim carries on as a solo artist and from time to time in homage of her sister, sings the songs they wrote and performed together.
