Kiki Dee
Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer born in Little Horton, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown’s Tamla Records.[1][2][3]
Kiki Dee | |
|---|---|
.png) Kiki Dee in 1974 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Pauline Matthews |
| Born | 6 March 1947 Little Horton, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels |
|
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Dee is best known for her 1974 hit "I've Got the Music in Me" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart",[4] her 1976 duet with Elton John, which went to Number 1 both in the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1993 she performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, a cover version of Cole Porter's "True Love",[4] which reached No. 2 in the UK. During her career, she has released 40 singles, three EPs and 12 albums.
Early life
Kiki Dee was born on 6 March 1947, in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. At age of 10 she won a local talent contest. At 16 she had her first paid job in show business. "I realised when I sang at family parties and Christmases I'd suddenly get everyone's attention and, being the youngest of three, I thought what a brilliant attention-seeking ploy it was," says Kiki in a 2013 interview. She went on to say: "My older brother had a lot of Elvis on vinyl and really that was my first introduction to music during the Fifties."
Working at Boots in Bradford at age 16 during the day, in the evenings she sang songs with a dance band in Leeds. A record scout liked her singing and invited her to London to do an audition. There in 1963 she signed as a solo artist to Fontana Records.[5]
Career
Musician
After singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s, Kiki Dee began her recording career as a session singer. She sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, among others, but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years. In 1963, Dee released her first single, "Early Night", and recorded her debut album, I’m Kiki Dee, which included a series of Phil Spector-style tracks and covers.[2] Her 1966 release "Why Don't I Run Away From You" (a cover of Tami Lynn's "I'm Gonna Run Away From You") was a big hit on Radio London and Radio Caroline, and she sang the B side "Small Town" in her appearance in Dateline Diamonds the same year. Her 1968 release "On a Magic Carpet Ride", which was originally a B-side, has remained popular with the Northern Soul circuit. Much of her early recorded work for Fontana Records was released on 24 January 2011, on the CD compilation I'm Kiki Dee.
Songwriter Mitch Murray created her stage name and penned her first single, "Early Night".[6] In the United States she became the first white British artist to be signed by Motown,[3][4] releasing her first Motown single in 1970.
In the days before BBC Radio 1, Dee was a regular performer of cover versions on BBC Radio, and she starred with a group of session singers in the BBC Two singalong series, One More Time. She also appeared in an early episode of The Benny Hill Show in January 1971, performing the Blood, Sweat and Tears hit, "You've Made Me So Very Happy". Nevertheless, it was only after she signed with Elton John's label, The Rocket Record Company, that she became a household name in the UK. Her first major solo hits were "Amoureuse" (written by Véronique Sanson, with English lyrics by Gary Osborne) (1973) and "I've Got the Music in Me" (written by Tobias Stephen Boshell), the latter credited to the Kiki Dee Band (1974).[4] In addition to her burgeoning career as a lead vocalist, she could sometimes be heard singing backing vocals on various Elton John recordings, such as "All the Girls Love Alice" from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and various tracks on Rock of the Westies.
Her biggest hit came in 1976 when she replaced an ailing Dusty Springfield for the recording of a duet with John, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (pseudonymously written by John and lyricist Bernie Taupin). The single reached No. 1 in both the UK and US, remaining at the top for six weeks in the UK.[7] At the end of the summer she played as support act to Queen at their Hyde Park concert in front of a crowd of 150,000 people. Prior to the concert, in an interview for Record Mirror, she stated, "My confidence is at an all-time high."[8]
After a quiet period in the late 1970s, Dee launched a comeback in 1981, releasing one of her biggest hits, "Star", written by Doreen Chanter of the Chanter Sisters. This later became the theme music to the BBC1 programme Opportunity Knocks between 1987 and 1990. Dee joined forces again with Elton John in 1981, recording a cover of the Four Tops' song "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" which was written by Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder. Both of these were included on her album Perfect Timing, which became a modest hit on the album chart. She supplied backing vocals to Elton John's 1983 album Too Low for Zero. Dee also sang the song "What Can't Speak Can't Lie" (1983), composed and recorded by the Japanese jazz fusion group Casiopea, and with lyrics by Gary Osborne.[9][10] She performed at Live Aid in 1985, reprising "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with John, and performing backing vocals on the other songs in his set. She also contributed backing vocals on John's 1992 album The One, and a year later recorded "True Love" with John for his 1993 album Duets.
Dee released the live album Almost Naked, a joint effort with Carmelo Luggeri, in 1995, followed by the studio albums Where Rivers Meet (1998) and The Walk Of Faith (2005) with Luggeri. In September 2013 Dee and Luggeri released their third studio album, A Place Where I Can Go, on Spellbound Records. They have been touring together ever since.[11][12]
Dee's single "Sidesteppin' with a Soul Man," released in October 2013, was her 40th single release.
Musical theatre
Dee has also appeared in musical theatre, notably in the lead role in Willy Russell's West End musical Blood Brothers,[4] in which she took on the role originally played by Barbara Dickson for the 1988 production and recording. She received an Olivier Award nomination in 1989 in the Best Actress in a Musical category.[3] In 1990, she contributed to the last recording studio collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, on the album Freudiana, performing "You're On Your Own" and part of "No One Can Love You Better Than Me".
In 2008, Dee's first DVD was released. Under The Night Sky was a collaboration with guitarist Carmelo Luggeri, filmed live at the Bray Studios in London; the music was produced by Ted Carfrae. That same year, several albums from her earlier 1970s–1980s Rocket catalogue were re-released by EMI Records, including an expanded edition of Almost Naked with extra tracks, including a cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" and a new take on "Sugar on the Floor". Also that year, Demon Records (UK) issued a remastered edition of Perfect Timing, with several bonus tracks including an alternate mix of "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever."
Dee had previously starred in Pump Boys and Dinettes in London's West End, at the Piccadilly Theatre, from 20 September 1984 to 8 June 1985.
In popular culture
In 2019 Dee was portrayed by actress Rachel Muldoon in the Elton John biopic Rocketman.[12]
Discography
Kiki Dee has released 40 singles, three EPs and 12 albums.
Albums
| Release date | Title | UK [13] |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | I'm Kiki Dee | – | Fontana |
| 1970 | Great Expectations | – | Tamla Motown |
| 1973 | Loving & Free | – | Rocket |
| 1974 | I've Got the Music in Me | – | |
| Patterns | – | Philips | |
| Kiki Dee | – | MFP/Sound Superb | |
| 1977 | Kiki Dee | 24 | Rocket |
| 1978 | Stay With Me | – | |
| 1980 | Greatest Hits | – | Warwick |
| 1981 | Perfect Timing | 47 | Ariola |
| 1987 | Angel Eyes | – | Columbia |
| 1991 | Spotlight On Kiki Dee – Greatest Hits | – | Rocket |
| 1994 | The Very Best of Kiki Dee | 62 | |
| 1995 | Almost Naked | – | Tickety-boo |
| 1998 | Where Rivers Meet | – | |
| 2005 | Love Makes the World Go Round – The Motown Years | – | Universal |
| The Walk of Faith | – | Spellbound | |
| 2008 | Cage the Songbird | – | EMI |
| 2009 | The Best of Kiki Dee | – | |
| 2013 | A Place Where I Can Go | – | Spellbound |
| 2019 | Gold | 44 | Crimson |
Singles
| Release date | Single title | UK | US | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | "Early Night" | – | – | Fontana |
| "I Was Only Kidding" | – | – | ||
| 1964 | "Miracles" | – | – | |
| "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" | – | – | ||
| 1965 | "Runnin' Out of Fools" | – | – | |
| 1966 | "Why Don't I Run Away from You" | – | – | |
| 1967 | "I'm Going Out (The Same Way I Came In)" | – | – | |
| "I" | – | – | ||
| "Excuse Me" | – | – | ||
| 1968 | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" | – | – | |
| "Now the Flowers Cry" | – | – | ||
| 1970 | "The Day Will Come Between Sunday and Monday" | – | – | Tamla Motown |
| 1971 | "Love Makes the World Go Round" | – | 87 | Rare Earth (Motown) |
| 1973 | "Lonnie and Josie" | – | – | Rocket |
| "Amoureuse" | 13 | – | ||
| 1974 | "Hard Luck Story" | – | – | |
| "I've Got the Music in Me" | 19 | 12 | ||
| 1975 | "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am" | 33 | 74 | |
| "Once a Fool" | – | 82 | ||
| 1976 | "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Elton John) |
1 | 1 | |
| "Loving and Free" / "Amoureuse" (Kiki Dee EP) | 13 | – | ||
| 1977 | "First Thing in the Morning" | 32 | – | |
| "Night Hours" | – | – | ||
| "Chicago" | 28 | – | ||
| 1978 | "Stay With Me Baby" | – | – | |
| 1979 | "One Jump Ahead of the Storm" | – | – | |
| 1981 | "Star" | 13 | – | Ariola |
| "Perfect Timing" | 66 | – | ||
| "Midnight Flyer" | – | – | ||
| "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (with Elton John) |
– | – | ||
| 1983 | "The Loser Gets To Win" | – | – | EMI |
| 1984 | "Amoureuse" | 77 | – | Rocket |
| 1986 | "Another Day Comes (Another Day Goes)" | – | – | Columbia |
| 1987 | "I Fall in Love Too Easily" | – | – | |
| "Stay Close to You" | – | – | ||
| "Angel Eyes" | – | – | ||
| 1993 | "True Love" (with Elton John) |
2 | 56 | Rocket |
DVDs
- 2008 – Under the Night Sky Live (with Carmelo Luggeri) – New Wave Pictures (produced by Ted Carfrae)
References
- Paphides, Pete (28 January 2011). "There's more to Kiki Dee than Don't Go Breaking My Heart". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- Nicholas, Sadie (17 September 2013). "Kiki Dee: I've had music in me for 50 years". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- Roberts, David (2003). British Hit Singles & Albums (16th ed.). London, England: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-85112-190-1.
- Ruhlmann, William (6 March 1947). "Kiki Dee – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- Kiki Dee: express.co.uk, I've had music in me for 50 years, 17 September 2013
- "Kiki Dee". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- "Kiki Dee Discography". The Kiki Dee Information Bureau. Archived from the original on 1 July 2002.
- Iles, Jan (25 September 1976). "Heart and chart breaker" (PDF). Record Mirror & Disc: 9.
- "Lyrics to 'What Can't Speak Can't Lie'". kikidee.info. Archived from the original on 8 September 2005.
- "Casiopea – Jive Jive (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. 8 October 1983. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- Savage, Wayne (14 April 2018). ""I've no regrets" says popstar Kiki Dee ahead of Bury St Edmunds show tonight". East Anglian Daily Times.
- Moran, Jonathon (18 July 2019). "Seventies pop star Kiki Dee: 'I saw it all, I just wouldn't have been able to cope with it'". Daily Telegraph. London, England: Telegraph Media Group.
- "Kiki Dee | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 146–47. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.
External links
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