A restart for both parties. Towa Tei was mostly known for his role in 90s band Dee-Lite, and Kylie had just "parted ways" with record label DeConstruction. German Bold Italic (GBI) was the sound of an unlikely combination magically working; luckily, most of you all got it.
It's never appeared on a Greatest Hits compilation, but Kylie has performed it (as video interludes) at the Fever and X Tours.
Now to a song that's been a part of almost all of her tours in the past twelve years.
Kids (with Robbie Williams)
Average Score: 7.237
Highest Score: 10[SupremeGoddess, PopBoi, Beatfreak, huh, Eric
Lowest Score: 0[Ra2]
Oh, the story of Kids.
When Kylie signed to Parlophone, she and the record company agreed that she would go back to full out, balls to the wall pop. One of the first writing partners the label brought in for Kylie was Guy Chambers, and he brought with him some guy by the name of Robbie Williams. They quickly went to work, writing almost half of the album. This song was written by Chambers and Williams, and Robert liked it so much he wrote a rap and turned it into a duet. Lyrically, the song alluded to events in the past of both. Kylie sings "I've been dropping beats since Back in Black," reminding the world that she is the biggest artist Australia has produced since AC/DC - and that she's been making music from almost as long as they have. Robbie raps that "press be asking [him does he] like sodomy/I don't know - yeah - probably," making light of the gay/bisexual rumors that have dogged every step of his solo career. A particularly British hit, it went number two in the UK.
They've both performed it without the other on tours, with backing singers playing the other role. Kylie also has gotten sister Dannii and Bono to take Robbie's parts. They both did a better job!
As was the case with SAW/PWL, Got to Be Certain wasn't even written with Kylie in mind, It was recorded first by Mandy Smith; when that didn't gel, Kylie was sent the record. She recorded it in Melbourne at the same time she shot the video! Fast turnaround. The single became her third top 2 single in the UK, and her third consecutive number one in Australia.
I'll never love Got to Be Certain, because it lacks the buoyancy of the other singles. (Where is the hook?) Also, ending the second verse with "whoa-whoa-whoa-whoaooooh" is lazy, even for PWL.
Deemed to be too "gay" to be an official single, Your Disco Needs You was SCRAPPED as the final UK/Worldwide single from Light Years. The girls were not happy, as they actually protested it! They held rallies outside of Parlophone's headquarters.
It was given a limited release in Germany in Australia, though. The video, perfectly reflecting the camp appeal of the song, arguably gave Kylie THE iconic image as the gay icon of HER time.
Fun Fact: There are at least five translations of the spoken word bridge.
French verse: Vous n'ętes jamais seuls / Vous savez ce qu'il faut faire / Ne laissez pas tomber votre nation / La disco a besoin de vous!
German verse: Du bist niemals allein / Du weisst was du tun musst / Lass dein Volk nicht im Stich / Deine Disco braucht dich!
Spanish verse: Nunca estás sola / Sabes lo que tienes que hacer / No le falles a tu pueblo / ˇTu discoteca te necesita!
Japanese verse: Anata wa ke****e hitori ja nai / nani wo subeki ka sitte iru hazu / karera wo uragira nai de / Disco wa anata wo matte iru!
English translation: You're never alone / You know what you must do / Don't let your country down / Your disco needs you!
Deemed to be too "gay" to be an official single, Your Disco Needs You was SCRAPPED as the final UK/Worldwide single from Light Years. The girls were not happy, as they actually protested it! They held rallies outside of Parlophone's headquarters.
Yas sisters! Can't keep a gay anthem like this down.
One of the last track to make Let's Get to It, but a good inclusion - as it was the biggest hit from that album. Peaking at number two in the UK, and somehow going number one in South Africa, GMJALMT provided the hook that most of her newer material lacked at the time.
This and Got to be Certain's elimination really pisses me off.
"G.B.I." has a killer beat and "Kids" has a great chorus, but I don't find either track particularly exceptional.
"Got to Be Certain" is cute, but I prefer other singles from her debut. I'm not miffed to lose it.
I think Kids totally works from a structural level - but maybe I have miffed syndrome; I'm still upset Disco Down was left off the album and that was released as a single.
I'll be back later. I need to console myself. The next round of eliminations have me VEXED. From 36 to 31, only one should have been out a long time ago. The other five SHOULD be top twenty.
I had no idea there it came in 5 different languages. I thought it was just French. I want the German version.
