TINA ARENA

EVEN THE MINOGUE HOUSEHOLD STOPS TO SING ALONG TO TINA ARENA. OUR NATIONAL TREASURE DISHES TO MARC ANDREWS ABOUT FAME, FANS AND “FUCK-YOU” SONGS!

DNA: Congrats on your Greatest Hits And

Interpretations album. You must feel proud of all you’ve achieved during your 40 years in the music business? Tina Arena: It takes me back! It’s quite mental, thinking back through 40 years of what I’ve lived from a performer’s perspective. It’s wild. We’re pleased you’ve reclaimed your early 1990s dance-pop singles, I Need Your Body and The Machine’s Breaking Down. I’ve made peace with those tracks. I was very young. I wore my heart on my sleeve. They were progressive records back then but no one took them seriously. Australia was full-throttle rock’n’roll in those days. The album includes versions of your hits by Jessica Mauboy, Katie Noonan and Kate MillerHeidke. Do you get a kick out of that? This was the joyous aspect of putting this retrospective together. Hearing other people interpret something you made is beautiful. Is your duet with Dannii on Sorrento Moon a nod to your Young Talent Time history? Carol and Ron, Kylie and Dannii’s parents, love Sorrento Moon. The choice had nothing to do with YTT – more about the place that song has in the Minogue family. Can we suggest you, Kylie and Dannii together for the next album? Who knows? We always have a good giggle when we’re together. They are great girls and I love them dearly. I’m especially close to Dannii because we spent a large chunk of our childhood together. Yes, on Young Talent Time, you really slogged it out as child stars. Could that happen now? The world is not the same place. Working children those kinds of hours is not something that the union would allow today. I’d do it again if it was back then, but not in this era. Technology has hit something like that on the head, too. I have an 11-year-old son and in the last few months we’ve had to educate him about social media. Every parent goes through this dilemma. It robs them of an organic lifestyle and childhood. Has your son shown any musical aptitude? He’s always been surrounded by musicians and writers. He’s very musical. It wouldn’t surprise me if, in ten years, he asked me to listen to something he’d done. This album signifies the closing of a chapter; is there something new in the works? After a few records in English, I’m working on a French project. It’s more sophisticated and challenging, and all completely new material. Are you becoming a French chanteuse? No, it’s not Piaf or Brel. It’s modern, and melodically driven. Like Christine And The Queens? She’s good at what she does – minimalist pop – and an interesting creature. I’ve changed in ten years. It’s mainstream, but a little edgier than that. I don’t know what I’ll do next in English, but probably something far less commercial. When I interviewed you two decades ago, around the time of Chains you were quite an angry person. There was an enormous amount of anger because of what I was going through, personally. Now I’m nearly 50 that anger is no longer there. Thinking back, people must have thought I was totally mental. What was your coping mechanism? Music, and a circle of friends and family who were very protective of me. It’s a credit to them, and my partner of the last 17 years. I was coming out of a terrible period – what was happening behind the music – and they picked me up. Chains is one of the great “fuck-you” songs of all time, right? Yeah, totally. Who says it’s the last? Perhaps there’s another one in me! It’s little surprise that you have such a loyal gay following. Right! I played my first Sydney Gay Mardi Gras show in 1990. I Need Your Body had just come out and the only support was from the gay and lesbian community. They’ve been an enormous part of my journey. How can I ever thank them for their honesty, and support of people like myself in the arts? I’m very genuine when I say that community is part of the reason I wanted to continue.

I love Kylie and Dannii dearly. We always have a good giggle when we’re together.