What is my first question to come in? ; We’ve been here for seven hours. Should have thought of one by now. ; No, no, I was thinking where do I start with you because it is um an extraordinary life thus far. ; Well, I don’t envy you because I wouldn’t know where to start either e either. ; Where would you start? ; Let’s start at the very beginning.
Um, we could start. When I think about music, I think about being seven or eight, being obsessed with Greece with my brother and sister, doing the Greece lightning dance and um and Abbera and all of that. And I guess that’s where I started daydreaming about about doing what I do. ; And when you daydreamed, what specifically was it? I had one specific daydream which was that the guy who lived next door, like the father of the family next door, was a record producer and would hear me sing. But I thought all kids had
these kind of, you know, like a pop fantasy or when you’re a kid and you you have your TV idols or movie idols. I think it’s a general thing. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but they have these kind of um you know, you wonder what it is to to be known or to be famous and do the things that your idols do or a sports idol or someone.
Um mine just didn’t let up. ; But to get your break, it was all about your break, wasn’t it? I wonder if someone can be there to give me a bit of luck along the way. Um but in the end, it was just it was kind of hard work. And you got into it yourself. ; Well, and I in the beginning I didn’t really push to even get into that.
I I started learning music and dance, but really not much more than most kids do. You know, you kind of get thrown into a class of 5-year-olds learning violin and spiel and all that kind of stuff. Um, but it was just when I was 11, my mother had an acquaintance. I don’t even think she was so much a friend, just someone she knew who worked for the casting department of Crawford’s and they were looking for a girl and that’s how I got my first role.
So I don’t recall saying being one of those like stage kids or I certainly don’t have stage parents. So from either party saying I want to be this, I want to be that. But it was something that I I must have had within me. So I guess the perception might be out there that you know with Danny in the business as well that it was like something you sought after and crave or maybe you’re pushed into.
; No, not at all. Um but my or both my parents just wanted to and as I see my my brother and my sister doing that with their kids is to just get the kids into different environments and see what you know what sticks. Is it karate? Is it music? Is it swimming? Is it football? Just kind of get them out doing stuff.
; What did you love about it? ; Uh, I couldn’t really say everything. Making noise. I like making noise. I do. ; Well, you’ve done that all life beautifully. What I mean by that is ; I guess because it’s expression. It’s it’s um it’s it’s play. ; Um and then from the play you learn you have to study. You have to learn stuff.
Um, and then you know, cut to many, many, many years later, I realized you have to work and work and work and hone your craft if that’s what you’ve chosen to do. ; And you started out on on a couple of very iconic television series that seemed like middle of last century. They were that long. ; Oh god, you’re right.
; That came out that came out completely wrong. Well, they were b they were based in the middle of last century. ; Correct. ; Yes. Yes. was in World War Drama. ; Yes. ; Um, first I did Skyways and then Sullivan’s. ; Yeah. And and once you did Sullivan’s you got a taste for it or was it still just something that you were doing on the side? ; I think it was just still an interesting experience. I loved being on set.
I don’t think I had anything to be frightened of. ; I think the fear the fear actually comes later. ; Um, and I remember there was a a dialect coach, Mr. Muskins. How could you forget that name? Who helps me to have a Dutch accent, which I believe was terrible. ; Do you still in retrospect? ; Do you have a Dutch accent? ; No.
; He would just go through my script and instead of saying this, he would say this. Uh, you know, little tiny things. But um and to this day if I you know like a malt factory that the smell takes me right back to filming Sullivan’s because that’s where we did a lot of the location work.
So perhaps unknowingly the the desire and the love for it started then but it wasn’t until I was uh 16 that that was when I made the decision to get you know to to do more acting. ; It it suddenly had um dawned on you that this was was something that you you really wanted to get good at and wanted to make a career of.
Was that when you when you on Henderson Kids or was that neighbors Henderson kids. Yeah. ; So at that point we really didn’t know as a family much about anything how to get into acting although my sister was in young talent time so ; kind of knew a bit about TV from that side. ; Um so we went back to Crawford’s which was the only company I’d ever worked with before when I was 11 and they happened to have uh an audition on for the Henderson Kids.
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So, I remember getting all dressed up as as a character and went and got the role and then it then I was addicted cuz it was way much more fun than being at school. ; You didn’t get asked back for the Henderson Kids, too, though. ; I know. I know. It’s still Why? Why? ; But that’s ; I would have loved to go back.
; The slings and arrows of of acting and the entertainment industry and from an early age, ; you got to see the other side of it as well. ; Yeah. I was I was in the first series. I wasn’t in the second series. Um so I went back to school. I finished I finished HSC. I passed by the skin of my teeth, but I was able to say I have my HSC.
Um and then after that at school is when they’re asking you, so what are you going to do? ; And I thought I don’t really know what I want to do, but I want to do more acting. So the mission then was to get uh an agent. So I couldn’t afford to have photographs taken. So my brother took photographs and in the front yard.
Ironically he turned out to be cameraman. So our parts were already kind of setting and I got an agent. I got the role in neighbors and I was just super happy to have a job ; and I I don’t don’t think I was thinking beyond that. ; Did you think that Charlene would become in your wildest imagination such a a popular character on Australian TV? ; No.
; What did you think? ; I liked her though. She was fun to play. The start of Neighbors I was only meant to be there between 1 and 12 weeks was I guess that’s a standard contract. Um, and they asked me back. So, ; it’s what you do though. I mean, you’ve got a small time period there on Neighbors to try and make your mark.
; A small role. ; And you do though. ; You do make your mark. Did you feel it coming? Cuz presumably you’re taping before a lot before you’re actually going on air. Um, if you know what I mean. ; They don’t give you many rehearsals. This is a soap opera. Learn your lines, go. It’s pretty fast. ; But that sausage factory was was a great learning experience.
; Great training ground. ; But you have no idea of your popularity ; initially. No, because uh well firstly neighbors was on another station and it was axed. I think it lived for close to a year and it was axed. So another station picked it up. I think I came in about I want to say three months after its kind of revival and I came in around the time where they I think they just loaded it with some young characters and um I don’t know it was just meant to be took off.
; Charlene ; Charlene or as M would say Charlene ; she was always mad at her. ; I remember that. I do remember that. When I look at you, it’s hard to see any more Charlene there, except for your eyes. ; You should see me in the morning with crazy hair everywhere. ; You reckon it’s not that far? ; When I release my inner bogan. Yeah.
; So, there’s some Charlene still inside. ; Yeah. Yeah. actually because she was feisty and and and I have to be like that sometimes to get stuff done and to you know to get along in this industry and in life perhaps ; pull out that wrench and threaten to hit people, ; right? Yeah. ; Why I ; find that very hard to believe.
Um it obviously went from that 12 weeks to ; two and a half years. ; Two and a half years. M ; that must have been, you know, a time a great time for you. ; It was great. Um I got my first car and drive to work. ; What sort of car? ; Uh Datson 1200. I kind of missed that car. If anyone owns a white Datson 1200B with twin cards and extractors, ; whatever they are, ; stop it. sport steering wheel.
; Manual. ; Wow. ; Yeah, that was my first car. So, I guess it was an amazing time because I’m I’ve got a job. Uh, which didn’t I mean, just the year before I didn’t really know what I was going to do. Was it going to be a secretary? Was I going to go to business school? Was it really nothing appealed to me aside from from acting? Um, I was in a show that turned out to be really successful and then during my time on that show is uh is when I made my first record.
; I’ll come back to that in just a second. But um you you achieve enormous popularity too in the UK through all of this. ; Your marriage to Scott is watched by 20 million people in the UK. ; I can’t believe that. I mean, I can’t believe that. ; It’s a lot of people at your wedding. ; It It was It was a big one.
And people still talk to me about it ; a lot. They love it. ; Well, they love you. And even in the UK, I mean, how do you ; That was ; How do you even explain it? ; I still can’t explain it, but I love hearing about it. Um, I remember at the time when we would hear that the show was doing really well, but it kind of didn’t affect us too much because we’re still going to the studio and none awarding doing the same thing that we’d been doing for months or however long it was before it really took off in in the UK.
Um, so it was kind of business as as usual for us ; and I don’t know I I could never really grasp it until finally spending more time over there. ; So when you went overseas for the first time or when you went to the UK after you’d achieved his popularity, what was it like? ; Uh, pretty crazy because I don’t think we had paparazzi or as much tabloid action as as they do over there.
So that was something to get used to. But it was good. But I don’t think I was really there for the whole wedding thing. So that’s why I love hearing stories about it because we weren’t there. ; Well, most people Australians I think would have a story about the wedding with Scott and Charlene. ; Yeah.
Or or Angry Anderson, you know, suddenly comes on and leg of mutton sleeves back. ; Yeah. ; I think it was because it was achievable. It was there. I mean, you were a big star, but in in many ways on screen, you were just the girl next door. ; Well, we were all it was neighbors. Everyone lived next door. We were all very uh ; uh relatable characters.
Um, but yeah, I guess I I I love the fact that that Charlene um that that girls really liked her and and thought that, you know, she had enough spunk to her. I like that. ; Well, it was a bit of you. ; That was a bit of you. ; How did the recording come about? How did the song come about? Because I remember you on ; Young Talent Time.
I distinctly remember this and I’m sure other Australians do as well. When you came on and you sang a song with your sister Danny, I remember it distinctly like it was yesterday. Very vivid memories. I don’t know why to this day I have those memories. ; A funny feeling. ; I just remember it was hot. ; Do you recall that? ; Sure do. Yep.
So cute to see that now. the two of us in a spangly silver sequin uh was like kind of like a box dress and huge hair. Huge hair. Was Dan was the one who was experienced. She knew what she was doing. I think I was just trying to follow. ; But that was really cool. ; I reckon a lot of people would have thought at the time there’s another Star War there’s another Star.
; Maybe that would be nice. It felt good for you that that night, didn’t it? ; I I actually it’s I I remember it more thinking back to it as opposed to being there. I was probably just in some You’re like, “What am I doing world?” ; But yeah, it was lovely. ; I think I’m remembering feeling more than you are.
; But as a significant moment in my life, ; we used to go quite often to to the taping. um as a family. So I would I I wasn’t known then and we would go and and watch the show. ; I remember this I really like this story just to show where my family come from. Uh my sister had been in the show for a few years.
I think she was about must have been right before she was they turfed them out probably around 14. And she got the first leather jacket in our family. We hovered around this. She she put the jacket on and we all hovered around. It was like I don’t know the the churan shroud had arrived at our house. It was like ; wow that’s amazing. ; Jealous.
; Like yeah jealous. Envious. Yeah. She had a really cool gray quite Michael Jacksonesque ; Wow. ; jacket but it was a big moment in our household ; and only inspired you to want to go out there and get your own, didn’t it? ; Yeah. I will have a leather jacket myself. ; You’ve always been compared. Damn her.
Damn that Danny. ; Um you get you How’ the recording contract come about though? ; Um I Well, I first I started um having singing lessons at 16 with a tiny bit of money I made doing Henderson Kids. Yeah. because I had some pennies in the bank and uh would go to uh a vocal coach who worked out of a church like a little day when there was no one at church.
Um made a demo cassette when I was 17 through contacts of Danny’s with the show. Uh recorded three tracks and I cried naturally. I cried in the studio because I was so nervous. But I made the demo cassette. Don’t know where it is anymore, but somewhere there’s a cassette with me doing my first studio recordings.
I I did it more so to for my agent to have because trying to get work as an actor. Can you water ski? Sure. Can you horse right? Sure. ; Can you uh tumble? Yeah. Can you sing? Here’s a cassette. So the singing was had been around. Then uh then I was in Neighbors. The show was really successful.
Um and we performed at a benefit concert one night, a bunch of us from the from the cast. And one of the songs we performed was Blood Commotion. ; A guy who used to um produce one of the music show at channel 10. I think it’s called Night Life, Night Line, Night something, whatever it was. Uh, a guy who worked on a music show at Channel 10 said, “That was great.
You should record it and make a record.” So, I recorded a demo and somehow that ends up ; on the charts ; in Michael Gadinsk’s hands and it was produced and I made a video and yeah, that was the start of it all. ; Seven weeks. No one. ; Yeah. Yeah. ; Could you quite believe that was happening? ; No. No, I couldn’t.
I was super excited to to um to make a video, my first video. Uh and then the first time I heard it on the radio, there was a show called Top 8 on Eon FM, I think it was, and I was home with my family and there was the countdown. So song in at number eight is blah blah blah ; 8 765 4 oh I just thought oh well it’s not didn’t get anywhere and then the announcer said and we’ve got a new entry at number one and said my name and played my song and that was a moment. That was a moment.
; Arms in the air. ; Arms in the air. ; Real excitement. ; Yeah. Um, ; but it wasn’t ; like now where you can access anything wherever you want. It was it was on our little transistor radio in the kitchen. It was ; for real on radio ; and it was number one. It was amazing. ; But it didn’t come naturally for you.
So I mean going down that path, was there a degree of nervousness or uncertainty about being a singer at that point on a professional level? ; Uh, it would have been more a novelty in the beginning. Um, I don’t I don’t know that I realized an album would follow and certainly didn’t realize that I would be where I am today. No.
; And then you you take off on a goes on in a really really different tangent. Well then, um, sorry gets a bit complicated, but so my demo the vocals recorded on that demo were you were the vocals used to produce the record. ; Locomotion was produced by an engineer from Stocket Mortman in England. So he was visiting.
So then it just I guess it was the logical step to do more recordings with his with the mother ship with stock and waterman and write they would write original songs for me. ; They were huge. ; They were huge. ; And you became part of the factory. ; Yeah. Uh so I would go to London if I had I would try to get two weeks off from neighbors.
So ; shoot over to London. The first time I went to record though, I was I was with my my manager, Terry, and uh I was even I was so embarrassed to even call him my manager because I I just um it made me feel different to everyone else in my team, you know, all my my fellow actors and everyone on the show.
Uh and I I yeah, I took me ages. So stupid thinking back, but I’d say, “Oh, this is Terry, and he um he’s he’s looking after me. I just felt ; Yeah, ; I don’t know. I I didn’t feel like I was ready to say he’s my manager.” Um anyway, so we went went to London and as the famous story goes, um Stockach and Waterman either forgot I was there or were so busy they ignored me.
And so Terry and I twiddled our thumbs for a week, did every tourist thing that you can do in London, double take a bus trip, I don’t parrots, etc. until on the last day they realized um that I would be leaving. So they wrote I should be so lucky in depends which story you hear, but 10 20 minutes I was standing by, recorded it and came back to Australia.
; Is that true? that story. 10 20 minutes. ; Well, I couldn’t tell you exactly how long, but it’s it would have been fast. Yeah, ; that is a quick turnar around. Such a big ; only they were all that fast now. ; Yeah. ; So, one thing led to another with um with Stockake and Waterman and first album did well, led to a second album.
I did four albums with them and then the fifth one was the greatest hits. uh by which time I’ I’d left Neighbors, which was a big ; decision for me to leave the number one show, ; but it was becoming too hard to to do both. Um so I left and relocated to London. Took me a long time to took years to um confess to myself that I was actually actually living there.
M ; I kept thinking I’m just visiting. I don’t I’m just visiting. I’m going back to Australia. Years passed and ; I mean effectively you were growing up before our eyes and going through those teen years into adulthood. Um did you feel that pressure the eyes on you at that point? ; Uh yeah, I felt it a lot.
Um I learned pretty quickly the rise and fall of it, the lovehate. um uh stories that come from nowhere uh some that come from somewhere. I mean it it was like a crash course uh of of uh of of the media and how how to negotiate that. ; What was the worst thing that was ever written about you at that point do you think? ; Oh um something partic I couldn’t think of something in particular.
some great wild ones like that I had a dungeon that I was an alien like really you know silly amazing ones which were great. ; A dungeon? ; Yeah. ; Is it not true that you had a dungeon? I thought everyone knew that. ; It’s still under construction. I want to get it perfect. Um No, but I never had a dungeon. ; And you’re definitely not an alien.
; Not that I know of. Not Not that I know of. Um, but one worst story I I I honestly can’t think of one that was the worst, but there was just a kind of general It depended if ; you were in or you were out. ; The reality is that that you were starting to face the slings and arrows of the media that ; that were selling off the back of these stories that may not have been true.
Hard to get a take on that. Hard to counter it. What I found upsetting at the time was I don’t know and now I can look at it with some distance, some maturity and understanding. Um, but at the time I thought, why is there being so mean? What have I done? Like I get it if you don’t like what I do or that’s the point of of art and and um and I don’t like the stuff that I don’t like.
But it was it was pretty harsh at times. ; Did some hurt? ; Hell yeah. ; Did you cry a lot? ; I would have cried. Yeah. I had like a mini breakdown. I’ve kind of forgotten about it now, but it’s just coming back to me. um when it was it was really full on and it was uh it was my brother. I cried to my brother is like he’s he’s he’s like the rock.
My sister and I have these slightly crazy lives and deal with slightly uh unusual circumstances. ; Um but he he’s he’s the guy. He’s he’s the one that we both go to. And I remember just that like just kind of crying in the corner to him going I don’t know what I said but just not did I’d run out of ways to deal with it ; and this is just a constant criticism.
; Um it would have been that and just maybe trying to keep up with everything. I don’t know. But when ; I can deal with something face to face is fine, but when the at the time I felt like there these kind of faceless voices like ; would you say that to my face? Would you ; because then I’ll happily talk with you and I’ll listen to you and I’ll give you my opinion and you might be right but ; to not be able to engage with these kind of ; puffed up voices.
You started um at some point along there going out with this man who ; which one? ; That was cruel, wasn’t it? ; I know where you’re going. ; I You do know you. ; Yeah. ; This guy was um incredibly charismatic and an out and out rock star. ; Yes. Do you remember how it came about? ; Um, well, I was an NSS fan like everybody.
Um, and I went to see their concert and I remember thinking, “Oh, he looked at me.” But then I learned down the line that he was um shortsighted. So, he really did not look at me. But it didn’t MATTER CUZ I FELT LIKE HE WAS in um Yeah. I remember Michael telling me he he tried a performance with contacts in and it terrified him.
So he decided I’m not wearing contacts. But I and that was a lesson for me because you should make everyone feel like you’ve seen them. ; That’s very funny. ; It is funny. Um, and then uh I there was a party back at his hotel and a few of us went and we were talking about vocal potions and things like that. But uh but I was in a relationship so it was all very above board.
I don’t know how many months later it was, but we met up in Hong Kong ; and that was it. Fell in love. ; There’s an urban myth. ; Give me that. ; A certain line that he said to you. Um something along the lines of I don’t know whether ; Okay, you’re him and I’m me. Okay. ; I don’t have a charisma of course, but just let me have a little go.
; Okay, you can do it. ; Okay. Um, ; what did he call you, Kylie? ; I don’t think he called me anything. Didn’t mean to. ; So, um, I’m nervous. ; Don’t look at me. ; I can’t be here. Okay, I’m just going to look over there at my sound assistant. ; Kylie, I don’t know whether to take you to lunch or to have sex with you.
; Did he snap? Sorry. Hang on a second. ; I said the line. I see. It’s done now. ; I feel good about it. ; I’ve got a stitch coming up. ; Obviously, you didn’t react like that. I’m not going to say exactly what the line was because I like that it was just between him and I, but it was something like that.
And I was probably taken back, but quite intrigued. ; You did. I mean, you did fall in love. And And ; I’d never met anyone like that. I really hadn’t. And I was like ; probably not very cool then. And he was uber cool. And somehow we met in the middle. ; He was rock and roll. I was I didn’t know anything about that. So, ; yeah. ; Well, we happily met in the middle.
; That great photo of you with your um again, it’s imprinted in my mind. You with a little blonde um wig on. I think the whole of Australia went she’s all grown up all of a sudden. You know what I mean? ; Yeah. That was a last minute decision. The hairdresser had this really cool wig and okay. To this day, I love wigs.
Have a slight obsession with them. Um, but uh I love seeing pictures from then because he was just he was so proud. ; He really all he wanted to do was nurture me and lift me up and and he really did that. ; But um what did he teach you? ; Many things. Many things. um ways of the world and traveled and I I just I had so many firsts with him.
It was great. ; It didn’t work out in the end. I was heartbreaking for you. ; Yeah, that was it was it was great love and it was true heartbreaking. Yeah, it’s all good. ; Learn for it was amazing. It really was. What’s it like to see um all these years later a relationship on the small screen? It wasn’t that long ago, doesn’t it seem like to see your lives up there being looked at by a whole new generation of people.
; Ah, that was it was interesting. I I enjoyed it as a viewer, as a fan. slightly weird knowing well it wasn’t quite like that and it wasn’t you know but as as entertainment and most importantly as a celebration of Michael’s life and of the success and the journey of of in excess. I just thought it was great for Australia to to fall in love all over again.
; He’s a guy worthy of celebration and the music and the way that he he was on stage. ; Yeah. ; He was an out and out rock star. I mean how would you like him to be remembered? Um, yeah, as a rock star, but as as with the best of them, they’re poets as well. They’re like, you know, he was like Byron.
He he was just this kind of um expansive, all-encompassing love of life. And actually, I I enjoy saying that because that that’s the most inspiring thing. ; I just wonder why you haven’t been able to find a guy that can you can settle down with. ; I know. I know. ; Marry and all those things. ; Well, I I didn’t even know about marriage.
I never really even when I was younger, I never really was the white picket fence person. I totally believe believe in love. I love being in love. I love thinking about being in love. Um and commitment. I’m I’m a you know I I am always committed. But the marriage thing hasn’t happened. Hasn’t happened. ; I don’t understand that.
Do you find it? ; I’m elusive. ; A butterfly. ; Pap. Um, are you still looking for it, hoping for it? Dreaming of it. ; Um, I’m I’m open to it definitely. Sometimes I I am sneakily looking, but I’m I’m not I’m not, you know, I do my binoculars out looking, but I’m just like, okay, the world this will happen when it’s meant to happen.
And I’ve had some great rel relationships. have had some that should never have started, some that should have finished shortly after they started. ; Not telling, but ; you know, life life’s just a trip. And I I’ve learned something from from different relationships. ; This is a difficult question for me to ask, but um when he passed, ; how how did you confront that? Oh, well, I was in London and I I was living with a a girlfriend at the time and we’d all been friends.
So, my girlfriend Nikki and I got on the plane and came back to Australia. um first funeral I’d ever been to, which I thought was just typical because he he’d been a first in so many ways for me. Um but I did I I know it sounds crazy, but I did feel him come through me before the funeral and really just say it’s okay.
I It might sound wacky, but that’s the truth. It might have been reported as you having been visited um by him. ; A visitation? Yeah. Yes, I guess you would call it that. ; They always spin it though. Um but the reality was you did feel something. ; Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. ; Any more since then? Has he does he pop back and say ; uh No, not like that.
But um if you have such a a a strong love and and they’re not there um that’s that’s somehow different to having a strong love for someone where you you’ve got the possibility to to see them again or talk or you know share more experiences. So I miss him just as much as anyone who was fortunate enough to to share time with him.
you have to pick up and move on. And even though you loved him so much with your life and that was so final, ; um, what did you pour yourself into? How did you go about that? ; Um, that that was really pretty rotten couple of years, I have to say. ; Um, ; yeah, I I was doing going through my indie phase, which I’m very thankful for now.
a truly think, you know, kind of think, god, that was gutsy. ; That’s really gutsy. Um, wasn’t very successful, but it did lead to other things. So, I just I just got back into work, which is my my go-to. That’s where I go. ; But to continue to evolve, I mean, were you conscious of of breaking from where you were at into a into a new genre of music and the risks associated? Yeah, I think it’s just what was it’s it’s what I was into at the time in London was all about, you know, garbage and gerk and those kind of sounds and it was, you
know, it was popular to be anti-pop. So, I I was into that. Um, pretty hard transformation for someone like me to make to not be pop. Uh I look back on a book that I did at the time which was um pretty experimental in itself because I I I didn’t know who I was. I was searching for something different. And in this book, I basically asked a selection of of of photographers, artists, writers, poets, designers, do you have a page or double page? What or who is Kylie to you? I And I didn’t realize at the time as clearly as
I do now, that that’s what I was searching for. Like, what’s your definition? Cuz I’ve I’ I’ve lost mine. It’s a hell of a thing to go through. I mean, it’s a great admission. I say once you identify that you lost, it’s the start of the process from ; It was an amazing process though. It was really great.
Um, I remember meeting someone around that time and she said, ; “Why are you wearing trainers?” Why don’t why aren’t you wearing heels anymore? I said, “Oh, you’re right. I was I was a tomboy. I cut all my hair off. I bomb around in boys BMX pants, trainers, singlets. It was just it was the fashion, it was the music, it was the boyfriend, it was everything at that time.
; Did you worry that you’d lost yourself career-wise? ; Yeah. Yeah, dude. ; That was it. ; Uh I I Yeah, part of me did think that. Maybe not 100% it, but um I wasn’t quite sure how to get out of it to to get or to get back into it, I should say. Um to the point that I I bought a place in Los Angeles. I thought, “Oh, things aren’t really happening, so I’m going to go and have fun somewhere.
” I probably went to that house about three times and during that time signed with Pylophone was had the same thought as everyone else. I’m ready. I’ve got that out of my system. I want to get back to pop having had this experience. Recorded spinning around and that was that. ; So I sold the house. ; Um yeah.
So, I really was was kind of planning what would I do next, but then I just was back into the vortex of of of pop and really successfully. So, it was it was great. ; I remember maybe not cognizant of everything that you were going through at that time cuz you just weren’t around as as much as you were in the past, but I certainly remember the first time I saw spinning around.
; Okay. You might have missed a couple of years beforehand, but you didn’t miss that. ; And and wow, she’s back. ; She was back. Yes, I felt back. I felt the ; the dynamism and excitement and cohesion of being with a new record company. We were all on the same page. Uh yeah, new team, new vision and it all worked.
I knew what I wanted for that album. I had for different writers. I had my my keywords were disco, love boat, cocktails, ; all golden celebratory um pure pop. ; Was that your buttocks in that clip? Yes, I was trying to think some answer, but that ; smile. ; They they were um Yeah, my 50p hot pants stole the show. Basically, I thought that they should just go out and do press afterwards.
All I was asked about like, okay, um the hot pants will be along soon and they can answer any question you have. I may have had questions for them at the time, but you must have felt great to be um back and and then reinvigorated. ; Yeah, it was good and and really know what um have a plan instead of meandering around.
It was it was it was great. It was 2000, new millennium, ; off and running. ; Yeah. Um tell me about um the the diagnosis of of breast cancer um and how difficult that that was. I mean for any woman it’s difficult but for you. How did you navigate through it? ; Oh boy. How did I do that? Um, I did it with a lot of help and and finding a combination of of inner strength and and allowing myself to be weak at the same time.
And really um, someone had said to me at the time, you know, be a little bit selfish. It’s not in my nature to be selfish, but now is the time to do that. Let people take care of you. And um that’s what I did. What did you find out about yourself during that? That’s really hard to many things. um many things, but a lot of it was was um affirmations of of stuff that I knew, but
uh I I have to put the spotlight on it. I know I have strength, but when you’re when you’re fighting something that um where there’s a lot of unknown. It’s a mixture mixture of emotions and memories. ; You’re a tough cookie. ; Yeah, mostly ; also. But it’s okay to be sensitive. You have to be sensitive in those moments.
And now when when people ask me, what’s your piece of advice to to give people to to give anyone in that situation? It’s a hard question because you can’t just say stay positive. Yes, you should. and and and it’s important to to believe in her focus and see where you want to go and give yourself a goal, but it’s impossible to be positive the whole time.
So, when you have when you allow yourself that weakness and and can call on friends and family to help you, that’s that’s really important. ; It didn’t. ; So, I don’t know where you were. I called you a message and it didn’t help me out. Well, I guarantee that if you call, I would have been around. ; Worse still, um you’re about to go on a tour, a big tour, and you’re given the all clear.
; Yeah, I was checked out in in London and I was told it’s it’s nothing to worry about, so I didn’t worry about it. Um, a couple months later, I was it a couple months? I don’t know. in my memory it’s a couple of months um when I was in Melbourne. So I was about to to continue the tour uh I felt things were not right.
So I was checked again and um and the next day I was I was told Yeah. ; boy. boy. Yeah. At a a ding-dong at at the family home at I don’t know 7:30 or 8 early in the morning. Um our family doctor and you think why is a doctor at the door first thing in the morning and that was it. she told us. ; So, I know exactly where I was.
I know exactly where I had to sit down. I had my thankfully I had my family there. Um, my boyfriend had just left to go to the airport and we managed to catch him in time to to bring him back. Um, and and then we had to decide what what to do. I can’t remember if we did it that day or the next day.
That’s all a bit of a blur, but I was due on stage in the coming days. ; Really? ; Yeah. So, there was there was never any hesitation in my mind to to to give the reason why. For a start, it would have to be quite an elaborate lie. ; Well, why? You can’t say, “Oh, she’s got tonsillitis and she’s not going on stage.” Um, I I I ; Yeah, I didn’t hesitate.
That was had to be said. ; You were encouraged not to though, weren’t you? Um, was it There were people around you who said, “I don’t think that’s a great idea career-wise, or was it um was everyone on the same page?” I I don’t recall that. Perhaps people have said that ; out of range, but I didn’t really see anyone those days. I just was was home.
; Um but no, it mustn’t have been that day because I did take a walk. I remember going for a walk with my brother and my boyfriend and we were just in a kind of just in days because I was seeing people in the street, seeing people in the cafe and we were just kind of sitting on this news ; and it really felt quite um surreal.
; Yeah. public person, private battle. ; Yeah. Yeah. ; Do you know what happened though? I mean, you got through it. ; Yeah, I did. ; How empowered did you feel when you got the all clear eventually, the right one? ; Well, it takes a long time. Um, ; everyone’s story is different, but it’s it takes it’s years.
It is years until you really get the all clear. So, um uh I went through all the stuff I had to go through um with some treatment in Paris, then further treatment back in Melbourne. And by the time my hair started growing back, it was very exciting. It was like a miracle. Um and then then I started to plan finishing the tour.
That was that was my when I would try to you can’t make light of it, but when I would try to just reduce take the fear and and terror and emotion out of it, I’d say I was so rudely interrupted. I was about to just finish my tour. Um, so yeah, planned that, worked on that. I thought, I don’t know how I’m even going to get, you know, for months and months and months, it was an achievement just to walk to the cafe, just walk one block. Like, I did it.
I made it to the cafe. So, to to go from that to um to to getting back on stage was amazing. But I I had a lot of support. I really really loved getting um letters, snail mail letters at the time from many people, but especially the ones that really got me were the ones from from the kids. Um there was some that just on the envelope had Kyle Manog pop star and it made it it to me in my time of need and it was just it was so heartwarming.
That’s great. ; There’s statistics that they keep on the number of women who get checked ; for breast cancer. And there was a spike around the time you encouraged women to go and get checked. ; Yeah. Oh, I I didn’t want to um instigate panic, but it was probably a good reminder to to a lot of people. ; You must feel proud of that, though.
; Proud is weird. It’s not I don’t I I can’t that that’s nice and I would like to take it but I don’t think I deserve that. It doesn’t make me proud. I would say it makes me thankful ; that I was able to do something but you know it wasn’t out of it wasn’t out of choice. So I don’t know if pride’s not the word I would I would leap to.
But um I I feel good and I actually have heard stories from women or had letters from women saying I I went and I was diagnosed with cancer and and and now I’m able to write you this letter. ; So that that’s good. ; Well, a lot of people developed an even closer relationship with you as a result of that journey, that part of the journey you went on.
I mean, is it is it something that’s still ; in the back of your mind now as you move forward or are you done? Mostly I just I I get on with life. But you you have the scars, the the physical emotional scars. You have it as part of it’s it’s in my system. It’s part of my story and it’s part of what makes up my current existence.
So it’s not like it disappears. I am reminded of it every day. But uh thankfully I can say I’m reminded of it every day. Meaning I’m here ; still fighting ; to think about it. ; Yeah. ; Still fighting. It’s quite the journey. ; It’s quite the journey. ; It is. And you hate that word when you’re going through it.
Like if there was a another word aside from journey. But it is a journey. ; Yeah. ; I’m full of cliches. ; I love it. It’s all right. But it it is it’s a it is and ; you can rely on me for the click. Um, and as I say, when when I’m able to um look at it or even in the in the at the time when I was able to kind of think about it slightly out of my body, I would think this is just it’s such it’s so human and it’s so I just have learned that much more about humanity.
and meeting people I would never meet, you know, hospital staff, people who live this other world. I’d never experienced that world. Um, strangers, people would often come to me. I remember clearly that the cafe that I would walk to in Paris. Um you know on a couple of occasions people came by and kind of gave me a flower and say um monk you know have strength and and a lot of people didn’t ask for something for themselves then as in can we get selfie.
It was it was it was more just it was just nice wishes. It was it was very very sweet. Can’t get you out of my head. Um, tell me a little bit about that because one of the great songs also led to so much success. ; Um, and also one of the great clips of all time and also was the mark of you just slightly tinkering with things again ; and the start of a new era for you again and and a successful transition.
; Yeah. Well, we had um so Spinning Around was from the the album Light Years, ; Golden Sunshine. Then we went to Fever, which was more ; kind of Grace Jones inspired ; uh icy clean. Uh so yeah, it was it was another turn, ; but I don’t just everything worked for that. I loved the song.
20 seconds into hearing it, my my um A&R called me prior to that and said, “We’ve got a song. You have to come in.” With a tone of excitement, okay? So, I went into his office and um yeah, 20 seconds in, I was saying, “You sure I have it? I I I can’t afford to be this excited about song. Not sure if anyone else is doing it yet, but it was it was mine, which is one thing.
And I I still think the song alone would have done what it had done. But just to kind of cement that moment in time with the visuals, with the way we put it, um, did performances, it just it just was one of those moments that you I’m I’m searching for the next one, but it just went everything worked so well together.
; You got to wear your bed sheet in the clip. ; Yeah. Just rolled out of bed. ; That’s about ; I’d struggled through the night. There was rips and tears. just out the volume again. ; Yeah. Well, it was one of the hottest days in London, so I had some I was able to catch the draft. ; Um, success, real success in America, though, too.
It was um it was a big breakthrough. ; Yeah, it was great. ; And I I didn’t even have a record company there. So, it was apparently one station picked it up and played it and it just had legs and took off. So I did some promo there. It was a good time. ; So do you keep consciously tinkering with with the image and moving forward and evolving or does it just happen as you experience life? ; Uh both. Yeah.
Um I I’m pretty restless as a Gemini, as a performer. I I I like change. Um, so some of that is just how I roll, what excites me, what, you know, I like to to kind of move with the times. It’s what’s happening in fashion, what’s happening in music. Um, yeah. So, some of it’s conscious as in, okay, what’s this album? What’s the feel? How will we present it? ; Um, and the rest is just me being undecided, just going with the flow.
I mean, even your latest clip, I mean, there’s controversy surrounding I mean, there’s stuff that happens around Kylie Mow to this day, and you know, you’ve dealt with your fair share of slings and arrows and still the critics come for you. ; Yeah, they do. And it’s like a national feels like it’s a national pastime sometimes, which is I got to say that’s that definitely stings and and I don’t like it.
and and when visitors come, I’m not I’m not proud of of that. Um, but it’s been like that since the beginning and it hasn’t stopped me. Maybe it’s maybe it’s helped me. I don’t know. ; Made you tougher or something. ; Determined. ; Maybe you’re tough enough. ; Maybe you’re tough enough. You know, some of these people now, and I guess some of them are women, and more probably more than likely the majority of them are women.
; What do you say to those the girls out there that have been critical of you? ; Well, they should come and hang out with me. ; Yeah. ; And they’ll realize I’m a girl’s girl. I don’t know about you, and if you’re not, I don’t care about you. Um, yeah, it’s it’s it is it is a truth that uh often I’ve gone into into interviews and I think, oh, you know, I really admire this woman. I think she’s great.
I don’t know. I don’t know what what why I wouldn’t even like to say what I think, but um and that’s not a generalization. And it just happens from time to time, shall we say. ; Well, they can all go jump. ; All right. Thanks, Carl. ; You can all go jump. Leave her alone. We’ve dealt with enough. ; Well, I mean, we we’ve got to support each other.
Come on. That’s what that’s what you do when you are are actually all together. They’d probably find me moaning and whining about the very same things that they moan and whine about. Except not maybe me. I I do that for myself enough. ; What’s next for Kylie Mano? What’s the next incarnation? ; What is next? ; I I keep thinking there’ll be a growth spurt, but I that’s I keep the fake.
I don’t care that I’m 46 years old. Um, actually I I well I’m going on tour, so that will be the next big thing. And I’m I’m so excited about doing that. That’s where everything else uh makes sense. I if if you are a performer, that’s what you aim to do. And in that those moments whether it’s 3 and 1 half minute song or a 2 and 1 half hour show that’s that’s how you um that’s when I am really living in the moment and and uh this might sound like a contradiction living in the moment but very aware of all the experience I’ve built up
for that moment. So it’s it’s really pleasing and and still challenge there. Of course, there’s always challenges in performances. So you’re still learning as well, still absorbing information and calculating and and figuring out what you need to do and using whatever happens in those those moments. It’s it’s pretty cosmic, I think, performing and interacting with the crowd.
It’s it’s it’s the coolest. ; So the growth spurt may not come, but Kylie Manog’s still growing. ; Yes. Yes. Yes, absolutely. I’m I’m I feel pretty good right now. Um I’ve loved being back in Australia. Reconnecting with people through the voice has been a lot of fun. Um amazing having, you know, three, four, and 5year-olds knowing who I am.
And again, it’s it’s crazy. It’s exciting. So touring, maybe some more acting coming up. That would be great. I love it when I have the chance to do that. I feel like I I’m I’m back home in a in a sense to be on set. ; And the rest, we will see. We will see, Carl. But wherever I end up, I’ll send you a postcard. A dirty one.
How about that? To add to your collection. My I can say that because my 94 94 year old grandma always says she’ll send me a naughty postcard, dirty postcard like a beachside one. I’m just trying to get myself out of what I may have just said to do with me. ; I’m very happy. ; The racy postcard ; wherever it came from.
I’m happy ; surrounded by your family here though that just finally surrounded by your family. Um you know they’ve been tremendous support to you over the years haven’t they? Um you continue to you mentioned the kids on the voice. Um you know we I think we go to the the children’s hospital. Um kids are playing a role in your life.
You know young kids are playing a role in your life and you know you ; well they kind of always had because that was the the fan base. They’ve come back early. They’ve come back. ; Um, and I have three nephews ; who I adore. I am crazy about them. So, whenever there’s free time in Australia, that’s that’s where I want to be.
I mean, that is the the the best medicine to, you know, take my mind off everything else. It’s it’s beautiful. and our family are just as strong as ever. And um can’t believe that us three little kids are all in our 40s now. Like ; no, Dan, you can’t be. You’re just No, cuz you’re still my little little sister. ; Um yeah, it’s good good times and I’m happy.
; Your your own direct family though, have you sort of gone? Uh well, you know, there’s probably a strong chance that as and when I do meet someone, they may already have a family. So, I could have an insta family at some point. And if not, if if if that doesn’t happen for me, um then that’s my path. And I’m I’m I’m feeling more and more at peace with that because you can only fight it for so long.
Um, and I feel like I feel like I have a family. I feel like my audience is a little bit my family as well. I, you know, I give a lot of time and energy to a lot of people and and that is fulfilling. I know it’s different to having a family, but um, just look, my nephews will be getting a lot of love as as they already do.
Maybe I’ll be trying to get them out of my house when they’re 14, 16, and 18. Um, but yeah, I, you know, it at least I have family around, and that’s I I don’t think I could survive without that. I really don’t.
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