(1987) Maxi Priest’s “Wild World” Marks 36th Anniversary

Nicolas SimpsonJune 4, 2023, 10:30 AM

An international Reggae artiste of Jamaican descent, Max Alfred Elliott, known by his stage name Maxi Priest, delivered a smash hit cover for the song “Wild World”, originally written and sung by singer-songwriter Cat Stevens.

The original song was released in 1970 as a part of Stevens’ fourth album, Tea For The Tillerman, and went on to be reenvisioned by many artistes including Maxi Priest.

The Reggae Fusion entertainer delivered a calm and smooth-sounding rendition of Wild World, which is a song that talks about a man wishing his departing lover goodbye, but also warning her that the grass is not greener on the other side and the wider world is dangerous.

The song states, “Now that I’ve lost everything to you, you say you want to start something new and it’s breaking my heart…But if you want to leave take good care, hope you find a lot of nice things to wear, but then a lot of nice things turn bad out there… Oh baby baby it’s a wild world”

Released as the third single on his Maxi album, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 25 and moved on to do well in many countries, peaking at number eight in Australia, Number three in Norway, number seven in the Netherlands, and number five in Belgium, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (UK).

Maxi Priest is also known for other hits such as Just A Little Bit Longer (1990), Close To You (1990), and That Girl, a collaboration with Shaggy (1996).

The music video for Wild World was uploaded to the artiste’s YouTube page in 2009 and has accumulated over 21 million views.

Listen to the song and the colourful video below: