Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was a member of Katrina and the Waves from 1981 to 1999 and of Robyn Hitchcock's the Soft Boys from 1978 to 1981. For Katrina and the Waves, he wrote "Walking on Sunshine" He lived at 206 Torbay Road, in South Harrow. In 1970, he gained a place at Jesus College, Cambridge, to study Modern Languages, on an exhibition. Another boy from his school joining the university at the same time was Geoff Egan. At Cambridge, Rew gained a degree in archaeology, receiving a 2.1, and settled in that city.

Career

After a brief excursion into archaeology at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village, In the interim, Rew joined the Soft Boys in 1978, recording the albums A Can of Bees that year and Underwater Moonlight in 1980. Not finding commercial success or much critical response, Soft Boys' leader Robyn Hitchcock began his solo career in 1981 while Rew and Cooper merges The Waves with Katrina Leskanich and Vince de la Cruz to form Katrina and the Waves.

The group survived a slow career climb through tours of RAF bases and Canadian club gigs, then teamed up with the producers Pat Collier and Scott Litt to record Rew's compositions "Going Down to Liverpool", covered by the Bangles, and, in 1985, "Walking on Sunshine", which became the group's first and biggest hit.

In 1997, Rew was living on Mill Road, Cambridge

Solo discography

  • The Bible of Bop (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)
  • Are We There Yet, Daddy? (2015)
  • Miles of Smiles (2016)
  • Purple Kittens (2021)

References

  • Jack lineup