Do you remember when you first adored her? It was 1988. Messy perms were the in thing as were bright colours. 80s trends as we knew it were still running it’s course and I never would have believed that those days would end. But I digress. It’s not the era you were thinking about — it was she. With the exception of Jem and the Holograms, she was your first music idol. She was the first person that inspired you musically and fashion wise. You wanted to be her. I am of course talking of none other than Kylie Minogue.
Remember, the first cassette you were given, along with a little boom box? It was Kylie’s debut album. How many times over did you listen, dance and lip-sync to that album after school, when you would normally be watching television.
Later that year an official tribute magazine to Kylie caught your eye in a newsagent. You just had to have that book. Your very existence depended on it. After some almost tears and desperate begging, your parents agree to buy it. It was a $5 well spent. Just consider how many times over you read that magazine, cover to cover. It was too numerous to count. You wanted to know everything about Kylie — from her love of eating chocolate, to her appreciation for fashion. You learnt that she sometimes made her own clothes. Naively your nine-year-old mind connected the clothes worn in her photo shoots as being designed and sewn by Kylie.
A few years pass and music enters into an uncertain phase. Kylie and her music are growing up. There were those who felt too embarrassed to admit to ever listening to her early music. Yet you continued to sing to yourself I Should Be So Lucky completely unperturbed. At a time when most pop artists disappear into obscurity Kylie spends the next few years honing herself as a performance artist. Sometimes it was a bit hit and miss. But hey, whose life isn’t like that?
Then out of the blue it all just falls into place. Whether it was her audience, her sound, or her creative support. Suddenly people, who previously had hidden their Kylie albums, are practically tripping over themselves falling out of the Kylie closet, claiming that they always thought her to be all right. Do you remember watching this folie and smiling quietly to yourself. In your own quiet way, you enjoyed Kylie’s music, but you didn’t need to make a big song and dance about it.
Fast forward another few years, remember that woman claiming to be a massive Kylie fan. But who then declared wanting to sell her concert ticket, simply because she didn’t like the pixie do Kylie was sporting, post chemotherapy cancer treatment. You understood then just how fickle people could be. But you couldn’t understand how someone can place judgement because of a hairstyle. Was that woman ever really a Kylie fan? You did wonder.
Kylie has tenaciously survived the entertainment industry and personal obstacles, and to many becoming something much more than a pop star. Love her or hate her — Kylie is ascending toward her own heaven and along the way sharing her love. To her amorous fans Kylie is truly a modern day incarnation of mighty Aphrodite. But just remember this, a nine year old version of yourself will always love Kylie for being certain and knowing that it’s no secret, she, after all, should be so lucky.
