Kylie Minogue

    Poor Kylie wasn’t blessed Dannii’s stunning good looks or angelic voice but she has still managed to become a holy icon of the pop world in her own right. I’m sure I speak for a generation of poofs, when I say that I feel like I’ve always known Kylie. With the exception of her overwhelmingly fabulous sister, I can't say that about any other celebrity or performer. "Neighbours" was my after school TV show of choice and Charlene was obviously my favourite character. Mostly due to the fact that she wore men's overalls, yet still managed to have an immaculate perm. Charlene was also one tough bitch, arriving in Ramsey Street and breaking into Madge's house! Yes, I remember Kylie's first episode on the show.

Stealing Dannii's Thunder

It’s easy to forget that Kylie spent most of the 1980s standing in Dannii's shadow. Back in the day, Dannii was the preferred Minogue and probably the coolest teenager on the planet. Australia watched in awe as Dannii rocked "Young Talent Time" week in/week out with her scintillating performances and gravity defying teased fringe. Everything changed one day in the late 1980s when, to the amazement of just about everyone, Kylie appeared in the top 10 with "The Locomotion". That song ended up spending 7 weeks at #1 was Australia ’s highest selling single of the 1980s. I bought “The Locomotion” with my pocket money and have purchased every release since.

PWL Queen

After the stunning local success of “The Locomotion”, Kylie was shipped off to London to work with Stock Aitken Waterman and the rest is musical history. Kylie’s first SAW single, “I Should Be So Lucky”, was a massive number 1 hit and triggered a wave of Kylie-mania in Australia and the UK . The song also topped the charts in many European countries and surprisingly made the US top 30. Kylie’s debut album was jam packed with SAW gems, boasts the sexiest album cover in pop history and became the fifth highest selling album of the 1980s in the UK . Highlights include her third Australian number 1 hit “Got To Be Certain”, her American hit “It’s No Secret” and the crowning achievement of her early career, the sublimely fabulous “Turn It Into Love”, which spent 9 weeks at number 1 in Japan .

Enjoy Yourself

The hits continued with Kylie’s second release, the underrated “Enjoy Yourself”. That album stayed loyal to the SAW formula but more emphasis was placed on mid-tempo songs and ballads in order to prove that Kylie could actually sing. Highlights include the UK number 1 hit “Hand On Your Heart” and the fantastic title track. The release of “Enjoy Yourself” also coincided with the release of Kylie’s debut film, the scintillatingly brilliant “The Delinquents”. Who will ever forget Kylie’s exposed breasts or her explosive use of foul language. Australia ’s sweetheart was turning into a bad girl and her gay fans couldn’t get enough of it. Unfortunately, the rest of the population were less impressed.

Rhythm Of Love

Kylie returned her focus to music, releasing what is generally considered to be the best album of her early career in 1990. “Rhythm Of Love” is a fascinating monument to Kylie’s growth as an artist. No longer satisfied with being a puppet on a string, Kylie overhauled her image and took charge of her sound, co-writing several tracks and employing producers outside of the hit factory for the first time. Kylie’s greater involvement in the album seemed to have a positive impact on SAW because their contribution to the album is exceptional. “Better The Devil You Know” electrified fans on release and has become a cherished gay anthem, while the brilliant “What Do I Have To Do?” showcased a stronger dance sound and boasts one of Kylie’s most iconic videos. No one has ever looked sexier doing the ironing! The SAW produced “Rhythm Of Love” singles are all indisputably magnificent but my personal favourites are definitely the supremely tragic “One Boy Girl” and the gorgeous “Count The Days”. “One Boy Girl” ranks as one of the trashiest moments of the 1990s and deserves to be appreciated. No discussion of “Rhythm Of Love” is complete without praising the stunning contribution of Jazzi P, whose rapping on “Shocked” is still worshipped by fans around the globe.

Let's Get To It

“Let’s Get To It” was something of a step backwards after “Rhythm Of Love”. Kylie did share writing credits with Pete Waterman and Mike Stock on most tracks but the experimentation with the early 90s dance music makes this Kylie’s most dated sounding album. “Let’s Get To It” also houses two of Kylie’s worst singles – the dreary duet “If You Were With Me Now” and the absolutely dreadful “Finer Feelings”, which still makes me cringe. Highlights include the lead single, “Word Is Out” and a fabulous cover of “Give Me Just A Little More Time”. The former is blessed with a stunning video clip, which finds Kylie mincing around a dark alley in a black lace bodysuit. Classy. My favourite tracks are “Right Here, Right Now”, which was criminally overlooked as a single and the insanely catchy “Too Much Of A Good Thing”. The album was a relative failure in comparison to Kylie’s previous albums, failing to make the top 10 in Australia or the UK . Kylie then released her first of many greatest hits compilations and ended her legendary involvement with PWL.

Movie Star

After leaving PWL and signing with Deconstruction, Kylie was determined to be taken seriously as an artist. What I think Kylie has never really understood is the fact that pop fans already took her seriously. She didn’t need to release something as dull as 1994’s “Kylie Minogue” to prove it. The album has many supporters who praise Kylie’s impressive vocals and interesting song choices. “Confide In Me” is a 90s classic and a deserved #1 hit in Australia but the rest of the album is less spectacular. Strangely, as the excellent “Hits+” compilation proves, Kylie spent much of this period working on some sublime music. I have no idea how that material stayed on the shelf while tat like “If I Was Your Lover” and “Where Has The Love Gone?” made the final cut. In true Deconstruction style, one of the best songs, “Love Is Waiting”, was only included on the Japanese release. However, the highlight of 1994 was Kylie's riveting and completely credible role as a kickboxing soldier in "Street Fighter". Kylie continued to experiment with her sound and image by recording “Where The Wild Roses Grow” with Nick Cave . The song was a hit around the world in 1995 and earned Kylie her first “Record Of The Year” ARIA Award. Few songs, released before or after, have managed to sound as fragile or menacing. “Where The Wild Roses Grow” is still a very impressive achievement. Although not quite as impressive as Kylie’s 1996 film, “Bio-Dome”. That film surely ranks as one of the best comedies of all time, while Kylie’s erotic carrot scene is surely one of the finest moments in contemporary cinema.



Experimental Kylie

With her confidence at an all time high after the critical and commercial success of “Where The Wild Roses Grow”, Kylie set to work on her second Deconstruction album, the sublime “Impossible Princess”. While “Kylie Minogue” was a collection of lethargic stinkers, “Impossible Princess” was an inspired and highly experimental set of guitar and dance pop gems. The album is often cited as a fan favourite and still holds up as an impressive collection of very personal songs. Unfortunately, the album flopped spectacularly in the UK and many people prophesized the end of Kylie’s career. However, the album was an unexpected success in Australia and reignited interest in her domestically. The album’s success in Australia is largely due to her staggeringly popular “Intimate & Live” tour, which was extended several times and ran for weeks all around Australia . Kylie released a live recording of the tour and an “Impossible Princess” remix album all within the space of a year. Kylie appeared to thrive under the freedom that comes along with being completely unsuccessful. The late 90s were a weird and wonderful period in Kylie Minogue’s career.

Comeback Queen

Kylie’s career had turned full circle when “Spinning Around” reached the #1 spot in Australia and England in 2000. Kylie had reinvented herself again, this time as the campest mainstream pop diva of the new millennium. “Light Years” is Kylie’s finest achievement. Pop albums have rarely displayed as much diversity, consistent quality and sheer, unadulterated joy. Kylie was finally doing what she had been put on earth to do – parade around in as little as possible and camp it up like a drag queen. The “Light Years” period is pure bliss! The highlights from this project are many and varied but some of my favourite include the poptastic “Your Disco Needs You”, the Italo-disco flavoured title track, her American dance hit “Butterfly” and the hilariously tacky video clip for the much maligned “Please Stay” which involved Kylie sliding down a fireman’s pole in slow motion and dancing with a pool stick. In addition to recording one of the best albums of all time, 2000 saw Kylie promoting the release of two films. “Sample People” memorably includes a scene where Kylie snorts cocaine and gets bashed, while she suffers the indignity of getting her tongue sliced off in the highly entertaining “Cut”. Both films expertly display Kylie’s stunning acting ability!

Global Superstar

The next step in Kylie’s career is well documented. “Fever” propelled Kylie into the pop stratosphere and is estimated to have sold over 8 million copies. The lead single, “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”, topped the charts in over 20 countries and established Kylie as an international superstar. The album’s other singles were all big hits and Kylie was finally honoured with a Grammy Award for “Come Into My World”. The quality of the Fever sessions was so high that the B-sides and bonus tracks could have been hits in their own right. The “Fever” project was perfect from the sexy album cover to the individual video clips. My only gripe is the fact that the exquisite “Tightrope” was not only ignored as a single but was also demoted to being a bonus track in Australia and a B-side in Europe . The success of “Fever” was never going to be easy to repeat, particularly when Kylie decided to release something as idiosyncratic as “Body Language”.


Body Language

Unlike most fans, I love “Body Language”. Unfortunately, just about everyone else wanted “Fever – The Sequel”. Kylie could have served up more of the same, and to a certain extent probably should have, but she decided to pursue a new sound and explore new things. “Body Language” also represents a clear play at appealing to the American market. It’s a shame that the album has been so widely dismissed because there is a lot to love about it. “Slow” is one of the sexiest and most unusual releases by a mainstream pop diva. The much maligned “Red Blooded Woman” is nothing short of genius. More middle-aged white women should sing about “freakin’ around”. Sadly, the song was too much fun for most pop snobs. One can only imagine what the response would have been to Kylie’s stunning rapping on “Secret (Take You Home)”! “Body Language” is also notable for the divine ballad, “Lovin’ Days” and possibly the worst song Cathy Dennis has ever excreted, “After Dark”. Bizarrely, all of the leaked songs and B-sides are far more instant than the tracks selected for the album. Something went wrong somewhere - but I’m more than satisfied with the final product.


Ultimate Kylie

After the relative failure of “Body Language”, her record company quickly went into damage control and announced the release of “Ultimate Kylie”, yet another greatest hits compilation. The project is validated by the gorgeous Scissor Sisters penned “I Believe In You”, which ranks as one of Kylie’s best ever singles. “Giving You Up”, on the other hand, is a pile of stinking shit, which proves how boringly formulaic Xenomania have become. At least the tacky video, complete with appalling giant Kylie special effects, is amusing. “Ultimate Kylie” has since been re-released in Australia and achieved the rare feat of appearing on 3 separate end of year best seller lists. Kylie promoted “Ultimate Kylie” with her intensely fabulous “Showgirl” tour. During the tour, Kylie announced she had breast cancer and the Australian leg of "Showgirl" was postponed for well over a year. The first few weeks of Kylie's illness were truly awful. I didn't record myself singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" acapella and send it to Kylie but I followed the treatment, diagnosis, poured over the pictures, tuned into her first interview, turned a blind eye to that horrible children's book and against my better judgement, bathed in "Darling". Thankfully, Kylie recovered and returned with the "Showgirl Homecoming" tour. .

Trashy Bitch

Since recovering from her illness, Kylie has been busy recording her tenth studio album and if the leaked tracks are any indication, it could be her best yet. Kylie is too mainstream to be a pure pop trash diva. Her music actually sells and she is not completely derided by critics and audiences. However, anyone who has run through a train dressed as Geisha, while singing about being a typeface deserves a slot in our pop trash hall of fame. I believe we have a spot free, just below Dannii! 

- Mike

GBI (1999)