Kylie Minogue VH1 Interview: Disco's Thin White Dame

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Aussie dance pop queen talks about Brigitte Bardot, her manufactured character, and the Queer Eye contingent.

When Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" stormed the charts two years ago, no one could believe she was the same singer who went top 10 in 1988 with a cover of "The Locomotion." If that Kylie was all big teeth and mall hair, this Kylie was a sex kitten whose pout and purr could give you goose bumps - and several other embarrassing physical reactions.

The Australia native had done a lot of growing up since her early success. In the States she was a one-hit-wonder, but in Europe her celebrity had gone far beyond the Aussie soap opera that started her career. She had dated INXS singer Michael Hutchence, discovered the dance-floor in a string of hit singles, gyrated on an electrical bull in ads for Agent Provocateur lingerie, and built impressive followings in both gay and straight communities.

The new Body Language finds her evolving yet again. With its Bardot pose, the cover art emphasizes Continental stylishness. So does the music. With help from Mantronix and Scritti Politti, Kylie goes back to the `80s, panting over the era's disco sounds. The pulsing electro of "Slow" is pure pop, camp without being silly, and damn sure to get you moving.

While other dance queens worry about building "meaningful" careers, Kylie embraces disposability. She admits to being as prefab as any pop idol. Maybe that's why she's even been adopted by the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy gang. The 35-year-old singer giggled as she told VH1 about her unexpected American success, changing images, and how she's had her share of tragedy.

VH1: Your last album, Fever, was quite successful in America. Were you surprised?

Kylie Minogue: Completely surprised! "Can't Get You Out of My Head" had been No. 1 in I don't know how many countries, but I still wasn't signed to an American record company. So America was not on the schedule. It was where I came and took a holiday! And Fever changed all of that!

VH1: Before I heard the new album's music, I saw the posters. You've got a very Brigitte Bardot look these days.

KM: Yeah. We shot it on location in the South of France, so it was [easy to] channel the spirit of Bardot. She's a great iconic reference, particularly that period where she was working with [singer/songwriter] Serge Gainsbourg. I thought it was the perfect mix of coquette, kitten and rock `n' roll.

VH1: Do you feel the need to change your image from album to album?

KM: It's part need and part something I enjoy. I follow fashion - sometimes more than others, but sometimes I haven't a clue what's going on! I thrive on change and variety, so to have a new look for, not only an album, but every single, is something I enjoy. But there are times when I just wish I could be the same as when I get up in the morning. It'd be nice and easy!

VH1: You've been very open about acknowledging that there's something manufactured about what you do.

KM: If you're part of a record company, I think to a degree it's fair to say that you're a manufactured product. You're a product and you're selling a product. It doesn't mean that you're not talented and that you don't make creative and business decisions about what you will and won't do and where you want to go. Especially in the beginning, doing the soap opera [Neighbours] that I was on. When you work in TV, it's such a group effort, it's not about you. I carry that into this career as well. Ultimately, yes, it's my name and I have to deliver the goods. But it doesn't happen without a team. So I try and work with the best people I can and take from them what I can. Hopefully I enhance what they do as well.

VH1: The lyrics on Body Language sound more personal than they might have been a few years ago.

KM: Some of that could be just chance! I wrote lyrics that were intensely personal to me on an album a few years ago. Maybe people know me better now, and therefore, if a songwriter pitches me a song, they might tailor it [to fit me]. I get the lyrics of a tune and interpret them my way. It's a great compliment if you believe them [to be personal]!

VH1: Tell me about the song "Slow." What's it about?

KM: It's a simple song, and yet it stays with you. Lyrically, it's about how time and space have a different meaning when you meet someone [you really like]. I loved the way the song had this push-pull effect; the musical and lyrical combination gives you a sense of that.

VH1: It's like when the guy in Big Fish sees his future wife. Everything slows down except the two of them.

KM: Yeah, it's like some things are really intensified. It could be your breathing or a breeze. It's a tricky one to describe!

VH1: Describe the video for people who haven't seen it.

KM: The video is set in Barcelona at the Olympic Diving site. I lie down for the whole video, which I thought was a very cunning plan. But then I ended up having to sing directly into the camera when the sun was right next it, so tears were streaming down my face! Videos always have a painful moment. It's either too hot or it's too cold or there's always something. That's part of the fun, I guess.

VH1: How has the music of the '80s influenced you?

KM: I first got into pop music in '81, I'd say. It was all about Prince, Adam + the Ants, that whole New Romantic period. Prior to that, it was the Jackson 5, Donna Summer, and my dad's records - the Stones and Beatles. The influence we used on Body Language was more mid-`80s, specifically Scritti Politti.

VH1: You actually got Scritti Politti's Green Gartside singing on the album.

KM: I wanted that kind of sound - minimal beats, a little softer on the edges than what we'd done with Fever. To this day I haven't met him! I left a message on his answering machine, saying, "Hi, it's Kylie! I just wanted to say thanks so much! You sound brilliant!"

VH1: You're guesting on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. How do you explain your gay fan-base?

KM: It's always difficult for me to give the definitive answer because I don't have it! My gay audience has been with me from the beginning. The most important thing to me is that it was a very natural coming together. In recent years a lot of record companies market directly towards "the pink pound." But I never did that. They kind of adopted me instead.

VH1: Why do you think that is?

KM: I can only imagine that it's partly because I do dance music, and I can be pretty camp myself from time to time. Somebody once said to me, "Gay icons, there's a lot of tragedy in their lives. But you don't really have that." I said, "I've had a lot of tragic hairdos and outfits. I think that makes up for it!"

By Brian Ives & C. Bottomley