Born in Orpington, Kent to Raymond and Anne Houghton, Kim was the eldest of three boys, with his younger brothers being Stephen and Alan. Kim's father was a Warrant Officer in the Medical Corp, and the family moved around the country, finally settling in Hampshire, where Kim and his brothers attended Locksheath Junior School, then Brookfield Comprehensive. Kim left school in 1976, going to work at Clements DIY shop in Park Gate, then when the shop was taken over, he continued working for Roger Webb DIY. He wanted to make use of his carpentry skills, just about the only lesson he enjoyed at school, and got a job as a junior cabinetmaker with a company in Gosport. He moved into kitchen fitting, working again with Roger Webb, and then finally stepped out on his own with Kim Houghton Carpentry & Kitchen Fitting, which he successfully ran until his sudden passing. On a personal level, he met his long-term partner, Toni at school in 1973, where they soon became fast friends, both having other relationships before they became a couple in 1986, buying their house together two years later. Kim was a very good driver and bike rider, and raced a 3.0l Capri in the Modified Production Saloons for a number of years, before retiring when funding the racing became too much. It was then that he really got into motorbikes, having ridden one as a teenager, but now he took his test and bought a 500cc Kawasaki, which after a while of getting used to road riding again, he and Toni took to the Nurburgring in Germany, with a group of close friends. The bike was traded in for a 1000cc ZX-10R, which also visited the Ring several times, a place which Kim loved. After a long period of illness, some 28 years, several serious bouts of pneumonia had weakened Kim's heart, and very suddenly, without any warning, he collapsed and passed away on 11th March 2007, devastating Toni, his family and all his friends.