Minogue mania as pop princess plays Belfast

Source: Belfast Telegraph: June 25, 2008

Minogue mania is expected to reach fever pitch tomorrow when Kylie brings her X tour to Belfast.The Australian popstar brings her spectacular new show to the Odyssey Arena for four nights in what is expected to one of the musical highlights of the year.

Kylie played Belfast in 1990 as part of her Enjoy Yourself tour and in 1997 made a brief appearance in the city at the Belfast Festival with Nick Cave, with whom she dueted on the track Where The Wild Roses Grow.

But for thousands of Kylie fans in Northern Ireland, tomorrow night will mark a long wait for the return of the Aussie superstar. The KylieX2008 tour will see her perform 53 shows in 21 countries and it sold out its UK dates within 30 minutes. An estimated £10m has been spent on staging the show, which includes a band, brass section, 14 dancers, four acrobats and gigantic video screens.

Kylie, who is considered a style icon in fashion circles, will undergo eight costume changes and there will be seven themed segments to the show. It is undestood Kylie will perform 31 tracks, although this is not being billed as a Greatest Hits tour, so many of the old favourites may not get an airing.

Why we love Kylie

Superstar Kylie Minogue arrives in Belfast tomorrow for the first of four sell-out shows in the city. Showbiz Correspondent Maureen Coleman examines our fascination with the singer and why we all love Kylie…

Superstar, sex symbol, survivor — Kylie Minogue is many things to many people.

From her squeaky-clean days on Australian soap Neighbours to the raunchy rock chick girlfriend of Michael Hutchence, Kylie has undergone a series of transformations but her adoring public has stayed loyal throughout.

There’s something about this pint-sized popstar that evokes a desire to protect — or just a desire — in men and a longing to be like her in women.

That’s the thing about Kylie, her appeal is universal. She may be a bit of a siren but, unlike Angelina Jolie, women warm to her. She’s the type of girl you could head down the pub with — friendly, flirty and fun.

For women in their 30s and 40s I guess we feel like we know her well. We’ve grown up with her, shared her trials and tribulations, her successes and her heartache. We remember her as Charlene, with the corkscrew curls and not long after, her Stock, Aiken and Waterman days when she lit up the charts with her bubble-gum pop. Every time she reinvented herself we cheered her on, even when she became slightly edgy and began hanging out with bad boys. In fact, we probably loved her all the more.

As her sound evolved, so too did her image. Kylie became a style icon. We waited to see what trend she’d be setting, what way she’d be wearing her hair. The dodgy perm had long since gone to be replaced by a bright red crop, long platinum locks or sultry dark bob.

Duets with Nick Cave and dancier tracks like Can’t Get You Out Of My Head helped boost her street cred and when she was invited to headline Glastonbury, her cool status was sealed. Then there were the love affairs. She should be so lucky! Poor Kylie has her fair share of heartbreak — particularly at the hands of her most recent love, Olivier Martinez. But we’re all still holding out for her and we hope she gets her man.

Of course we can’t forget either the dignified and brave way she battled breast cancer. At the height of her success she was diagnosed with the disease, sending shockwaves throughout the world. But even on her darkest days she still managed a smile. For the most part Kylie was left alone to fight the illness away from prying eyes — even the paparazzi had the utmost of respect for her.

When she re-emerged to face the world, after beating the cancer, we were all delighted for her. Our friend Kylie was back.

When writing this piece I tried to make it as balanced as possible by tracking down someone with something negative to say about her. But I couldn’t find a willing candidate. Everyone, it seems, loves Kylie. She’s such a superstar, she doesn’t even need a surname.

Kylie live

Fans tell Maureen Coleman just why they love the pint-sized popstar

Michael Bell, editor of Fate magazine, said his top Kylie track was What Do I Have To Do?

“Along with a handful of other artists Kylie has provided the soundtrack to our lives,” he said.

“We’ve grown up with her, so I guess we feel we know her. We’ve watched her turn from an annoying mechanic into a sex pot into an indie kid and into an icon. We can relate to her, almost as if she’s the human face of superstardom.

“Guys love her because of her obvious charms, gals love her because she’s not threatening and gays love her because, well do you really need to ask? We’ve never put a celebrity on the cover of Fate but felt she somehow deserved it.

“That issue proved to be the most successful issue we’ve ever had, she’s like a good luck charm, that girl.”

Radio Ulster’s Alan Simpson, who will be at the gig this week, said he lived in hope that his car would break down and a Charlene-style mechanic would emerge to fix it. “Ach, what can you say about Kylie? She’s got the ‘aw’ factor. Next to someone like Madonna, she’s like a lost soul, someone you could look after. But she also is very strong as her battle with cancer proved. Kylie’s a wee dote and I often think it would be great to have your car break down and have Kylie suddenly appear in her dungarees to fix it.” Alan singled out Spinning Around as his favourite song. ” Kylie in those gold hotpants, need I say more?” he said.

ATL presenter David ‘Rigsy’ O’Reilly may be best known for championing cool new bands but even he admits to liking Kylie.

“I think you’d have to be incredibly cynical to not like Kylie,” he said.

“For a start she was very ill, yet she’s back on stage and fighting fit. Also she’s insanely cute, even though she’s almost 60! (sic) She wears shiny clothes and wiggles her bum — what’s not to like?”

Rigsy chose chart-topper Can’t Get You Out Of My Head as his favourite Kylie track. “It’s a love song, but it’s also really dark and a bit sad. One of my favourite bands, The Flaming Lips, covered it as well.”

Katrina Doran, editor of lifestyle website Sugahfix.com said she felt she could relate to the superstar, despite her world-famous status.

“My dad is a mechanic and I could relate to Charlene as I loved spending my summers hoking around lorries and tractors in diesel-stained dungarees helping, or hindering as the case may be.

“Watching her transform from a goofy kid to a sexy glamourpuss has been fantastic, I love her sense of style and the fact that she is so ambitious and never gave, even as things didn’t seem to be going so well.”

UTV’s Alison Fleming has been a Kylie fans since her school days. Alison, who is attending the show on Sunday night with the same group of friends she went to school with, said: “We’ve grown up with Kylie. She’s such a performer too. I’ve never seen her before but a few of the girls have and say it’s a fantastic live show. I love Better The Devil You Know but my favourite song has to be Especially For You, with Jason Donovan.”

It looks at first glance just like any group of classmates from the school down the road £ until you peer a little bit closer.

Who is that in the middle of the back row? She definitely seems to be familiar.

And yes, you’re right — that’s the Locomotion Lady Kylie, snapped 18 years ago in her dressing room at the King’s Hall when she was in town to make her Belfast debut and was greeted backstage by these loyal fans in the picture with her.

Now Kylie, just turned 40 and after beating breast cancer, is in for a brush with the past when she returns to the city to play the Odyssey on Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday at sell-out gigs.

There waiting to greet her will be Zara McIlwaine, who first said hello to Kylie at Aldergrove Airport back in 1990 when the girl from Neighbours was 22 and Zara from Killead in South Antrim was 12 and a first-year student at Belfast Royal Academy.

UTV’s Ivan Martin tells in his autobiography how he interviewed Zara at Aldergrove that autumn afternoon about her impressions of Miss Minogue and was told in no uncertain terms:”She has spots.”

“I even got Zara to sing Kylie’s hit Locomotion on air,” recalls Ivan today.

Later that evening Zara and her close friends were invited into Kylie’s dressing room at the King’s Hall by the late impresario and promoter Jim Aiken. And that’s when this historic photograph was taken. It really does come across as any other school group — with Kylie looking like a student, bang in the middle with Vicki Robinson, now 30, on the left and Suzanne McAlindon (30) on the right.

In the front row are, from the left, Claire Henry (27), Gareth Henry (28), Danielle McAlindon, another Academy old girl, and Zara, both 29.

“It was a special evening which I’ve never forgotten,” says Vicki (nee Henry and sister of Gareth) who lives in Ballymena and who is the only one of the fan club who is married. She and her husband Noel Robinson are expecting their first baby.

Suzanne McAlindon, who is in management in Manchester and whose family still lives at Killead, will marry Ian Morgan in September. Claire Henry (no relation of the other two Henrys) now lives in London and is in publishing, Gareth Henry, whose parents Joe and Aurel are in the Randalstown district, is now based in Glasgow where he is a treasury manager. Danielle McAlindon, a hedge fund accountant and sister of Suzanne, lives in Drogheda.

And Zara, a civil servant, lives in Antrim and is still a loyal Kylie fan just like the rest of them. She and Danielle, still her close pal, will be at the Odyssey on Sunday night hoping to show the photograph of them all looking so young and starry-eyed to Kylie who of course has also remained single down all those years.

When Kylie plays in Belfast this week, Claire Harrison will be there — fulfilling a 20-year dream to see her idol in concert

Monday July 4 had been ringed in crayon on my home-made 1988 Neighbours calendar for some time. That was the day myself and every single other girl in my class was bursting with impatience for.

Kylie Minogue was releasing her debut album and I was promised that a copy would be mine as soon as my velcro gutties could get me down Maghera’s main street to the record shop, bang on 9am.

It was my first ever album. I was 10, crazy about Neighbours and even more bonkers about Kylie and Jason Donovan. Kylie came to play the King’s Hall but we couldn’t get tickets. My heart was broken.

So when rumours abounded that the couple were coming to Belfast, to busk and sign copies of Especially for You in the city centre, I was launched into a state of excitement never seen before.

They were quickly followed by new ones that the couple had pulled out as Belfast due to the Troubles. I cried solid for three days.

I was always gutted by never having seen Kylie.

All that will change on Friday night when I finally get to see the Aussie pop princess’ spectacular show. It was important to this 30-year-old to put the last little bit of a 10-year-old’s heart back together.

Note to children in love with pop stars: I got a dog for Christmas in the early 90s and named him Jason. He lived for 14 years and it did get embarrassing having to admit my beloved pet was named after a cheesy has-been pop star from the previous millennium.

Share on Facebook