Posted in: Pop by Paul Evans on March 5th, 2008 | 0 Comments
I talked with one of Britain’s top singer-songwriters about her career. Revealed is an accomplished, mature artist at peace with herself and confident of her place in the world of music.
Kiki Dee is a natural survivor. She’s tackled and overcome every obstacle fate has thrown in her path, from career setbacks to cancer. An unquenchable optimism and faith in her abilities have maintained her position as a popular and respected singer for over three decades. She’s still performing at 61, and nowadays independent of the music industry.
Born Pauline Matthews in Bradford, Yorkshire, Kiki showed talent, and became convinced she would make a career from it, before her teens. Singing with dance bands and signing a record deal months after leaving school, she made several recordings which had little impact. Sporadic T.V. appearances kept her in the public eye, but real success still eluded her.
Kiki’s big break appeared to have come in 1969, when she became the first white European act to be signed by Tamla Motown. But….
“When I went to Detroit, none of the creative people knew who I was. So it was a little bit disjointed, but I did a few good tracks there. One of them was Tony Blackburn’s Record of the Week! It was an interesting experience, and flattering just to be there. Of course it was disappointing, but I always had this inner belief that I’d just keep going.”
This inner belief was finally rewarded in 1973, Kiki’s watershed year. John Reid, Elton John’s manager, invited her to join Elton’s new Rocket label. The “family” atmosphere of the smaller enterprise suited Kiki perfectly. The L.P. “Loving and Free” and her first hit single “Amoureuse” soon followed. The album was a diverse collection, including rock, soulful ballads, and gentle, self-composed acoustic numbers:
“’Loving and Free’ is probably the closest to what I am as an artist. I’ve done many different things, but lately I’ve come back to the acoustic sound on that album. The variety you mentioned can be a disadvantage, because people like to pin you down as to what you are – more so these days.”
Kiki made further progress, with the album and single “I”ve Got The Music In Me’ both received favourably. A successful concert tour confirmed her standing as a live performer. Then in the long, hot summer of 1976 The Big One finally happened:
“’Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ was a bit of a millstone for a long time. If you’re trying to do something more mature, and you’ve had a big hit, it’s a disadvantage. But you have to keep doing what you do, and see what happens. That record still finances me – keeps coming up trumps, because of Elton’s career being so big. It gives me freedom to do what I want to do. We still do the song live, because when you’re doing unusual material that people aren’t expecting, it gives you a kind of anchor.”
