Celebrity Interview – Kiki Dee

There are few opportunities to see a genuine superstar performing in Derbyshire. One appearing at an intimate venue is even rarer. But Kiki Dee who is coming to Belper this month is no ordinary superstar.
Kiki has done virtually everything in the music business. She secured her first recording contract when she was 16, was the first female UK singer to sign for Tamla Motown and her duet with Elton John, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, went to number one both here and in the USA.
For the past 30 years she’s been performing with English guitarist of Italian parents Carmelo Luggeri. Their eclectic mix of old and new songs interspersed with numbers by other great artists is proving hugely popular with audiences.
Kiki is still in great demand, performing in front of several thousand people on Elton John’s farewell North American tour and being supported by none other than rock legend Robert Plant at a small venue in Birmingham.
She says her show with Carmelo is not what a lot of people expect: “Although I’ve been working with Carmelo for 30 years now – which is hard to believe because it’s half my working life – it’s quite forward-looking.
“For example, we do a slowed-down version of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. It’s fundamentally a semi-acoustic show. We’re quite dynamic. We do I’ve Got The Music In Me and stuff like Amoureuse and some covers as well as original material.”
She agrees that some of her well-known songs take on a new quality when they’re done acoustically.
“That was the reason Carmelo and I started working together. I’d done the thing about trying to get in the charts and I just more or less wanted to do what my heart told me.
“I enjoy singing Don’t Go Breaking My Heart in a slow way because you hear the lyrics differently. You really need a full production to do it in the original way.”

Kiki laughs when she points out that Carmelo doesn’t try to be Elton John and doesn’t sing at all: “He said to me when we first met ‘I don’t want to sing Elton’s part!’ He’s very good at arranging songs, so we do quite an unusual version of Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush.
“Carmelo is a really great guitarist and producer. We’ve done four albums and a couple of live ones over the years.”
He’s worked with huge names including Bill Wyman, Julian Lennon, Billy Connolly, Andy Williams and Ralph McTell.
Kiki and Carmelo met when the late Steve Brown, who had a big hand in Elton John’s early career, got them together for a recording session. Kiki pays tribute to Steve who ran Rocket Records.
“I’d done the pop thing. The early days were about trying to make it. Of course what you realise is when you do make it, that’s when the work starts.
“I’d also done musical theatre – I did Blood Brothers for a long time. Steve was a very open-minded, creative man. He knew that Carmelo and I were both moving on and trying to do something different. Our partnership was a natural progression.
“We’ve had guys say to us ‘my wife dragged me along to the show and I’d no idea what it was going to be. I really enjoyed it.’ I feel quite pleased in a way that we’re still moving on.”
Pauline Matthews was born on 6 March 1947 in Bradford. She began her recording career as a session singer, providing backing vocals for Dusty Springfield among others. She changed her name to Kiki Dee when she signed as a solo artist to Fontana Records.
She joined Tamla Motown but it wasn’t until she signed with Elton John’s Rocket Records that she became a household name.
Although she enjoyed working with Motown, she didn’t know what to do next, so she called the label’s UK music manager John Reid who was just about to become Elton John’s manager.
“It was a fluke,” says Kiki. “He said ‘we’re starting a label. Would you like to meet Elton John?’ He was beginning to make it quite big then, in 1972. I said I would love to.
“I think I would have done okay if I hadn’t met Elton but you have to take advantage of these moments in your life. I’m always grateful to John (Reid) for introducing us.”
Kiki explains that when she started in the music business she was ambitious despite her shortcomings. “I wasn’t incredibly confident and pushy but I had this deep-down desire to see the world and do something because my parents never got those opportunities.
“I’m very much a glass-half-full person. I appreciate what I’ve done. I could have had a bigger career, I could have been a rock star with a big house and smart cars. But I’ve discovered that I enjoy normality – I can do normal things. I don’t have to put my Kiki Dee hat on all the time.
“I’ve just had a weekend with some friends in Oxfordshire, just enjoying life as much as possible. I’ve got some great family around me. I’m very grateful.”
Kiki is respected throughout the music industry and recounts the story of how she worked with former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant about four years ago.
“He was starting a new band called Saving Grace which is now established. He rang up and asked if he could support us in a small venue in Birmingham, his neck of the woods. We couldn’t believe that Robert Plant was supporting us!
“It was because they didn’t have quite enough material for Saving Grace to go out on their own. We were so flattered. I like artists who move forward. I respect Robert for always trying new things.”
Although Kiki likes moving forwards, her fans will be delighted to know all the material she recorded in her early days in the business is now available. The Demon Music Group is offering it on CD or to download.
It’s hard to believe that Kiki is 77. She’s still going strong, although she confesses she has to take care of her voice.
“I have online sessions with a vocal teacher who’s become a friend of mine. She helps me to warm up because your voice does change a bit as you get older. I also do a lot of breathing exercises.
Now Kiki enjoys playing jazz clubs and other intimate places: “If we were playing bigger venues I’d be having to do all the promo things artists have to do to keep your name up there. We just go and do our thing. Probably we don’t promote ourselves enough. I’ve got to that age where I’m just going to do what I want to do and hopefully people will turn out!”
They turned out two years ago, all 55,000 of them, when Kiki appeared alongside Elton John at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. And they’re still turning out when Kiki and Carmelo play smaller venues.
She doesn’t know yet whether they’ll make any more records although they have some free time at the start of the new year and expect to write more material then.
“I’m at the age where you just take each week, each month as it comes. I don’t plan ahead too much, I just try to live in the moment. I think I’ve got a couple more years left before I hang up my dancing shoes!”
It’s great to know that Kiki Dee has still got the music in her and wants to continue to push boundaries. Don’t miss her Derbyshire date – it could break your heart.
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri will perform at Christ Church, Belper on Saturday 23 November.