Nick Gilder, Hot Child in the City | Controversial Songs

In the 15th edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “Hot Child in the City” by Nick Gilder.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Songs is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows, stirred the pot, or were banned. The more censorship censor$hit, the better! The records that grace Controversial Songs are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 15^th edition of Controversial Songs (2025), we explore the controversy behind “Hot Child in the City” by Nick Gilder.

“Danger in the shape of something wild / Stranger dressed in black, she’s a hungry child.” And so, begins the controversy! The key lyric that Canadian musician Nick Gilder (1951 – ) sings in the first verse of his one-hit wonder, “Hot Child in the City”, should be child.  The fact that she is a hot child reveals the deck of cards: men are enticed by her.  While Gilder suggests it’s young boys taken by her hotness, can we be so sure it’s only young boys? No, of course we can’t. Gilder and James McCulloch wrote this controversial classic.  Mike Chapman produced it. A rousing success, “Hot Child in the City” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA.

“She’s young to be loose and on her own / Young boys, they all want to take her home,” Gilder sings in the second verse of “Hot Child in the City.” Loose is a questionable choice of words. It demeans this hot child, who is possibly a prostitute. The song does not specify this, but there are hints.  He adds, “When she comes downtown, the boys all stop and stare /… she walks like she just don’t care.” So, because she is a whore, her carefree attitude makes her even wilder… She is an object, and these ‘young boys’ just can’t help themselves, right? The chorus sums up men’s reaction to her:

“Hot child in the city

Hot child in the city

Runnin’ wild and lookin’ pretty

Hot child in the city.”

Is Gilder himself controversial? No, but the character he plays is suspect in the bridge. Enthusiastically, or should I say red-blooded as f—, he sings, “Come on down to my place, baby, we’ll make love.” Hmm, how old is she… Isn’t she too old for you? In real life, the inspiration for “Hot Child in the City” was child prostitution that Gilder witnessed when he moved to Los Angeles. Yikes. He asserted in an interview, “I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher — in the guise of an innocent pop song”. Wow .  A surefire rock classic, this major-key, enjoyable joint exemplifies the phrase guilty pleasure! It may have evaded being banned, but this song is not that innocent!

Nick Gilder // City Nights // Chrysalis // 1978

Nick Gilder, Hot Child in the City: Controversial Songs No. 15 (2025) [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Chrysalis; Andrea Mosti from Pexels; AcatXlo, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay; christian buehner on Unsplash]