She has released four full albums and is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got To Go Now", a Top 5 hit in Australia in 1991, and the career-resurrecting and Emmy-winning "Because You're Beautiful (released as a single in 2004, on an album in 2008).
In New Zealand she has achieved six Top 40 hit singles and three platinum albums.
She lived in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nevada during her childhood. Raised in a household dominated by her parents' religious values, Childs stated in a 1988 article for Time magazine that she and her three brothers "were not allowed to listen to pop music or rock or even go to the movies.
There was a lot I missed out on."
At the age of 15, Childs ran away from home and became a blues musician. In 1972, she saw Pink Floyd in concert and decided to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.
Childs for years has been connected with being in the band Berlin in 1979. This is not strictly correct as Childs only sang three shows with the group as a favor while the new singer, Teri Nunn, was unavailable. Her first band of note, Toni and the Movers, included Jack Sherman (later to become a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Micki Steele (later a member of the Bangles). The Los Angeles-based band performed and toured for two years but did not release an album. In the summer of 1981, after the Movers had disbanded, Childs performed various improvised sets of music at Madame Wong's West and the Madam Wong's clubs in Los Angeles under the name Nadia Kapiche with musicians including Steve Schiff (guitar), Micki Steele (bass), Mark Buchholtz (keyboards/sax), Richard Larsen (keyboards/sax), and drummer Stan Getts. Demo (recording) sessions were also done in Hollywood with most of this band, with Ed Warnecke on drums. Childs was still searching for her niche. She has said, "I didn't know who I was, and I realized I was trying to grab the brass ring like everybody else. I wanted to become a better song writer and I knew I just didn't know enough to be signed. That's when I went to Island Music publishing, and asked them to sign me and send me to England."
In 1981, she signed a song publishing deal with Island Music which financed her move to London.
There she lived in an empty office of a local recording studio, sweeping floors and dusting consoles in exchange for rent and recording experience.
While in London, Childs put together a new band called Nadia Kapiche which included Dave Rhodes (who has worked with Peter Gabriel), Mike Cotzi (Shreikback), Martin Swaine (The Waterboys, World Party), Steve Creese (World Party) and Duncan Kilburn (The Psychedelic Furs.
They performed in clubs and supported U2 at one of their early gigs.
During her stay in the vitally global music scene of early-80s London, the seeds of world music were planted, later to be heard on Child's first album. In 1983, Childs provided backing vocals on Scottish band The Europeans' track "A.E.I.O.U". Band memberSteve Hogarth later returned the favour by doing the same on Childs' debut album Union.
In 1985, after returning to L.A., Childs was signed to A&M Records and soon began to work with songwriter/producer/musician David Ricketts (of David & David) on the soundtrack for the film Echo Park, and provided backing vocals for David & David's album Boomtown, on a track titled "Ain't So Easy".
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