Tour by Kylie Minogue | |
Location |
|
---|---|
Associated album | Impossible Princess |
Start date | 2 June 1998 |
End date | 31 July 1998 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 23 |
Kylie Minogue concert chronology |
Intimate and Live was the fifth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, in support of her sixth studio album, Impossible Princess (1997). The tour marked a return to touring for Minogue, with her previous tour Let's Get to It Tour (1991) taking place seven years prior.
The shows were divided into four parts; Impossible Princess, Showgirl , Cowgirl and an encore. The first featured Minogue appearing inside a multi-colored cone, the second was inspired by Showgirl props and costumes, the third incorporated cowboy-influenced props and a K symbol, and the fourth and final is an encore performance for "Better the Devil You Know". The tour garnered positive appreciation from music critics and commercial success. Tickets sold out as soon as dates and venues for the tour were announced, prompting the organisers to add more dates. Despite initial plans to not bring the tour overseas, Minogue decided to add three UK dates at Shepherd's Bush Empire.
A live album and DVD of the concert tour was released in November 1998 and July 2003 respectively.
Kylie Minogue embarked a promotional tour in the Asia-Pacific region in late 1997. Minogue performed in Singapore and then followed with Australian state capitals Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide. Next was Auckland and she finished in Hong Kong. After the albums European release, she went on to promote the album in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. [1] Both Baker and Anderson, who to this day are Minogue's creative directors, were inexperienced with touring. [1] Anderson appeared with Minogue for the first time at the 1998 Sydney Mardi Gras, but Baker was absent. Baker was anxious to tour for the first time and "did not know what to expect." [1]
In October 1997, Minogue released her sixth studio album Impossible Princess . [2] It became Minogue's first album on which she had partial creative control on songwriting and composing. [2] The album received mixed reviews, many who commended its experimental and adventurous nature, while criticism was primarily directed towards her image and the album's composition. [3] The album peaked at number four on the ARIA Albums Chart and number one on the Australian Music Report chart in January 1998. [4] Impossible Princess peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart. [5] Minogue returned to Australia in early 1998 to prepare for her Australian tour. [6] Minogue's creative director and longtime friend William Baker was in Dubai with Steve Anderson, guitarist Carl Mann and percussionist James Mark. They were discussing the tour that they had booked in May 1998, wanting to hire more musicians and dancers.
Minogue's first rehearsal was in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. [1] Minogue and Baker had started drawing stage concepts of how the tour would look like and wanted it to reflect onto the album's personal meaning. [1] Objects in the album's content, including the "K" symbol and the multi-coloured cone, had been featured on the tour. [1] Baker was discussing about the concepts and production of the tour, and felt that "there was something special and unique about Intimate and Live, a coming-of-age Kylie and her team." Baker felt Minogue's innovation with the crew of the tour would have "enabled" her to "shine on stage like a true star." [7] The stage was largely based on Impossible Princess but Baker and Minogue wanted to create something that would "take the audience on a journey and tease them with the unexpected, playing with their preconceptions." [8]
Minogue felt she needed to "lighten up" and have fun on tour, rid from all the criticism and what the public said about her. [8] Anderson, Minogue and Baker originally confirmed that they would not tour in the United Kingdom, but Baker commented that they were "so liberated by the British commercial failure, feeling that now we had nothing to lose." [8] They decided to extend it into the UK only due to high demand. [1] Minogue and Baker had collaborated with several photographers (including Baker) so they could use pictures to advertise the tour; one of the shots featured Minogue in a cow-boy hat and a pink background, which is similar to the "Cowboy Style" artwork. [9] Deconstruction Records and Sony BMG were not in control of the tour, so Baker and Anderson took control of bookings and organisation. [9]
For venues, Baker and Minogue intended to perform at small theatres in order to create a personal atmosphere between Minogue, the crew and the audience. [9] This idea was to thank the audience for their support through the Impossible Princess era, hence the titling of "Intimate". [9] Minogue, Baker and Anderson searched several venues that had an approximate capacity of 2,000. [9] However, Minogue was still "worried about filling" the smaller venues after the backlash. [9]
Baker and Minogue had both designed the outfits for the tour, with the showgirl design being the first costume. The tour costumes were inspired by "princess" outfits and Minogue wanted to have several props to incorporate different influences while performing. [10] Minogue wanted to take "risks" with the outfits and appearances on tour, so she decided to keep her longer hair that was not present on the promotion shoots of Impossible Princess. Baker felt that her public image had "endured" and evolved severely from her "gritty black-and-white" "Some Kind of Bliss" days. [7]
The track list was made jointly by Baker, Anderson and Minogue. [9] From the supporting album, Minogue performed "Too Far", "Some Kind of Bliss", "Breathe", "Cowboy Style", "Say Hey", "Drunk", "Did It Again", "Limbo" and two unreleased tracks; "Take Me With You" and "Free". [9] Originally out of the setlist the cover version of "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by The Clash was added to the track list after Minogue had performed the track live on The Ben Elton Show. [9] Later, Minogue had added her cover version of "Dancing Queen" in the set list. [9]
The concert opens with a multi-coloured opened cone, similar to the artwork of Impossible Princess. [9] For that, she performed the first act of songs with "Too Far" being the opener. [9] Minogue was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, and walked through a temple-like staircase during the set. [11] The outfit was derived from the video of "Did it Again", but Minogue decided to re-design the outfit. [12] The backdrop projections of "Take Me With You" featured a rolling storm. [12] During the second act, Minogue opens with "I Should Be So Lucky" in a pink and glitter showgirl outfit in front of a giant glittery "K", decorated with white fairy lights. [11] The torch version of the song was then led into "Dancing Queen", a cover version originally performed by Swedish group ABBA and "Dangerous Game". [11]
The third act opens with "Cowboy Style", showing Minogue in a black dress, pink belt and a pink cowboy hat. [11] The next song was "Step Back in Time" and Minogue removed her cowboy hat for the rest of the segment. She performed the tracks "Say Hey", "Drunk" and "Free". The projection for "Free" was an ongoing open road. [11] For the fourth segment, Minogue arrived in crop top and black pants for "Did it Again", and performed "Limbo" and "Shocked" for this segment. [12] Minogue "reclined" from the staircase for "Confide in Me" in the fifth segment, wanting to "graceful" for the opening of that segment. [11] After performing the tracks "The Locomotion" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go?", Minogue returned for an encore to perform "Better the Devil You Know" in a showgirl-devil costume, complete with devil horns. [12]
Intimate and Live received positive reviews from music critics. Darrin Farrant from The Age wrote "No more "Singing Budgie" cracks. Minogue proved in her first official, public gig in Melbourne in seven years that the doubters were wrong: she can sing and she also knows how to put on a sensational show." He favored the Impossible Princess tracks for giving more "vocal flair." [13] Despite favorable reviews in Australia, [14] Minogue and Baker were worried about the reception in the UK. Minogue and Baker had suffered from depression during the time, and worried that they would turn up to the concerts to "emptiness." [14] Jeff Kennett, who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria, congratulated Minogue at the end of her Australian leg, calling her a "wonderful ambassador for Australia wherever she travels,". [15]
Performing at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the tour received rave reviews from most music critics and Baker commented that "perhaps slightly altering London's perception that Kylie was over." [14] Melody Maker writer David Benedict wrote that none of her recent music was exciting, and said "Her audience may be loyal, but they're also deeply conservative; none of the recent singles have delivered like the mega-hits of yore and tonight the newer material has a comparatively muted reception." However, he said that all "changed", labeling it a "blinding show" and "so much fun", and said that was some "Kylie does best." [16] Victoria Sega from NME gave it a mixed review. She wrote "There are moments of boredom – indistinguishable balladry that's not so much torch-song drama as fluorescent-tube flash [...]" However, she concluded saying "yet Kylie loves this, she lives for it, and she damns all those svengalis with one twist of her knife-edge heels." She had prospected that Minogue "will be back." [17] Baker viewed felt that Minogue's fans were loyal due to her "pop songs" which he exemplified "Better the Devil You Know" and "Dancing Queen". [14]
In retrospect, Bradley Stern from NewNowNext highlighted the live performance "What Do I Have to Do?" as the best song at the show, and listed the performance at number three on their Kylie Minogue In Concert: 8 Amazing Live Performances. [18] Luke Dennehy from Herald Sun wrote an article about the show in March 2015, and said "She certainly did deliver, it was spectacular success." He went on to say "The press at the time called it her homecoming tour, our very own pop princess was back, and for the first time she was truly critically acclaimed for her performance [...] But for many reasons, that tour was so important Kylie and how we see her now ... and of course for her loyal legions of fans out there." [19] The shows had sold out in all of Australia in under ten minutes. [20] Minogue did not plan to tour England, but due to public pressure, she staged three small shows in London. [20]
The show was filmed at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, on 30 June and 1 July 1998. [21] In November 1998, Mushroom Records released the live album with the same name as the tour in Australia and New Zealand as a cassette and double-CD set. [22] The concert was released onto DVD on 23 July 2002 by Mushroom in Australia and New Zealand. [21] The sleeve design was handled by Andrew Murabito at Mushroom Art and Baker was the creative designer. [21] A VHS was issued in Australia only. [23] "Dancing Queen" appeared on her 2002 greatest hits album Greatest Hits 87-99 . [9]
This set list represents the recorded show and information found at the linked source. It does not represent all shows.
Act I: Indie Kylie
Act II: Cute Kylie
Act III: Sexy Kylie
Act IV: Dance Kylie
Encore I
Encore II
Source: [24]
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Oceania [25] | |||
2 June 1998 | Melbourne | Australia | Palais Theatre |
3 June 1998 | |||
4 June 1998 | |||
6 June 1998 | Brisbane | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | |
8 June 1998 | Sydney | Capitol Theatre | |
9 June 1998 | |||
10 June 1998 | |||
11 June 1998 | |||
14 June 1998 | Adelaide | Thebarton Theatre | |
15 June 1998 | |||
17 June 1998 | Melbourne | Palais Theatre | |
18 June 1998 | |||
20 June 1998 | Sydney | State Theatre | |
21 June 1998 | |||
22 June 1998 | |||
27 June 1998 | Newcastle | Newcastle Entertainment Centre | |
29 June 1998 | Canberra | Royal Theatre | |
1 July 1998 | Sydney | Capitol Theatre | |
3 July 1998 | Melbourne | Palais Theatre | |
4 July 1998 | |||
Europe [25] | |||
29 July 1998 | London | England | Shepherd's Bush Empire |
30 July 1998 | |||
31 July 1998 |
Kylie Ann Minogue is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fashion world as a major style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. Minogue is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time, with sales surpassing 80 million records worldwide. In 2024, Time named her one of the most influential people in the world.
Impossible Princess is the sixth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 22 October 1997, by Deconstruction, BMG and Mushroom Records. The singer asserted greater creative control over the project — writing every song on the album and producing material for the first time — compared to her previous work, assisted by Brothers in Rhythm, Manic Street Preachers, David Ball and Rob Dougan. Influenced by the techno and Britpop revolution in the mid-to-late 1990s, sonically, Impossible Princess is a departure from Minogue's previous work. Conceived as an experimental record, the material encompasses a variety of darker styles from dance music, including trip hop, electronica, and rock. Lyrically, the album focuses on Minogue's self-discovery after a series of trips worldwide and delves into freedom of expression, relationships, and emotions.
Intimate and Live is the debut live album by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue. It was released on 30 November 1998 as a double CD set, and on 23 July 2002 as a DVD through BMG, Mushroom Records and Warner Vision. The concert was filmed at Capitol Theatre on 1 July 1998 from the Intimate and Live concert tour. Produced by David Wilson and directed by Mark Adamson and Michael Williams, both the album and DVD features twenty-one songs from the concert and spawned a promotional single, "Dancing Queen".
"On a Night Like This" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 11 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records as the second single for her seventh studio album, Light Years (2000), and was distributed in various formats. The track was originally recorded by Swedish singer Pandora and written by Steve Torch, Brian Rawling, Graham Stack, and Mark Taylor, while production was handled by the latter two, it was handed to Minogue to record. Musically, "On a Night Like This" is a Europop, dance-pop and house song that also incorporates elements of disco. Its lyrical content delves into experiencing unique, possibly sexual experiences during the night.
"Spinning Around" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her seventh studio album, Light Years (2000). Written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul, the song was initially meant to be recorded by Abdul for her own album, but was given to Minogue after the plan never came to fruition. Produced by Mike Spencer, the disco-influenced dance-pop song was then released in Australia and the UK as the lead single from Light Years on 19 June 2000, through Mushroom Records and Parlophone. Lyrically, the song addresses the theme of reinvention, with Minogue claiming that she has changed as a person and learned from the past.
Impossible Remixes is the fourth remix album by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue. It was released on 8 July 1998 by Mushroom Records. The album was materialized while on her Intimate and Live Tour (1998) and contains remixes from her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). Originally scheduled for a 1999 release, Mushroom released Impossible Remixes in Australia in July 1998 after releasing the UK counterpart Mixes (1998) earlier than its original date.
"Confide in Me" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her self-titled fifth studio album (1994). It was released as the album's lead single on 29 August 1994 by Deconstruction, Imago, and Mushroom Records. The track was written by Steve Anderson, Dave Seaman, and Owain Barton, whilst production was handled by British trio Brothers in Rhythm. It was recorded in London, United Kingdom at DMC and Sarm West Studios. Musically, it is a pop song that incorporates elements of indie music, dance-pop, and Middle Eastern instrumentation such as strings and percussion, whilst the lyrical content talks about Minogue's earnest of seduction and manipulating people to confide into her.
"Put Yourself in My Place" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, taken from her fifth and eponymous studio album (1994). It was released as the record's second single on 14 November 1994, and was distributed by Deconstruction and Mushroom as a CD single, cassette tape and 12-inch vinyl. The track was written, arranged, and produced by Jimmy Harry, and was recorded in New York City with the parent album's engineer Doug Deangelis. A ballad that discusses themes of ending a relationship and moving on, the song's sound incorporates musical elements of trip hop and pop music.
"Some Kind of Bliss" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album, Impossible Princess (1997). The song was released as the lead single from the album on 8 September 1997 through BMG, Deconstruction and Mushroom. Minogue co-wrote the track with James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore while Bradfield and Dave Eringa produced it. Backed by guitar and drum instruments, "Some Kind of Bliss" is a Britpop track in which Minogue sings about feeling happy.
"Better the Devil You Know" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, taken from her third studio album Rhythm of Love (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and was released as the album's lead single on 30 April 1990 by PWL and Mushroom Records. "Better the Devil You Know" is known as the song that re-invented Minogue with more sex appeal, as her previous albums were presented with her "girl next door" persona. Her music onwards presented a more independent approach.
"Cowboy Style" is a song recorded by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). The song was released as the fourth and final single in Australia only on 5 October 1998 through Mushroom Records. Minogue wrote the track with Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman while Brothers in Rhythm produced it. Backed by guitars, synthesisers and drum instruments, "Cowboy Style" is a Celtic pop track in which Minogue sings about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, French director Stephane Sednaoui. Critical response to "Cowboy Style" was positive, with praise driven to Minogue's songwriting and the song's composition; some critics highlighted it as a career stand-out track. Released in Australia and New Zealand, the song charted at number 39 on the Australian Singles Chart.
Mixes is the fifth remix album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 3 August 1998, by Deconstruction Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her sixth studio album, Impossible Princess (1997). The remixes were done by DJs such as Brothers in Rhythm, Junior Vasquez, and Todd Terry. The remixes was influenced by various genres of dance music, such as electronica and dance-pop. The album was originally scheduled for a 1999 release, but Deconstruction pre-poned the release date of Mixes in the United Kingdom to August 1998, since the Australian counterpart, Impossible Remixes (1998), had been released earlier than its original date. With favourable critical reception, Mixes charted in the United Kingdom at number sixty-three on the UK Albums Chart, her highest remix album at the time. The Brothers in Rhythm remix of "Too Far" was released as a promotional single in the UK and North America.
"Did It Again" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, originally featured on her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). The song was released as the album's second single on 24 November 1997 through Mushroom, Deconstruction, and BMG. Minogue had written the track with Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman, and it was produced by Minogue in collaboration with Brothers in Rhythm. Backed by guitars and drum, "Did It Again" is a pop rock track in which Minogue sings about her self-consciousness and self-hatred.
"Breathe" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, from her sixth studio album, Impossible Princess (1997). It was released on 16 March 1998 as the third single from the album, and her final one for the Deconstruction Records label. "Breathe" was co-written by Minogue with Ball and Vauk and produced by Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk. Backed by synthesisers and keyboards, it is an electronica track. The lyrics revolve around contemplation and calmness. "Breathe" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, some of whom highlighted the track as an album stand-out and commended the lyrical and vocal delivery.
"Step Back in Time" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue from her third studio album, Rhythm of Love (1990). It was released as the album's second single on 22 October 1990, and distributed by PWL and Mushroom as a CD single, cassette tape and 12-inch and 7-inch singles. The track was written, arranged, and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman, who are collectively known as Stock Aitken and Waterman, and was recorded in London, United Kingdom. Musically, it is a disco song that lyrically pays tribute to 1970s' culture.
"Butterfly" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue from her seventh studio album Light Years (2000). The song was written by Minogue and Steve Anderson at Real World Studios, Wiltshire in 1999. Minogue recorded her vocals at Cello Studios, Los Angeles in January 2000 with American DJ Mark Picchiotti, who subsequently produced the track in Chicago. "Butterfly" is a contemporary house, dance-pop, and EDM track that portrays spiritual freedom and joy of life. Although Light Years was not released in the US, "Butterfly" was issued as a promotional single through Blueplate Records and its sublabel Blue² Records, both of which are owned by Picchiotti.
Showgirl: Homecoming Tour was the ninth concert tour by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, in support of her second major greatest hits compilation, Ultimate Kylie (2004). The tour began on 11 November 2006 in Sydney, Australia at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and concluded on 23 January 2007 in London, England at Wembley Arena, consisting of 20 shows in Australia and 14 shows in England.
Stephen John Anderson is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his work with Kylie Minogue on her tours and albums, and as part of the production group Brothers in Rhythm. He has also worked on songs and albums for many recording artists such as Britney Spears, Westlife, Christophe Willem, Judie Tzuke and Susan Boyle.
Kylie: La La La is a photo/art book released by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The book's namesake comes from a line made famous in her hit single "Can't Get You Out of My Head". It's not a traditional biography, but rather a pictorial biography that is a photographic look at the stylization of Kylie's career. The book features many photos, mostly outtakes from previous shoots. William Baker wrote the majority of the text in the book, however many sections include hand-written paragraphs by Kylie. Many of the included photos reveal a side to Kylie that is only ever seen by her friends and family.
"Too Far" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, taken from her sixth studio album Impossible Princess (1997). It was written and produced by Minogue, with additional production credits to Brothers in Rhythm. The song is a drum and bass song where Minogue describes her anger and frustration through its lyrics. It contains elements of club music and breakbeat music, and employs spoken word techniques.
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