Kylie Minogue: ‘I was searching for my favourite Manolos. Then I remembered: they’re in the V&A’
If you had to live the rest of your life inside one of your music videos, which one would it be? Dioli75
Can’t Get You Out of My Head would mean I could travel to the future, but I would miss everyone in the here and now. Also, the white hooded jumpsuit could be tricky. Come Into My World would be more comfortable, but I would be eternally going round in circles, picking dry cleaning up off the floor. I loved my Barbarella moment in Put Yourself in My Place, but I don’t fancy living for ever alone in space. The Loco-Motion, I could be 19 again, but perhaps not ideal. So I think I am going to go with Slow – poolside in Barcelona. Yes please!
Do you still eat Cadbury chocolate Flake sandwiches as you once revealed in a Smash Hits interview? Theramblingtortoise
Smash Hits asked something like: “What is your favourite meal?” and I answered with a joke from my manager at the time: “Chocolate sandwich, hold the bread.” Somehow my favourite meal came to be known as a chocolate sandwich, which I suppose isn’t that weird when you compare it to a pain au chocolat. When Jason [Donovan] and I filmed our scene for the Neighbours finale, we did a bit of reminiscing. One of the funniest things he said to me was: “Remember when you used to bring tahini to work? You were the tahini queen!” I was really into health foods when they were still under the commercial radar and would bring in all sorts of healthy options. Even now, I’ll pack some almonds and cashews to avoid those “hangry” moments, although they are infinitely better with some dark chocolate.
If you were one of the drinks in your Kylie wine range, how would you describe yourself on the label? TopTramp
I’m currently reading Drinking With the Valkyries: Writings on Wine by Andrew Jefford, so I might have to ask for his help as he writes so beautifully. I’m sure my attempt will fall short, so here goes: “La la la, la la la la la!”
Who from the cast of Neighbours would you most like to have released a single? catchytitled
What an amazing thought! What might Mrs Mangel have done? I’d like to think she would have done a deep house remix and Des and Daphne would have covered the Carpenters.
Few artists have released such a perfect salvo of pop singles as Better the Devil You Know, Step Back in Time, What Do I Have to Do and Shocked. You’ve never rested on your laurels and always looked forwards. What’s next, musically? bobstermarley
Thank you! Hands up to the wonder trio of Stock, Aitken and Waterman for that run, not to mention the rest of the incredible songs they wrote and produced for me. I’m working on my next album. It’s always a challenge to find the song and feel of the album but I do love the process. I made my last album largely in lockdown, so I’ve loved getting back into the studio with some of my favourite creatives.
There were rumours that you were to record a jazz album in 2010. Would you do one in the future? bmitch2022
I was asked to perform for the fashion house Chloé’s 50th anniversary at Café de Flore in Paris in 2003. I asked: “What sort of show would you like?” and they replied: “Do whatever you feel like.” Even though I had never sung jazz before, I thought about the venue and figured it might be the perfect opportunity to at least flirt with the genre. After a crash course, it turned out to be so liberating and a total thrill.
What are your memories of performing at Glastonbury? Garyp25
I still struggle to encapsulate what it meant: it was like an out-of-body experience. It was so mind-blowing, emotional, and nerve-racking, but within all of the emotion I knew how hard I had worked to be there, and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who had been part of my journey, and to myself. I don’t give myself much of a break, but Glastonbury was a measure of how far I’d come and I really wanted to celebrate that. I will be eternally thankful for one of the most amazing moments of my life.
I’ve never met a Minogue. Is it an Irish name? stevelittlefingers
There aren’t too many of us. My father’s ancestry is traced back to Ireland, so yes – as far as we know.
There’s a kebab van in Bristol called Jason’s Donervan. If you were to lend your name to a fast food establishment, what would it be called? Here are some suggestions: KylieFC, Dominogues, I Should Be So Clucky, Can’t Get You Out of My Bread, Feta the Devil You Know, Confide in Meat, Tears on My Pilau, Escabechefor You, I Should Be Souvlaki. A curry shop called Naan Naan Naan, Naan Naan Naan Naan Naaaan. Or a fish and chip shop called Batter the Devil You Know. vammyp, Flashbleu, LlamaInPyjamas, Hectormandarin, PineappleMivvi, LoveAtFirstBite, Bigted1980, DarkAnaemicI, PickleMan and MyLeftNut
Oh my, dix points for all of these! I think it’s a tie between I Should Be Souvlaki and Naan Naan Naan, Naan Naan Naan Naan Naaaan. Ha ha!
Do you sing your own songs in the shower or someone else’s? lulu1980
I’d like to categorically state I don’t sing my own songs in the shower, but – in reality – I do. They’ll mostly be songs I’m working on, or vocal warm ups which are even more effective in the shower, so I might sing one to measure where my voice is at.
Your contribution to the Michael Hutchence documentary was extremely moving. Was it a difficult decision given the emotions involved? PickleMan
It was a big decision but not a difficult one. I knew the director, Richard Lowenstein, was close to Michael, so would handle the film with love and sincerity. I ended up going through my archive to find all these videos, photos and faxes. It was very moving but also very beautiful. I didn’t have any concerns about it being sensationalised. I keep my private life private, but thought: this is part of Michael’s story and I wanted to honour what a wonderful, sensitive, iconic, funny and deep person he was.
What do you do to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind? Daximum
I remind myself that gratitude is a fast track to happiness. Sometimes it takes time to work through things to find yourself in a positive space. I don’t think we can just keep ourselves in a positive frame of mind, but it’s good to be there as often as possible. A reliable way of lifting my mood is just taking a walk. A change of scenery and perspective can work wonders.
Are your gold hot pants really in a museum and can I visit them? TopTramp
Yes! They are among the hundreds of pieces I donated to the Arts Centre Melbourne. The first exhibition of my costumes and memorabilia took place in 2005, which was bittersweet because I had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and was unable to attend. The museum had a big guestbook, so visitors wrote messages for me, which was so moving when they presented the book to me.
The hot pants are there along with Charlene’s overalls and just about every stage costume I’ve worn. The V&A held a similar exhibition in 2007, which was hugely exciting but also surreal and overwhelming. I can still hardly believe that the V&A had a replica of my dressing room from 2006’s Showgirl: Homecoming Tour on display. Only the other day, I was wondering where my favourite Manolo Blahnik bronze leather slides were, and searched for them high and low. Then I remembered they were happily hanging out in my dressing room at the V&A.
Regarding the hot pants, my best girlfriend and artist, Katerina Jebb, found them in a charity shop in London for 50p. I wore them to a nerds, tarts and tourists fancy dress party, held by my friend Kenny, who used to host Sunday afternoon drag queen bingo in a cafe in Portobello Road in Notting Hill. I was once the bingo caller with the tiniest, cheapest bingo barrel ever! When the time came to shoot the Spinning Around video, my stylist pulled them out of my closet and the rest, as they say, is history.
Who had worn them before me, I’ll never know. I like to think they had a couple of fun outings but they were in good condition. I can’t say the same after a sweltering, busy music video with impromptu bar choreography. They have lost some of their sheen but they don’t mind as they have been immortalised behind glass and are only ever handled by white-gloved museum personnel.
What’s the weirdest Kylie tattoo you’ve ever seen?
For a while, they were all weird. When I started out, I’d dream of getting that acting part or hearing my song on the radio but I never imagined anyone having a tattoo of me. Now I’ve reasoned that people have all sorts of tattoos, from Donald Duck to HarleyDavidsons, dolphins, skulls, chess or whatever. So I think it’s cool. I can’t think of the weirdest but I still get stressed when someone asks me to sign my name on them so they can then have it tattooed. No pressure!
How lucky should you be? hardatwork
What a brilliant, profound question! While I wait for my philosopher to call me back, let’s just say: as lucky as you need to be!
• Kylie Minoguewines, including her new 0% alcoholsparklingrosé, are available at Tesco and kylieminoguewines.com