During some time in the Nineties, Kylie Minogue had a hard time finding success. She was actually praised by 'serious' critics for her songs, but the records didn't sell as well as her earlier material. 'Confide in me' was the first single released after her lengthy collaboration with Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Produced by Brothers in Rhythm the sound was certainly more daring.
The single went to number 1 in Australia and number 2 in the UK singles chart, but in other territories it wasn't as successful. Two albums later, Kylie would be posing for H&M in lingerie and it would seem that her music career was over. Of course, it wasn't.
This single release was made for jukeboxes only, hence the absence of any cover artwork. Which is a shame, because the cd-single's artwork was rather intriguing.
A surprise find during the record fair last Saturday. A dealer specialized in hardrock had a box of Record Store Day releases, and among a lot of very loud stuff, there was this single called 'Golden boy' by a certain Kylie. The dealer had little faith that he could sell this one, as the price had gone down from ten euros to a mere six.
The single confused me, because I'd never heard of a track called 'Golden boy' before. I looked it up online and it turns out this single represents the only physical release of that track. I was pretty chuffed to find this single, even if I didn't know about its existence. It was released in 2014, just after the album 'Kiss me once', in a limiited run of a 1000 copies. The B-side contains an etching, but no music.
My collection: 7" single no. 5904 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018 Cost: 6 euro Track: 'Golden boy'
Kylie Minogue is in the music business for 25 years now. Hard to believe that the Neighbours actress who brought us 'The loco-motion' and 'I should be so lucky' finally became a serious pop artist, with some very beautiful ("Put yourself in my place", "Finer feelings") and well-produced ("Can't get you out of my head", "On a night like this") pop songs in her repertoire.
An artist like Kylie is assumed to only perform well under highly produced and perhaps autotuned circumstances, but her latest album 'The Abbey Road sessions' contains some great versions of those wellknown pop songs - and it certainly sounds like her voice is as authentic as the orchestra that backs her up. The song 'Flower' is a new one and this one was released as a single. This picture disc 7" single proves both that Kylie can perform well and that Photoshop is a popular tool to create immaculate photographs with.
My collection: 7" single no. 5299 Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received November 17, 2012 Cost: 5 pounds Tracks: 'Flower' / 'Flower (instrumental)'
'What kind of fool (Heard all that before)' was written by Kylie Minogue, Mike Stock and Pete Waterman for Minogue's first compilation album 'Greatest Hits' (1992). The song was produced by Stock and Waterman and received a generally positive reception from critics. Released as the first single in the summer of 1992, it became Minogue's 19th top 20 hit in the UK and 15th in Australia.
Kylie admitted in an interview with the Australian Sunday Telegraph in October 2008, that she is no longer fond of the song: 'There's plenty I've cringed about', she says. 'There's one track I really didn't like called 'What Kind of Fool'. But I realised you can run, but you can't hide, so I embraced 'I Should Be So Lucky' and the rest of them.'
My collection: 7" single no. 5153 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'What kind of fool' / 'Things can only get better'
'Give me just a little more time' was originally released in 1970 as the debut single of Chairmen of the Board, an American soul band. The song was written by Holland, Dozier & Holland, who also released the single on their own Invictus label.
It was covered in 1991 by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. Minogue's version was featured in a commercial for Accurist watches at the time. It was one of the last tracks to be recorded for her fourth album, 'Let's get to it. It peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5152 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Give me just a little more time' / 'Do you dare (NRG edit)'
'Better than today' was released on December 5, 2010 as the third single from Kylie's latest album 'Aphrodite'. Written by Nerina Pallot and Andy Chatterley, an earlier, acoustic version of the track was included on Pallot's EP 'Buckminster Fuller'.
Released on two cd-singles and a picture disc 7" single, it was a relatively minor hit for Kylie, as it only made number 32 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 4981 Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received December 29, 2010 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Better than today' / 'Better than today (Bills and Hurr remix)'
'Get outta my way' was released last week as the second single from Kylie's current album 'Aphrodite'. Like the previous single 'All the lovers', it was released on two cd-singles and a 7" picture disc. It has already peaked at the number 12 spot in the UK singles chart - and is unlikely to get any higher than that.
The song was written and produced by Lucas Secon, Damon Sharpe, Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen and Cutfather, and co-produced by Stuart Price. He said the song wasn't written for any particular artist and at one point four different artists wanted to cut it as their first single before it was claimed by Kylie.
My collection: 7" single no. 4951 Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received October 8, 2010 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Get outta my way' / 'Get outta my way (Bimbo Jones piano mix - radio edit)'
You have to have a big ego if you call your album 'Aphrodite' and pose as if you are the Greek goddess of love herself. But then Kylie has been successful for two decades now and then your ego is bound to grow. Fortunately, her tunes aren't half bad these days, as the mentioned album proves.
'All the lovers' was released a few months ago on two different cd-singles and a picture disc 7" single - something one has to applaud in this era where digital downloads seem to rule the world. The Spanish version of the title track is an added bonus not available on the cd-singles, and so this 7" single is worth owning.
My collection: 7" single no. 4921 Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received July 1, 2010 Cost: 3 pounds Tracks: 'All the lovers' / 'Los amores'
What's odd about this single, is that it sounds so slow now. In the Eighties, Kylie was the hottest dance act in the Stock/Aitken/Waterman stable, but 'Wouldn't change a thing' sounds a lot like a 45rpm single played on 33rpm speed.
'Wouldn't change a thing' was the second single taken from Kylie's second album 'Enjoy yourself'. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 24 in Germany. It went top 10 in Australia and Finland.
My collection: 7" single no. 4907 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received May 28, 2010 Cost: 1,1 euro Tracks: 'Wouldn't change a thing' / 'It's no secret'
'Tears on my pillow' was written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The song was originally recorded by Little Anthony & The Imperials as their debut single.
Kylie Minogue recorded her version of this song on her second album 'Enjoy yourslef'. It was released as a sigle in November 1989 in Australia, and two months later in Europe. The song reached number 1 in the UK singles chart and peaked at number 19 in the Dutch Top 40. The B-side was released as a single in Sweden, reaching number 1.
My collection: 7" single no. 3326 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Tears on my pillow' / 'We know the meaning of love'
Kylie Minogue was changing her image from 'girl next door' to 'sex siren', and the music video for 'What do I have to do' was one of the means to do this. The video showed Kylie in a swimming pool, a fairground, doing the ironing in a French maid's costume, and dancing with a female friend in a club. The sexual undertones in the video directed by Dave Hogan proved too much for Saturday morning TV shows, and so they showed a censored version of the video.
The music video was exploited in the single release as well: this limited edition features two free postcards with stills from the video. 'What do I have to do' reached number 6 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2701 Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 3, 1996 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'What do I have to do' / 'What do I have to do (instrumental)'
Kylie Minogue teamed up with American R&B singer Keith Washington for the single 'If you were with me now', a track traken from Kylie's fourth album 'Let's get to it' (1991). The single reached number 4 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in the Netherlands.
The song is notable for being Minogue's first hit single to feature her as a co-writer. The two performers did not meet until they made the music video: the song was recorded in the UK and America separately.
My collection: 7" single no. 3325 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'If you were with me now' / 'I guess I like it like that'
The new single by Madonna notwithstanding, the most famous song called 'Celebration' was originally released in 1980 by Kool & the Gang, a number 1 hit in America for the band. Kylie Minogue, who cited the song as one of her alltime favourite songs, recorded for her fourth studio album 'Let's get to it' in 1991, but it was not included.
The track appeared a year later as a new song on her Greatest Hits album. Released as a single, it reached number 20 in the UK singles chart. This song was the last single Kylie made with PWL and Stock Aitken Waterman.
My collection: 7" single no. 3331 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Celebration' / 'Let's get to it'
'Never too late' was the third single taken from Kylie Minogue's second album 'Enjoy yourself'. Kylie herself wanted the title track to be released as the third single, but she was overruled by producer Pete Waterman - illustrating once more who had creative control over her career at that point.
The B-side, called 'Kylie's Smiley Mix', was a megamix of Kylie's biggest hits up until then, including the tracks 'Je ne sais pas pourquoi', 'Turn it into love', 'I should be so lucky' and 'Got to be certain'. 'Never too late' was apparently the favourite Kylie song of the late INXS lead singer and Kylie's ex-boyfriend Michael Hutchence.
My collection: 7" single no. 3330 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Never too late' / 'Kylie's Smiley mix'
'Step back in time' was released in October 1990 as the second single from Kylie Minogue's third album 'Rhythm of love'. The lyric is about how modern music can never beat the swinging disco music from the Seventies ('Remembering the old days / Remember the O'Jays').
Kylie prolongued her success in Australia and the UK with this single, reaching number 5 and 4 in the charts respectively. Although her music, still produced by UK producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman, was not radically removed from her previous output, Kylie did change her image from 'girl next door' to a more raunchy look. It did not only have positive effects: for the first time she was nominated for 'worst dressed popstar' in the teen magazines of the day.
My collection: 7" single no. 3311 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Step back in time' / 'Step back in time (instrumental)'
'Hand on your heart' was released as the first single from Kylie Minogue's second album, 'Enjoy yourself'. It was another track written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, so nothing really had changed: Kylie was still making radiofriendly commercial pop without pretences.
The single became her third number 1 hit in the UK, while it reached number 4 in Australia and number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 3324 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Hand on your heart' / 'Just wanna love you'
'Je ne sais pas pourquoi' was supposed to be released as a double A-side with 'Made in heaven', but it performed so well on its own that the plans to release it as a double A-side single were changed (Although this particular single does list it as the AA-side).
The song was released as Kylie's fourth single in the winter of 1988 and reached number 2 in the UK singles chart. In the Netherlands, the single did not chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3329 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Je ne sais pas pourquoi' / 'Made in heaven'
'Got to be certain' was another single by Kylie Minogue, written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman. It was taken from Kylie's debut album 'Kylie' (1988). The production sounded decidedly thin this time around, with clunky keyboards and a rather simple melody.
Still, the single was a number 1 hit in Australia, Belgium, Finland and Israel and reached number 2 in the UK. The bubbly music video might have helped. However, in the Netherlands, the single did not chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3334 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Got to be certain' / 'Got to be certain (instrumental)'
I never shy away from a good debate, especially when it takes place on this blog. So when Jos asked me why in God's name I bought singles by Risqué, I can't help but reply (while of course respecting the fact that there is no accounting for tastes, indeed). Within my collection there are certainly some artistic highs and lows. I love the good, the bad and the ugly. But most of all, I like pop. And it's true, a lot of pop music is not sung by the ones on the sleeve (and when it is, it is usually 'polished' in the studio), the music comes from session musicians - but it is always produced well. Does it matter that the guys from Milli Vanilli or Boney M didn't sing their stuff themselves? I think not; 'Daddy cool' and 'Ma Baker' are still pop classics.
All this to conceal that I bought a lot of Kylie Minogue singles - after she became 'cool' when she started working with Manic Street Preachers in 1995. So did she sing this debut single herself? I think so - it sounds irritating enough. But look here: two decades on, she's a star. And she's already performed this very song in about ten different arrangements - including a ballad and a variety showband version. Creativity knows no boundaries.
My collection: 7" single no. 3316 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'I should be so lucky' / 'I should be so lucky (instrumental)'
'Shocked' was written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Kylie Minogue’s third album 'Rhythm of love' (1990). The song was never intended for single release but when remixed by DNA and featured a rap penned and performed by Pauline Bennett a.k.a Jazzi P the commercial potential was big enough to warrant a release. (Obviously I prefer the B-side version which isn't tainted by the inane rantings of a madwoman.)
The single peaked at number 6 in the UK singles chart and at number 2 in Ireland.
My collection: 7" single no. 3323 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Shocked (DNA mix)' / 'Shocked (Harding/Curnow mix)'
