Kylie (album)
Kylie is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 4 July 1988 by Mushroom Records. Minogue had established herself as a child actress before signing to the record label in early 1987. The success of her debut single, "Locomotion", resulted in her working with Stock Aitken Waterman, who produced the album and wrote nine of its ten tracks. Their recording sessions, commencing in October 1987 in London and Melbourne, coincided with Minogue's filming schedule for the soap opera Neighbours.
This article is about Kylie Minogue's debut album. For the 1994 album, see Kylie Minogue (album).Kylie
4 July 1988
October 1987 – April 1988
35:22
Musically, Kylie is a bubblegum pop and dance-pop album. It received mixed reviews from music critics who criticised its dated production. It was a commercial success, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom for six weeks and becoming the fifth highest-selling album of the decade. It peaked at number two in her native Australia, while reaching the top ten in Germany, Norway, and Switzerland. Kylie was re-issued in 1988 as The Kylie Collection, in 2015 and 2023 when it returned to the UK Albums Chart. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide.
Six singles were released from Kylie. "I Should Be So Lucky" reached number one in Australia and the United Kingdom, the first for any artist. The subsequent singles—"Got to Be Certain", the re-recorded "The Loco-Motion", and "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" all peaked in the top two on the UK Singles Chart. "It's No Secret" was her third top-forty single on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Turn It into Love" was released exclusively in Japan. The album's commercial success helped Minogue establish herself as an international teen idol and launch her recording career.
Background[edit]
Kylie Minogue was born in Melbourne in 1968, the eldest of three children.[1] Kylie learned to play violin and piano at a very young age while taking singing and dancing lessons with her sister Dannii.[2] Kylie was a child actress from the age of eleven, appearing in cameo roles in The Sullivans (1979) and Skyways (1980).[3] In 1985, Kylie used her earnings from The Henderson Kids to record three songs with producer Greg Petherick at Young Talent Time, a weekly Australian music programme which already featured Dannii as a regular performer.[4] In April 1986, Kylie played Charlene Mitchell, a schoolgirl turned garage mechanic, in the soap opera Neighbours.[5] Jason Donovan, whom Kylie began dating at the time, played her onscreen love interest as Scott Robinson.[2] Their romantic relationship culminated with a wedding in an episode that attracted an audience of 20 million British viewers in 1987.[6]
During her time in Neighbours, Minogue joined a band along with cast members Guy Pearce, Peter O'Brien and Alan Dale, which Petherick arranged.[7] He later suggested Minogue cover the song "The Loco-Motion" with the band during a Fitzroy Football Club benefit concert at the Festival Hall in 1986, where she also sang a duet of "I Got You Babe".[8] Impressed by the performance, Petherick arranged for Minogue to record the former song, re-titled as "Locomotion", with producer Kaj Dahlstrom, who invested $10,000 to record it.[9] Petherick submitted the demo track to many record labels before reaching out to Michael Gudinski, head of Mushroom Records.[7] Gudinski was reluctant at first, calling the demo "a bit of a one-hit wonder".[10] During a trip to London several months after receiving the demo track, Gudinski decided to sign Minogue because of her popularity from Neighbours.[7] She signed with the label in early 1987.[11] Critics and employees of Mushroom Records gave polarised opinions; many thought it would be the end of the company and dubbed Minogue as "The Singing Budgie."[7]
In June 1987, Mushroom Records had Mike Duffy, an audio engineer for Stock Aitken Waterman producers, over for a three-month residency at Platinum Studios in South Yarra.[12] He was asked to remix the "Locomotion" demo track with the help of a synthesizer to make it sound more like Bananarama's cover of "Venus" (1986).[13] Instead of remixing the track, which was originally in a big band style, Duffy opted to record a completely new backing track, inspired by the hi-NRG pop of UK band Dead or Alive.[14] It was the first time he had produced a record himself.[10] The song was released as Minogue's debut single on 27 July 1987, three weeks after Neighbours wedding episode premiered.[15] A week after its release, the single topped the Australian charts, remaining there for seven weeks and becoming the best-selling single of the decade.[16] Around that time, Minogue was set up with Terry Blamey, who would be her manager for 25 years.[17]
Music and lyrics[edit]
The producers wanted to make a synthesised pop album that appeals to teenagers.[34] Stock explained his intention was to make an album full of single-potential tracks, similar to the form of greatest hits compilations.[35] The singer was interested in recording more contemporary R&B material but her request was denied by Waterman.[34] "These producers think pop music is candy music. They're saying: 'Here kids, have a piece of candy'... What Peterman wants, he gets", said Minogue.[34] Her voice was double-tracked for most of the album; the producers only allowed Minogue to use her real voice on "Look My Way", a track that she felt sounds more like herself than the rest.[34] Stock, Aitken, and Waterman composed and produced all the tracks on Kylie except "The Loco-Motion" written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.[36] Three tracks were written for other PWL artists in the previous year before appearing on the album: "Got to Be Certain" was recorded by Mandy Smith for her debut album but abandoned;[37] "Look My Way" was originally written for Heywoode;[38] "Love at First Sight" was an instrumental demo track for Sinitta and is unrelated to Minogue's 2002 song with the same title.[39]
Critics described Kylie as a bubblegum pop, disco pop and dance-pop album, while also noting the musical similarities to other albums produced by PWL.[40] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described it as a collection of house tracks blended with "hi-NRG beats, Italo-disco synths and Motown melodies."[41] Kylie opens with "I Should Be So Lucky", a light dance-pop track that uses a drum machine, keyboards and bass by Stock.[42] The track has been compared to the work of Rick Astley, a fellow PWL artist.[43] For the album's version of "The Loco-Motion", the producers re-recorded the backing track from Duffy's demo, featuring railway sound effects and less spontaneous vocals.[44]
The slow-tempo "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" reminiscent of Waterman's earlier work in the 1960s at the Mecca Dance Hall, and the reggae-infused "It's No Secret" features cascading synth and a jaunty melody.[45] It was followed by Hi-NRG tracks "Turn It Into Love" and "Got to Be Certain"; the latter work gained comparison to the soundtrack of the 1983 romance film Flashdance.[46] The mid-tempo "I Miss You" and "I'll Still Be Loving You" resemble other late-80s pop tracks, particularly the work of Climie Fisher and Living in a Box.[39] "Look My Way" draws musical inspiration from The Whispers' "Rock Steady" (1987), Madonna's "Into the Groove" (1984) and Debbie Gibson's "Shake Your Love" (1987).[38] In The Complete Kylie (2008), Simon Sheridan felt the pop-soul "Look My Way" is similar to the work of American R&B artists Alexander O'Neal and S.O.S. Band.[47]
The album avoided getting into heavy statements and deep themes that might alienate Minogue's young fans.[34] Joe Sweeney of PopMatters and Quentin Harrison of Albumism highlighted lyrics about romantic relationships and positive mentality throughout the album.[48] Sweeney commented that such themes would later infuse Minogue's post-millennial work.[49] Sheridan found the album demonstrates a refreshing carefree attitude in its lyrics.[50] Matthew Lindsay of Classic Pop, on the other hand, pointed out the main themes about heartbreak, betrayal and frustration.[51] "I Should Be So Lucky" depicts a frustrated young woman who feels unlucky in romance.[52] In a 2019 interview, Minogue said that she did not realise at the time about the dark tone in the lyrics—in the case of "I Should Be So Lucky", she stated "We all sing like it's really happy, but it's not. She wishes she was lucky in love."[53] "Turn It Into Love" discusses unrequited love with a wistful-yet-optimistic approach.[54] Minogue sings the lovelorn "Got to Be Certain" in an upbeat and carefree way, while affirming a false love affair in "It's No Secret".[38]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart on 16 July 1988.[124] In its seventh week, it peaked at number one and stayed there for four consecutive weeks.[125] Minogue became the youngest artist to have a number-one album when she was 20 years and 8 months old—she held that record until Canadian recording artist Avril Lavigne's Let Go reached the top of the chart in 2002, when she was 18.[126] Kylie topped the chart for two additional weeks in November, for a total of six weeks in the number-one position, her longest-running number-one album on this chart.[127] It was the best-selling album of 1988 in the UK, with sales of 1.29 million copies over the course of six months.[128] On 5 January 1989, it was certified six times platinum by British Phonographic Industry.[129] Kylie sold 1.9 million copies by the time Enjoy Yourself was released in late 1989, becoming the fifth highest-selling album of the decade—the highest by a female solo artist—in the UK.[130] The album returned to the UK Albums Chart in 2015, when the reissue peaked at number eighty-five on 15 February.[131] Kylie returned to the top 40 for the first time in 2023, when the 35th anniversary reissue sold 3,675 units in its first week.[132] It was also the week's best-selling vinyl.[133] The album was the first by a female solo artist to exceed sales of two million in the UK, selling 2,138,841 copies as of December 2023.[134]
In Minogue's native Australia, Kylie entered at number two, where it remained for three consecutive weeks. It stayed in the top fifty for a total of twenty-eight weeks.[135] It was certified four times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[136] In New Zealand, it debuted at number ten, and eventually topped the chart for six weeks. It is her only number-one album in the region and stayed on the charts for a total of fifty-three weeks.[137] In November 1989, it was certified platinum by Recorded Music NZ.[138] The album reached the top ten in Germany, Norway, and Switzerland.[139] In the United States, it peaked at number fifty-three on the Billboard 200. This was Minogue's only charting album in the United States, until her 2001 album Fever hit the charts in 2002.[140] In 1989, the album was certified gold in the United States, selling over 500,000 copies.[141] Kylie was certified platinum in Hong Kong by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling over 15,000 units.[142] In Japan, it peaked at number 30 and sold 102,000 copies as of 2006.[143] As of 2018, Kylie has sold over five million copies worldwide.[144]