# Chequered Love

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"**Chequered Love**" is the second single by British singer [Kim Wilde](/source/Kim_Wilde). The song was released in the spring of 1981 to follow Wilde's successful debut "[Kids in America](/source/Kids_in_America)". As with that single, writing credits were given to Wilde's father and brother [Marty](/source/Marty_Wilde) and [Ricky Wilde](/source/Ricky_Wilde), with the latter also being given production credits. The 12" version is no longer in length than the 7"; however, better sound quality is achieved by the grooves not being as compressed, a common practice for "marketing" during the 1980s. The song later appeared on Wilde's [self-titled debut album](/source/Kim_Wilde_(album)).

Lyrically, the song describes how opposites attract, and was inspired by Wilde's parents, who are very dissimilar people.[3] "Chequered Love" became another hit for Wilde, reaching the number four on the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart), number one in South Africa (succeeding "Kids in America"),[4] and peaking inside the top 10 all around the world except North America. It was certified gold in the UK and France, for sales of 250,000 copies[5] and has sold over a million copies worldwide.[6] The song was also followed by a music video directed by [Brian Grant](/source/Brian_Grant_(director)), which was set in a steamy, black-tiled bathroom.[3]

## Track listing

**UK / Europe / Australia 7" single [1981]**

1. "Chequered Love" - 3:20
1. "Shane" - 3:29

**Germany 12" single [1981]**

1. "Chequered Love" - 3:20
1. "Shane" - 3:29

**US / Canada 7" single [1982]**

1. "Chequered Love" - 3:20
1. "Everything We Know" - 3:42

## Charts

### Weekly charts

Chart (1981) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 6 Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)[8] 3 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[9] 1

### Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 45 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 37 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 46 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[14] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 17 West Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 24

## References

1. Nobes, Mark (January 18, 2023). ["Kim Wilde "Chequered Love" (1981)"](https://www.simplyeighties.com/kim-wilde---chequered-love.php). *Simply Eighties*. Retrieved January 18, 2023.

1. ["SA Number 1s 1965 - 1989"](http://www.rock.co.za/files/sa_number_1s_69_89.html). Retrieved 28 March 2018.

1. ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090924015932/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx). Archived from [the original](https://www.bpi.co.uk/bpi-awards/) on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2018-01-23.

1. ["Billboard"](https://books.google.com/books?id=AiUEAAAAMBAJ&q=album+sales+kim+wilde&pg=PT40). 1981-09-19.

1. ["Hits of the World"](https://books.google.com/books?id=KyQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Conquered+Love+Kim+Wilde&pg=PT132). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Vol. 93, no. 42. 24 October 1981. p. 73. [ISSN 0006-2510](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0006-2510). – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books)

1. ["Radio Luxembourg Singles"](http://www.umdmusic.com/default.asp?Lang=English&Chart=F&ChDay=&ChMonth=&ChYear=&ChBand=kim+wilde&ChSong=). umdmusic.com. Retrieved January 14, 2026.

1. ["SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts W"](http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(W).html). *The South African Rock Encyclopedia*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180923133752/http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(W).html) 23 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 November 2020.

1. ["Kent Music Report No 393 – 4 January 1982 > National Top 100 Singles for 1981"](https://i.imgur.com/RgsDOOc.jpg). [Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report). Retrieved 22 December 2020. – via Imgur.com.

1. ["Jaaroverzichten 1981 – Singles"](https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1981) (in Dutch). [Ultratop](/source/Ultratop). Retrieved 22 November 2020.

1. ["Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981"](https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1981) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 November 2020.

1. ["Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981"](https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1981&cat=s) (in Dutch). [Dutch Charts](/source/Dutch_Charts). Retrieved 28 March 2018.

1. ["Top 20 Hit Singles of 1981"](http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1981.html). *The South African Rock Encyclopedia*. Retrieved 28 March 2018.

1. ["Swiss Year-End Charts 1981"](http://swisscharts.com/charts/jahreshitparade/1981). *swisscharts.com*. Retrieved 28 March 2018.

1. ["Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1981"](https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1981) (in German). [GfK Entertainment](/source/GfK_Entertainment). Retrieved 28 March 2018.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chequered Love](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chequered_Love) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chequered_Love?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.