Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess

May 1968
Kylie Ann Minogue was born at the Bethlehem Hospital on 28th May 1968 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Family: Father: Ron (Accountant; 5th generation Australian), Mother: Carol (aka: Carol Jones Minogue; emigrated from Maesteg in Wales during the 1950's), Sister: Dannii (singer, actress, model and TV presenter; born on October 20, 1971), Brother: Brendan (TV camera man; born on August 30, 1983)

1980 / 1981
First audition, for a role in wartime TV soap The Sullivans as Carla, an orphaned Dutch girl. Before her shows are aired, Kylie appears in another soap called Skyways, set around an airport. Her character is called Robin and Jason Donovan plays her onscreen brother.

1984
Kylie's first major role, in mini-series The Henderson Kids as local tough girl Charlotte "Char" Kernow. Producer Alan Hardy is very impressed with the young star and remembers her two years later when she auditions for a role in Neighbours. Kylie uses her money from The Henderson Kids to make a demo tape, singing Donna Summer's Dim All The Lights, Patti Labelle's New Attitude and Quincy Jones' Just Once. The experience is so overwhelming that the shy teenager ends up crying her eyes out in the studio (bless!).

1985
Kylie appears in two more TV roles, an episode of kids' drama The Zoo Family (the episode was named "Yvonne The Terrible" after Kylie's character...) and another mini-series called Fame And Misfortune, where she plays the part of Sam, the sister of the main character. Kylie returns to school to complete her HSC (Higher School Certificate), and takes a part time job in a local video store.

1986
Shortly after leaving school, Kylie successfully lands the role that was to change her life completely, that of "tomboy auto-mechanic" Charlene Mitchell in Neighbours, a soap opera focusing around the lives and loves of a group of, er, neighbours, in a suburban Melbourne street. Waning viewing figures had meant the programme was axed by its former TV network a few months earlier and resurrected by rival Channel 10 shortly before Kylie's arrival on the show. The character of Charlene was one of a group of teenage characters created by the writers with the hope of attracting younger viewers to the show and Kylie was only supposed to be in the show for about 12 weeks. However, the popularity of the character proved to be such that her contract was renewed several times and Charlene became a permanent resident on Ramsay Street for the next two and a half years!

Kylie's first scene on Neighbours involved her character breaking into her mother Madge's home, only to be caught by boy-next-door Scott Robinson, who promptly receives a punch from the feisty Charlene. Scott was played by Kylie's former Skyways co-star Jason Donovan and as Scott and Charlene became romantically involved onscreen, Kylie and Jason played out the romance in real life. The onscreen pairing ensured the Neighbours bosses got what they set out to achieve, as thousands of viewers regularly tuned in to witness the daily ups and downs of the couples' relationship.

Kylie makes her public singing debut with a guest appearance on variety show Young Talent Time, singing with various members of the Neighbours cast. She also duets with her sister Dannii, performing the Annie Lennox/Aretha Franklin hit, Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves.

Neighbours cast performs at a benefit concert for a Melbourne Aussie-Rules Football club. The crowd so enjoys the performance that they call for an encore. With nothing prepared, Kylie suggests they sing one of her favourites, The Locomotion (originally a 1963 hit for Little Eva). On the back of her performance, Kylie is persuaded to record a demo of the song at Melbourne's Sing-Sing studios, with local producer Kaj Dahlstrom.

March 1987
Kylie becomes the youngest ever star to win the Silver Logie (the Aussie equivalent to the Emmys) for 'Most Popular Actress In Australia'.

Kylie and Jason guest star at an open-air concert for the Young Talent Time 'Say No To Drugs' campaign, performing the Howard Jones hit No-One Is To Blame. Kylie again duets with Dannii, roaring onto stage on the back of a motorbike (even in the early days, the girl knew how to make an entrance!). This time, they choose the Pointer Sisters tune Twist My Arm, Kylie modeling one of her homemade frocks.

Locomotion live performance

April 1987
Kylie's demo of The Locomotion is picked up by Mushroom Records who sign Kylie with the intention of releasing the track as a single. They draft in Mike Duffy, an engineer from London's PWL studios, to produce the single. Duffy was asked to recreate the sound of his bosses, mega-producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, whose 'Hit Factory' was responsible for hits for the likes of Bananarama, Rick Astley, Mel And Kim, Sinitta, Dead Or Alive and Hazell Dean. The result is a disco-synth tune with squalling electric guitars and a chugging bassline. An awe-struck Kylie shoots her first video at Melbourne's Essendon airport, performing the song with six dancers against a graffiti-style backdrop. Kylie chooses director Chris Langman to direct the clip - Chris had been the director on The Henderson Kids three years previously.

July 1987
The popularity of Neighbours and in particular Charlene and Scott reaches fever pitch with their onscreen wedding. Kylie and Jason tour Australian shopping malls, promoting the wedding episode by cutting numerous replica cakes... A mini-riot breaks out at one appearance with fans desperate to see the pair.

13th July - Locomotion is released in Australia and shoots straight to Number One on the national charts. It stays there for seven weeks and by October has become the biggest-selling single of the decade. Kylie is amazed "I have to keep pinching myself to believe this is happening" she gasps. For the first of many times Kylie is featured on the cover of the Australian edition of Smash Hits and is interviewed for the magazine.

October 1987
Kylie travels to the UK for a ten-day trip, with the intention of recording a follow-up single to Locomotion with Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Despite the growing success of Neighbours in the UK, SAW have no idea who Kylie is and had actually forgotten she was coming. Whilst Kylie and her manager wait, the trio quickly pen a tune. Legend has it that a comment from Mike Stock ("She's come to make a hit? She should be so lucky...") is the inspiration, and I Should Be So Lucky is born. Kylie returns to Australia directly after recording to resume work on Neighbours.

November 1987
Locomotion reaches No.1 in New Zealand and Hong Kong, becoming Mushroom Records' first international No.1. It also becomes a hit in Sweden, reaching No.10.

December 1987
29th December - I Should Be So Lucky is released in the UK. With no time to record a video in between her hectic Neighbours schedule, Kylie performs the song whilst being driven around Sydney in the back on an open-topped BMW. The resultant clip is aired on Christmas day on the BBC's Late Late Breakfast Show.

January 1988
Kylie performs at Australia's Bicentennial Celebrations, attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. As the popularity of Neighbours increases in the UK, the programme is screened twice daily. Amidst stories of children wagging school to watch it and doctors surgeries changing their hours to accommodate their patients' viewing tastes, the BBC moves the second showing to early evening. The viewing audience in the UK increases to more than the entire population of Australia.

30th January - With the popularity of I Should Be So Lucky taking off overseas, Kylie films a video for the single at Channel 7 studios in Melbourne. Set in a trendy 80's apartment, the idea was to disassociate Kylie from her Neighbours alter-ego. As her creative director Amanda Pelman comments for Australia's Countdown magazine: "Really we wanted to make her the antithesis of Charlene. In Locomotion Kylie was being a bit silly, playing and having fun. This is still Kylie being herself, but it's the next step, a bit more sophistication."

February 1988
Kylie is presented with an award from the Australian Record Industry Association for Locomotion being the highest-selling record of 1987.

Mike Stock flies to Melbourne to start recording tracks for Kylie's debut album.

14th February - I Should Be So Lucky climbs to No.1 in the UK.

March 1988
Kylie wins a record-breaking FOUR Logie Awards: the gold for 'Most Popular Personality on Australian TV', the silver for 'Most Popular Actress' for the second year running, 'Most Popular Personality on Victorian (State) TV', and 'Most Popular Music Video in Australia' for Locomotion.

Meanwhile, I Should Be So Lucky has shot up the Australian and UK charts becoming the first ever single to top both countries' charts simultaneously. In the UK it is the first single for over ten years to stay at No.1 for five weeks and becomes the biggest-selling single of the year. It is subsequently No.1 in Germany, Finland, Israel, Switzerland, Japan and Hong Kong and holds Top Ten positions over Europe.

A video EP, Kylie The Videos is released in Australia, containing the clips for Locomotion and I Should Be So Lucky, as well as a special 'behind the scenes' interview.

April 1988
Accompanied by her mum, Kylie travels back to the UK to finish recording her debut album with SAW at PWL Studios in London. To avoid media attention, she stays in Pete Waterman's flat, whilst the Hitman re-locates himself to the Hilton hotel for the Easter break!

Kylie's manager Terry Blamey, along with Pete Waterman and Mushroom Records' Gary Ashley, form PAL Productions, to handle all Kylie's song publishing and recording rights in the UK and Australia.

I Should Be So Lucky enters the Billboard Top 100 in the USA the week after release, peaking at No.28 and giving Kylie her first Top 40 US hit. Having sold over 1 million copies in Europe "Lucky" stays atop Pan-European Charts for 3 weeks.

May 1988
2nd May - Kylie's third single, Got To Be Certain is released, which spends several weeks at No.2. The video is filmed around Melbourne and three different edits are made, combining shots of Kylie on a merry-go-round, in an artist's studio and dancing in a coffee-house.

June 1988
In Australia, Kylie celebrates her third consecutive No.1 hit and Got To Be Certain makes history by being the first ever single to enter the charts at the top spot.

Kylie appears on Australian TV on Hey, Hey It's Saturday, where she performs Look My Way (from her forthcoming album) completely live.

After two and a half years as Charlene, Kylie decides to leave Neighbours to concentrate on her singing career. Her storyline is left open, with Charlene moving to Brisbane rather than being killed off, so that Kylie is free to return if she wishes.

July 1988
I Should Be So Lucky reaches No.1 in Japan and holds the position for an incredible 12 weeks! "Certain" creates history by being the first record in Australia to debut at No.1 on the national charts; it stayed there for five weeks. No.1 in Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, and Finland, and Top 10 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, and Norway. The fastest start to a career in Europe with three Top 10 records in the first seven months of 1988 plus a platinum album in just four weeks in the U.K.

4th July - Her debut LP, Kylie is released, entering the UK and Australian charts at No.2. In Australia it turns double platinum, gold in the UK and Singapore. The album is launched at a cocktail party in London where Kylie is presented with gold and silver discs for I Should Be So Lucky and Got To Be Certain.

25th July - The Loco-motion (the re-recorded, SAW-produced version of her debut hit) is released and enters the UK chart at No.2. Kylie now holds the record for the highest entry in the UK single charts by a female artist, a record previously held by Madonna when she entered at No.3. The album "Kylie" debuts at No.2 in both Britain and Australia. Never before has a debut album by a female artist entered so high on either country's charts. On release it went double platinum in Australia, gold in Britain and gold in Singapore. The album hits No.1 in England (21 Aug.) and stays there for 4 weeks. Already platinum in U.K. and gold in Germany. Also top 10 throughout Europe and Asia. As Kylie-mania sweeps the UK, Kylie makes her debut appearance on Top Of The Pops and the LP Kylie hits No.1 (where it stays for four weeks). During her visit to the UK, Kylie is shadowed by a film crew making a documentary about her for Australian TV's current affairs programme Page One.

September 1988
The Loco-motion is released in the USA and enters the Billboard Chart in the Top 40 (14th). Kylie travels Europe to promote the single and her album. Kylie is interviewed for the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine whilst at a photoshoot commissioned by her Japanese record company. An early insight into Kylie's gradually developing sense of style, the slightly sexier and more natural shots mark the first time that Kylie works with photographer Grant Matthews and his wife Nicole Bonython who is to become her personal stylist.

October 1988
17th October - Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi is released in the UK, debuting at No.2. and stayed there for three weeks, giving her the record for being the first artist in the history of the British charts to have 4 top three singles from one album. U.K. Smash Hits readers voted her Most Fanciable Female and Best Female Singer. Kylie performs the AA-side, Made In Heaven at the Royal Variety Performance in the presence of the Queen Mother. During promotion of the single on kids' Saturday morning show Going Live!, Kylie is joined by Dannii (Dannii's first ever appearance on UK TV).

November 1988
The Loco-motion reaches No.3 in the USA, with sales in excess of half a million. In the wake of the single's success Geffen Records release a follow-up single, It's No Secret, as Kylie travels to America for promotion. Notable appearances include live performances of both singles on The Arsenio Hall Show.

Meanwhile, in the UK, Neighbours mania continues, along with increased interest in Kylie and Jason's real-life relationship. With Jason embarking on his own singing career (his debut single, Nothing Can Divide Us is also produced by SAW and earns him a Top Five hit) and the imminent screening of Scott and Charlene's wedding, Kylie and Jason are persuaded to release a duet. The result, Especially For You is rush-recorded and released (28th), debuting at No.2.

A video collection, cunningly entitled Kylie - The Videos is released and enters the UK video chart at No.1, where it stays for three months.

December 1988
In what has been a phenomenal 12 months, Kylie ends the year with both Especially For You and the Kylie LP (now six times platinum) sitting pretty at No.2 in the UK and her video collection at No.1. In Finland, Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi becomes her fourth consecutive No.1 single.

I Should Be So Lucky is voted 'Record Of The Year' at the Japanese Popular Disc Awards.

21st December - in Japan, Turn It Into Love is chosen as the follow-up single to The Loco-motion.