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Kimberley Rew | |
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| Born | Kimberley Charles Rew (1951-12-03)3 December 1951 (age 73) |
| Genres | Pop rock,new wave |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument | Electric guitar |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Formerly of | The Soft Boys Katrina and the Waves |
Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was a member ofKatrina and the Waves from 1981 to 1999[1] and ofRobyn Hitchcock'sThe Soft Boys from 1978 to 1981. For Katrina and the Waves, he wrote "Walking on Sunshine"[1] and "Love Shine a Light". The latter was performed as the United Kingdom's entry at theEurovision Song Contest 1997, taking the country to its first victory in the contest since 1981.
Rew is fromBristol and his family moved house several times during his boyhood. He joined Harrow County School for Boys at the age of 14, being known for being good at Ancient Greek and Latin, and playing the guitar.[2] He lived at 206 Torbay Road, in South Harrow. In 1970, he gained a place atJesus College, Cambridge, to study Modern Languages, on an exhibition. Another boy from his school joining the university at the same time wasGeoff Egan. At Cambridge, Rew gained a degree in archaeology, receiving a 2.1,[3] and settled in that city.[4]
After a brief excursion into archaeology atWest Stow Anglo-Saxon Village,[1] in 1975 Rew formed the Waves with Alex Cooper,[1] before joining the Soft Boys in 1978, recording theA Can of Bees andUnderwater Moonlight albums.
The group was named after the novelThe Waves. The drummer Alex studied History at Cambridge. The group first played together at the Galaxy Club atRAF Mildenhall in 1980.[5]
In 1981, the Soft Boys' leader Robyn Hitchcock began his solo career; Rew and Cooper joined withKatrina Leskanich and Vince de la Cruz to form Katrina and the Waves. The group survived a slow career climb by tours of RAF bases and Canadian club gigs, then teamed up with the producers Pat Collier andScott Litt to record Rew's compositions "Going Down to Liverpool", covered byThe Bangles, and, in 1985, "Walking on Sunshine", which became the group's first and biggest hit.[6]
In 1997, Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the Rew composition "Love Shine a Light". The song was written for theSamaritans 30th anniversary.
In 1999, Leskanich left the band to pursue a solo career. Rew continued to write, record and release solo albums. From 1988 through to 2004, he was a guest member of the Cambridge band The Lonely. He played on three albums,Underground (1989),Rarer Gifts (1998) andLive (2000).
In 2001 Rew reunited and toured withRobyn Hitchcock, bassistMatthew Seligman, and Morris Windsor for the Soft Boys' re-release of their 1980 albumUnderwater Moonlight. The following year they recorded and released a new album,Nextdoorland, which was accompanied by a short album of outtakes,Side Three.
In 1997 Rew was living on Mill Road, Cambridge.[4] In 2004, he joined the Cambridge band Jack, which his wife Lee Cave-Berry had already joined in 2000. The two also perform together as a duo called Kim and Lee.[7][8]
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