Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as a member of

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band widely known for the 1985 hit " Walking on Sunshine". They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light". History Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest inc ...

from 1981 to 1999 and of

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

's Soft Boys from 1978 to 1981. Two of his better-known compositions, both written for Katrina and the Waves, are " Walking on Sunshine" and "

Love Shine a Light "Love Shine a Light" is a song by British rock band Katrina and the Waves. It represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997. It was released as a single on 28 April 1997 and was later included on the band's ninth studio a ...

", performed by Katrina and the Waves as the United Kingdom's entry at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1997 The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1997 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and prese ...

, taking the country to its first victory in the contest since 1981.

Life and career

His family is from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and moved house several times during his boyhood before he arrived at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

in 1971, and settled in that city. After a brief excursion into archaeology at

West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is an archaeological site and an open-air museum located near to West Stow in Suffolk, eastern England. Evidence for intermittent human habitation at the site stretches from the Mesolithic through the Neolithic, Bro ...

and gaining a degree in archaeology from Cambridge, Rew formed the Waves with Alex Cooper in 1975, before joining the Soft Boys in 1978, recording the ''

A Can of Bees ''A Can of Bees'' is the debut album by English band The Soft Boys. The album was reissued in 1984 with a different track listing on the second side. Both versions of Side 2 appear on the CD reissue first put out by Two Crabs in 1990, subseque ...

'' and ''

Underwater Moonlight ''Underwater Moonlight'' is the second studio album by English rock band the Soft Boys, released on 28 June 1980 by record label Armageddon. Initially unsuccessful, the album has gone on to be viewed as a psychedelic classic, influential on th ...

'' albums. In 1981, Robyn Hitchcock began his solo career; Rew and Cooper joined with

Katrina Leskanich Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song " Walking on Sunshine" was an international hit in 1985. In 1997, the band won the ...

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 and

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most suc ...

to record Rew's compositions "

Going Down to Liverpool "Going Down to Liverpool" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for his group Katrina and the Waves, although best remembered for a cover done by the Bangles. Background The song was first released on the band's 1982 EP '' Shock Horror!'' (with the ...

", covered by

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...

, and, in 1985, " Walking on Sunshine", which became the group's first and biggest hit. In 1997, Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with the Rew composition "

". In 1999, Katrina began her solo career. Rew continued to write, record and release solo albums. From 1988 through to 2004, Rew was a guest member with the Cambridge band The Lonely. He played on four albums, ''Underground'' (1989), ''Rarer Gifts'' (1998) and ''Live'' (2000). In 2001 Rew reunited and toured with

, bassist

Matthew Seligman Matthew Seligman (14 July 1955 – 17 April 2020) was an English bassist, best known for his association with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Seligman was a member of the Soft Boys and the Thompson Twins, and was a sideman for Thomas Do ...

, and Morris Windsor for the Soft Boys' re-release of their best-known album, 1980's ''

''. The following year they recorded and released a new album, ''Nextdoorland'', which was accompanied by a short album of outtakes, ''Side Three''. The reunion was short-lived.

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

recorded the Rew composition "That's Just the Woman in Me" in 2007. In the 1990s and 2000s, Rew completed a project to walk or cycle the coast of England and Wales and another to walk or cycle all of their navigable waterways. Rew joined the Cambridge band Jack in 2004 (his wife Lee Cave-Berry had previously joined in 2000) and they are both still playing with the band (as of 2020). Rew and his wife also perform as a duo called Kim and Lee.

Solo discography

*''

The Bible of Bop ''The Bible of Bop'' is a mini-album and the first solo release by English guitarist and songwriter Kimberley Rew, released in 1982. It mostly consists of tracks taken from three singles Rew released through indie label Armageddon between 1980 a ...

'', 1982 *''Tunnel into Summer'', 2000 *''Great Central Revisited'', 2003 *''Essex Hideaway'', 2005 *''Ridgeway'' (EP), 2006 *''The Safest Place'', 2010 *''Strawberry Fair'', 2011 *''Technically Closer than Tooting'', 2012 *''Healing Broadway'', 2013 *''The Next Big Adventure'', 2014

References

External links

*
Jack lineup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rew, Kimberley Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English male singers English songwriters English male guitarists English new wave musicians People from Cambridge Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Living people Katrina and the Waves members The Soft Boys members 1951 births British male songwriters