Kylie Minogue

Kylie Anne Minogue was born on the 28th May 1968 in Melbourne, Australia, the eldest of three children she was a quiet child who didn't make friends easily. In 1979 her younger sister Dannii was auditioning for a role in the soap opera The Sullivans when instead of hiring her they offered Kylie the position who they found more suitable for both the role and age of the character, several other appearances followed until 1986 when Kylie joined the popular soap opera Neighbours, her character Charlene Ramsey was a permed, tomboy, mechanic who falls in love with Scott, played by Jason Donovan complete with 80's mullet. The romance of Scott & Charlene gripped the nation, with millions tuning in every week day for a slice of sunny, Australian drama while witnessing perhaps the ultimate boy and girl next door fall in love. The late 1980s had seen a rising interest in Australia, this sun drenched, distant country complete with palm trees, sandy beaches and a culture that was quite different and yet still similar to the British way of life had become very appealing as a destination to get away from it all. 

Kylie And Jason The Ultimate Boy And Girl Next Door

Australian soaps The Young Doctors and Sons & Daughters shown throughout the 1980s offered a cheaper looking, set wobbling, alternative to the glitz, glamour and shoulder padded storylines of Dallas and Dynasty. For those who liked their drama a bit more grown up there was Prisoner Cell Block H set in a women's prison, dealing with the trials and tribulations of the inmates and wardens, looking back at it now it was quite ahead of it's time dealing with lesbian themes and drug use. Then came Neighbours, it didn't deal with such heavy storylines and found it's appeal from being more true to life, the programme had a large following, in particularly Neighbours was popular with younger viewers and the eventual wedding of Scott and Charlene in November 1988 was watched by 19.6 million people in the UK, higher than the population of Australia at the time however, before we reached the marital bliss of our young neighbours, in 1987 Kylie Minogue along with several other cast members attended a football benefit concert in Melbourne, here she sang two songs, 'I Got You Babe' and as an encore 'The Locomotion'.

Kylie A 1980s Teenager

Her appearance led to a musical contract with Mushroom Records where Mike Duffy on loan from Pete Waterman's PWL record label in England remixed her version of The Locomotion giving it a more up tempo feel, the accompanying video saw Kylie along with several dancers perform a routine in front of a spray painted train background. To say Kylie's debut single was a success in her native Australia would be something of an understatement, The Locomotion spent 7 wks at number 1 becoming not only the biggest selling of the year but of the entire decade. Following on from her huge success 'down under' Kylie visited London for a meeting with record producing trio Stock, Aitken and Waterman it was here literally on the last day before she returned home that she recorded the song ' I Should Be So Lucky' supposedly the pop producers thought she should be so lucky to have a hit single, the joke however would firmly be on them, I Should Be So Lucky reached No 1 in England for 5 weeks, not only did it reach the top spot over here but in countries across Europe, Asia and it also gave kylie her second No 1 in her native Australia. The video for I Should Be So Lucky filmed in Melbourne, November 1987 had Kylie taking a very bubbly bath, singing around her bed and tidying up her flat, who knew that teenager Kylie would keep such an untidy house!

Is She Getting Ready For Bed Or A Workout

Kylie fever had indeed gripped the nation, with millions tuning in to see her in Neighbours five days a week and then rushing out to buy her debut single. Newspaper speculation was also running wild, were our favourite neighbours Kylie and Jason actually dating in her life? Well apparently they were, however we were left guessing for a long time. After the success of 'I Should Be So Lucky' aimed squarely at her young audience had surprised both Kylie and her producers an album was recorded, the self titled album  'Kylie'  was a pop paradise of 10 tunes bouncy enough to get you off your feet and into the direction of the record shops, the album shot to the top of the charts, spending 6 weeks at No 1, becoming the best selling album of the year in the Uk and selling more than 5 million copies world wide, it would eventually become the fifth best selling album of the 1980s in the UK and the best selling album of the decade by a female artist, Kylie was indeed lucky, lucky, lucky!

Despite all the success Kylie was achieving she was constantly being hailed as a one hit wonder, that the success of her first single was a fluke and that like many other popstars would soon be forgotten, her fresh faced, wholesome image however made her a firm favourite for millions of young girls and boys alike and at the heart of any good pop song the music was light and catchy. Her follow up single 'Got To Be Certain' was another slice of Stock Aitken And waterman pop perfection, dealing with the uncertainty of young love and would be the proof in the pudding when it reached No 2 in the Uk and gave Kylie her third No 1 in Australia, the single would also reach the top 10 across Europe and Asia. The video consisted of Kylie wearing various outfits walking around her hometown of Melbourne, 'hanging out' with a bunch of young men and women and even taking a ride on a carousel.

Kylie She's Got To Be Certain

'The Locomotion' which had started her career in Australia was remixed and became her third single worldwide, this also reached No 2 in the Uk and once again reached the top 10 throughout Europe, Asia and this time North America too, achieving number 1 in Canada and number 3 in the U.S.A, it would easily be her crowning glory in both countries. The video for The Locomotion saw kylie arriving at an airport and of course dancing in front of a train, a graffiti drawing of an underground train. Her next single 'Je Ne Sais Pourquoi' showcased a change of pace, it was a slower song than her previous releases, the title, which is French you know, translates to 'I do not know why' yet again reached No 2 in the Uk, the accompanying video gave us a vintage Kylie, being stood up somewhere in 1940s France and daydreaming about dancing with her vacant boyfriend. With a No 1 single and album and three No2's in a row Kylie had undoubtedly surpassed the expectations of her critics and proved the one hit wonder claims wrong. 

Kylie Minogue 1988 A Denim Delight

The above photo was found during an internet search the original photo was enhanced by myself to restore it back to it's visual beauty.

Kylie however was not done with 1988 just yet, there was one more single to come, one that would see her duet with her neighbours co-star and boyfriend Jason Donovan, a single that would outsell even 'I Should Be So Lucky', the song wrote especially for them was called 'Especially For You'. With both Kylie and Jason now successful popstars and with their romance enthralling the nation it only seemed right that they duet, Woolworths had spoken to Stock Aitken And Waterman and told them should they release a record together that they could sell 250,000 copies and so with the Neighbours wedding fresh on people's minds and with Christmas fast approaching a single was recorded, the theme of course was a couple in love, arh! 'Especially For You' was released but missed out on the Christmas No 1 spot thanks to veteran singer Cliff Richard with 'Mistletoe & Wine' however not to worry, the single became the first No 1 song of 1989 where it stayed for 3 wks and sold over 1 million copies, what a nice, belated, wedding present!

Kylie and Jason Especially For You