By Ian Woolley
For 25 years, Kiki Dee has toured with celebrated guitarist Carmelo Luggeri and now with another album out, they are still loving and free…
Carmello & Kiki (credit Quiz Britain)
In that time, they have written and recorded several albums together with their new one due out later in the year. Back in 1994, they first got together after being introduced through a friend.
As a solo artist, her first preferred name was going to be Kinky Dee. Kiki recalls: “I spoke with my dad about their suggestion of giving me the name of Kinky Dee and he thought it sounded like a stripper!
The record label was quite insistent that it had a 60s feel to it with Kinky Boots being played everywhere it would catch on. But we settled in the end for Kiki. “To this day, there are very few of my name out there. Working and being part of the family.
I had a great and close musical relationship with Elton which continues to this day. I sang backing vocals on his album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and began writing songs”, Kiki recalled.
Her first chart success came in a cover of the Véronique Sanson song Amoureuse, which almost made the Top 10. Elton produced the single. Then came ‘I’ve Got The Music In Me’ which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Then, in 1976, with Elton now a big star in his own right, along came ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ written under the pseudonyms of Ann Orson & Carte Blanche. Kiki said: “There have been rumours it was meant to be sung with Dusty but that isn’t true.
The song was going to be released as a solo. We went into the studio and shot the video in one take…20 minutes… we were all done, and of course, it got played on Top of The Pops and took us to the top of the charts.”
It’s worth mentioning that they almost got to the top of the charts again in 1993 with their version of True Love. “I think it was Mr Blobby that stopped us getting there,” Kiki said.
Kiki with the Beat (credit Quiz Britain)
“I took over from Barbara Dickson and we took it on a year tour, and by the time we opened on the West End in 1988, we all had polished our performances.
Blood Brothers would have never lasted as long as it did if we hadn’t. It was a great show and I was very proud to be part of it” she added. Kiki did have low points in her life as she revealed in our talk. “I was around 40 when I was diagnosed as having cancer of the womb.
Although I didn’t have chemo and the op was successful, it makes you take stock of your life from that moment on.
I decided to enjoy what I had going for me and not try and be a huge star and chase all of the things needed to become that”.
I asked her why she had never married. “Perhaps the boyfriends that came along were at the wrong time or the wrong boyfriends came at the right time and so it never happened. Now in my life, I am content and happy in being in the company of myself. I’ve got used to just being alone, I guess” said Kiki.
For many years she has lived happily in her cottage in a quaint village in Hertfordshire.
Does she still keep in contact with Sir Elton I asked her? “Every birthday, he sends me an orchid in a pot. It used to be a magnum of champagne but I guess his birthday list is quite vast these days, so he has to make cutbacks somewhere!” she laughed.
“On his birthday I donate to his Aids Trust, so he’s happy with that…
Anyway, what do you buy a man who has everything he wants?” Only Sir Elton can answer that!