"Wild Child" is a single by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P. Written by Blackie Lawless and Chris Holmes, it serves as the intro track off their second studio album The Last Command and was released as the third single. The song charted at number 71 on the UK Singles Chart.
Critical reception Reviewing the single for Sounds, Roger Holland noted a shift in the band's artistic direction following the controversy surrounding their debut single. He wrote that as the "clouds of outrage" from "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" were dissipating, the "wildly erratic" Los Angeles group had "change[d] tack and catch[ed] a fresh, gusting wind." Holland praised the release, describing W.A.S.P. as "evolving into a genuinely hard and stunning newage rock band."
Music video The music video starts off with vocalist Blackie Lawless riding a motorcycle on a desert highway. He then spots a woman wearing a red jumpsuit standing on a cliff-edge who disappears as soon as he sees her. The video then cuts to the band performing the song on the top of a cliff and concludes with Lawless encountering the woman again at nightfall, who again fades into thin air upon being seen by him. Lawless then rides his motorcycle through the path of her disappearance, leaving a trail of flames behind him.
The music video was directed by Rick Friedberg.
Track listing 7" single
12" single
Legacy Finnish guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho, a fan of the band in his formative years, took himself a nickname "Wildchild" after the song.
The song is included on the soundtrack of the 2018 film Widows.
Charts +Chart performance for "Whild Child" Chart (1986) Peakposition
References