Saturday Magazine – July 20, 2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1
SATURDAY MAGAZINE 69

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?


THIS WEEK...


‘I got a record deal with their
Rocket Records label and Elton
produced my first two albums.
We got on really well from the
start. He is hysterically funny and
always made me giggle. I’m two
weeks older than him and for the
first time I was working with my
contemporaries, which was great.
Before, I’d been this kid with grown-ups
looking after me.
‘In 1973 I had a hit with
Amoureuse and appeared on Top
Of The Pops, which was a big
thing. The following year I was in
the charts again with I’ve Got The
Music In Me and then in 1976
Elton and I released
Don’t Go Breaking
My Heart, which
was at No.1 for six weeks – it
wasn’t originally going to be
a duet, I was just going to be
doing backing vocals.
‘Elton guested on an album
I did in the 1980s and then in
1985 I got a call from him asking
me to sing with him at Live Aid.
I recall I chose a pink outfit that looked
like pyjamas! I then spent some time in musical
theatre. I played the lead role in Blood Brothers.

“I was introduced to Carmelo Luggeri in


  1. I was in my mid-40s when we started
    working together and it was almost like a
    rebirth; making music as a musician and
    a singer, rather than a pop star.
    ‘These days I take work as it comes. I’ve
    just released Gold, a three-CD set featuring
    45 of my tracks from the 1960s through to
    the 90s. I’m touring Australia with
    Carmelo this summer, which is an
    adventure. Then we’re doing
    some dates in Britain.
    ‘Our audiences are small but
    I love it. To get bigger audiences
    I’d have to be playing the game
    all the time and that’s not what
    I want. There’s a freedom about
    what I do now that I love.’


Kiki Dee Gold is available to buy now as a
3CD set and on Gold vinyl. Kiki will be touring the
UK later this year, see kikiandcarmelo.com.

Words by: Sue Crawford & Kirsten Jones Pictures: Shutterstock


Kiki Dee


B


est-known for her duet with Elton John, Don’t
Go Breaking My Heart, Kiki, 72, enjoyed chart
success throughout the 1970s with hits
including Amoureuse and Loving And Free.
In the 1980s she moved into musical theatre, starring
in Blood Brothers. Kiki, who lives in Hertfordshire,
teamed up with guitarist Carmelo Luggeri in the
mid-1990s and the duo will tour the UK later this year.

‘I grew up in Bradford, the youngest of three
children, and, aged five, I discovered that
I could sing in tune. Every August we’d go
on holiday to the seaside and I’d enter the
talent competitions there.
‘I’d left school and was singing with a band in
Leeds when a record company rep heard me
and invited me to London for an audition. It
was 1963 and it was all kicking off with The
Beatles and The Rolling Stones; it was the
beginning of the 60s revolution. They offered
me a record deal and my first
single was Early Night. Then
I sang backing vocals with
Dusty Springfield. I released
quite a few songs and although
none of them made the charts at
the time, they’ve since become
Northern Soul hits.
‘When I was 21 I got a phone
call from Tamla Motown who wanted to sign
me. I flew to Detroit and spent 12 weeks there
recording an album with them. When I got
back to Britain I wasn’t sure what to do next,
so I called John Reid. I’d met him a couple of
years previously when he was 19 and working
as the Tamla Motown label UK manager in
London. He said to me, “I’ve just started
managing a guy called Elton John. We’re
starting a record label, do you want to come
along and say hi?”

Must see
This new live-action remake of
The Lion King (PG) revisits the
tale of young cub Simba who
loses his father and must battle
against his evil uncle for the
right to rule the Pride Lands.
Beyoncé and Seth Rogen voice
the family film, in cinemas now.

Must read
Months after his
capture, a kidnapped
boy returns home to
his family. A fearful
Evan must relive
his ordeal to help the
police and save more
children from the same fate. Found,
by Erin Kinsley (£7.99, Headline), is
out on Thursday.

Must do
Festa Italiana
hits the
Cathedral
Gardens in
Manchester
next Friday for
three days of food and drink, chef demos
with Gennaro Contaldo and more. Take
the kids or visit by night for martinis and
DJ beats. See festaitalianauk.com.

‘Elton
and I got on
really well from
the start. He
is hysterically
funny and
always made
me giggle’

Kiki had hits throughout
the 1970s and duetted
with Elton John (inset)
Free download pdf