Kylie is the debut studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 4 July 1988 by Mushroom Records. Minogue had established herself as a child actress before signing to the record label in early 1987. The success of her debut single, "Locomotion", resulted in her working with Stock Aitken Waterman, who produced the album and wrote nine of its ten tracks. Their recording sessions, commencing in October 1987 in London and Melbourne, coincided with Minogue's filming schedule for the soap opera Neighbours.
Musically, Kylie is a bubblegum pop and dance-pop album. It received mixed reviews from music critics who praised individual tracks but criticised Minogue's vocals and the album's formulaic production. The album has been received more positively in retrospect, with praise being towards Minogue's charm and the album's nostalgic sentimentality. It was a commercial success, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom for six weeks and becoming the fifth highest-selling album of the decade. It peaked at number two in her native Australia, while reaching the top ten in Germany, Norway, and Switzerland. Kylie was re-issued in 1988 as The Kylie Collection, in 2015 and 2023 when it returned to the UK Albums Chart. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide.
Six singles were released from Kylie. "I Should Be So Lucky" reached number one in Australia and the United Kingdom, the first for any artist. The subsequent singles—"Got to Be Certain", the re-recorded "The Loco-Motion", and "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" all peaked in the top two on the UK Singles Chart. "It's No Secret" was her third top-forty single on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Turn It into Love" was released exclusively in Japan. The album's commercial success helped Minogue establish herself as an international teen idol and launch her recording career.
Background Kylie Minogue was born in Melbourne in 1968, the eldest of three children.; She was a child actress from the age of eleven, appearing in cameo roles in The Sullivans (1979) and Skyways (1980).; In April 1986, Minogue played Charlene Mitchell, a schoolgirl turned garage mechanic, in the soap opera Neighbours. Jason Donovan, whom Minogue began dating at the time, played her onscreen love interest as Scott Robinson. Their romantic relationship culminated with a wedding in an episode that attracted an audience of 20 million British viewers in 1987.; During her time in Neighbours, Minogue joined a band along with cast members Guy Pearce, Peter O'Brien and Alan Dale, which was arranged by producer Greg Petherick.; He later suggested Minogue cover the song "The Loco-Motion" with the band during a Fitzroy Football Club benefit concert in 1986.; ;
Impressed by the performance, Petherick arranged for Minogue to record the former song, re-titled as "Locomotion", with producer Kaj Dahlstrom, who invested $10,000 to record it.; Petherick submitted the demo track to many record labels before reaching out to Michael Gudinski, head of Mushroom Records. Gudinski was reluctant at first, calling the demo "a bit of a one-hit wonder". During a trip to London several months after receiving the demo track, Gudinski decided to sign Minogue because of her popularity from Neighbours. She signed with the label in early 1987.; Critics and employees of Mushroom Records gave polarised opinions; many thought it would be the end of the company and dubbed Minogue as "The Singing Budgie."
In June 1987, Mushroom Records had Mike Duffy, an audio engineer for Stock Aitken Waterman producers, over for a three-month residency at Platinum Studios in South Yarra.; ; He was asked to remix the "Locomotion" demo track with the help of a synthesizer to make it sound more like Bananarama's cover of "Venus" (1986).; Instead of remixing the track, which was originally in a big band style, Duffy opted to record a completely new backing track, inspired by the hi-NRG pop of UK band Dead or Alive. It was the first time he had produced a record himself. The song was released as Minogue's debut single on 27 July 1987, three weeks after Neighbours wedding episode premiered.; ; A week after its release, the single topped the Australian charts, remaining there for seven weeks and becoming the best-selling single of the decade.; ; ; ; Around that time, Minogue was set up with Terry Blamey, who would be her manager for 25 years.; ;
Recording
The success of "Locomotion" resulted in Minogue and Blamey travelling to London to work with Stock, Aitken and Waterman in September 1987.; Pete Waterman, the only member of the trio aware of Minogue's trip, was unavailable; he was busy making The Hitman and Her and had not told Mike Stock she was in London.; Minogue and Blamey waited for ten days in their hotel without hearing from the producers.; A worried Blamey resorted to lying about Minogue's UK departure date, in order to force SAW to schedule a session with her. The duo were then given the studio time, purportedly at the last minute, after PWL's director David Howells intervened and arranged it for Minogue.
The producers wrote "I Should Be So Lucky" in 40 minutes and Minogue recorded it quickly before she returned to Australia that afternoon to work on Neighbours.; Stock recalled the abrupt session: "Her ear is very tuned in so I sang her the tune and she sang it back at me and at that point I put the tapes aside and went on to other things ... We treated [Minogue] rather shabbily." He wrote the lyrics in response to what he had learned about Minogue: although she was an attractive successful soap star, he thought there had to be something wrong with her and figured she must be unlucky in love. Minogue left the studio angry, complaining she had no idea what the song sounded like, after being fed the lyrics to sing line by line. At the time, the producers did not take Minogue's career seriously because of time constraints and her obligations to Neighbours.; They did not even listen to the song until Waterman heard it played by a DJ at a Christmas party that year and thought that it was remarkable.;
In February 1988, Stock traveled to Melbourne and apologised to Minogue for her previous recording session. They went on to record "Got to Be Certain" and "Turn It into Love" with her. Recording sessions with Stock and engineer Karen Hewitt took place at Allan Eaton Studios and RBX Studios in Melbourne for only a couple of hours at night, between filming her last episodes for Neighbours.; ; She frequently broke down emotionally at the studio due to pressure from work. The album was recorded in snatches; Stock taught Minogue the songs, which she would record in an hour.; Waterman recalled, "If you could get four hours with her, it was the most you could get... We were almost not able to even play her the songs!" Despite the pressure, he found the sessions were not stressful because of their work ethic: "That's what we were used to. In fact, in hindsight, the truth is it was so enjoyable because we didn't have time to get stressed." In March, Minogue took a break from filming Neighbours to record the album in London.
The producers re-recorded "Locomotion" at their studio in London and changed the name back to "The Loco-Motion".; Waterman justified the decision by slating the original Australian recording, which he claimed to be poorly produced. Mike Duffy, the original producer, instead blamed the decision to re-record on Waterman's alleged wish to claim the royalties from the track's placement on the soundtrack of the 1988 film Arthur 2: On the Rocks. Portions of the vocals from the demo track were kept in the new version. The singer stayed with her mother in Waterman's apartment during the recording sessions over Easter in 1988, which took place at PWL Studios 1, 2 & 5 (London).;
Music and lyrics The producers wanted to make a synthesised pop album that appeals to teenagers. Stock explained his intention was to make an album full of single-potential tracks, similar to the form of greatest hits compilations. The singer was interested in recording more contemporary R&B material but her request was denied by Waterman. "These producers think pop music is candy music. They're saying: 'Here kids, have a piece of candy'... What Peterman wants, he gets", said Minogue. Her voice was double-tracked for most of the album; the producers only allowed Minogue to use her real voice on "Look My Way", a track that she felt sounds more like herself than the rest. Stock, Aitken, and Waterman composed and produced all the tracks on Kylie except "The Loco-Motion" written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Three tracks were written for other PWL artists in the previous year before appearing on the album: "Got to Be Certain" was recorded by Mandy Smith for her debut album but abandoned;; "Look My Way" was originally written for Heywoode; "Love at First Sight" was an instrumental demo track for Sinitta and is unrelated to Minogue's 2002 song with the same title.
Critics described Kylie as a bubblegum pop, disco-pop and dance-pop album, while also noting the musical similarities to other albums produced by PWL.; ; ; ; ; Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described it as a collection of house tracks blended with "hi-NRG beats, Italo-disco synths and Motown melodies." Kylie opens with "I Should Be So Lucky", a light dance-pop track that uses a drum machine, keyboards and bass by Stock.; The track has been compared to the work of Rick Astley, a fellow PWL artist.; ; For the album's version of "The Loco-Motion", the producers re-recorded the backing track from Duffy's demo, featuring railway sound effects and less spontaneous vocals.;
The slow-tempo "Je ne sais pas pourquoi" reminiscent of Waterman's earlier work in the 1960s at the Mecca Dance Hall, and the reggae-infused "It's No Secret" features cascading synth and a jaunty melody.; It was followed by Hi-NRG tracks "Turn It Into Love" and "Got to Be Certain"; the latter work gained comparison to the soundtrack of the 1983 romance film Flashdance.; ; The mid-tempo "I Miss You" and "I'll Still Be Loving You" resemble other late-80s pop tracks, particularly the work of Climie Fisher and Living in a Box. "Look My Way" draws musical inspiration from The Whispers' "Rock Steady" (1987), Madonna's "Into the Groove" (1985), and Debbie Gibson's "Shake Your Love" (1987). In The Complete Kylie (2008), Simon Sheridan felt the pop-soul "Look My Way" is similar to the work of American R&B artists Alexander O'Neal and S.O.S. Band.
The album avoided getting into heavy statements and deep themes that might alienate Minogue's young fans. Joe Sweeney of PopMatters and Quentin Harrison of Albumism highlighted lyrics about romantic relationships and positive mentality throughout the album.; Sweeney commented that such themes would later infuse Minogue's post-millennial work. Sheridan found the album demonstrates a refreshing carefree attitude in its lyrics. Matthew Lindsay of Classic Pop, on the other hand, pointed out the main themes about heartbreak, betrayal and frustration. "I Should Be So Lucky" depicts a frustrated young woman who feels unlucky in romance.; In a 2019 interview, Minogue said that she did not realise at the time about the dark tone in the lyrics—in the case of "I Should Be So Lucky", she stated, "we all sing like it's really happy, but it's not. She wishes she was lucky in love." "Turn It Into Love" discusses unrequited love with a wistful-yet-optimistic approach.; Minogue sings the lovelorn "Got to Be Certain" in an upbeat and carefree way, while affirming a false love affair in "It's No Secret".
Artwork and release