Intimate and Live was the fifth concert tour by Australian recording artist
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, in support of her sixth studio album, ''
Impossible Princess
''Impossible Princess'' (briefly retitled ''Kylie Minogue'' in Europe) 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 crea ...
'' (1997). Minogue confirmed the tour after her creative directors,
William Baker and
Steve Anderson, had discussed the idea with her. Both Baker and Anderson, who were inexperienced in touring, decided to direct and promote the tour after Minogue left
Deconstruction Records and
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
. The set list consisted of mainly songs from the supporting studio album and rehearsals that started during January 1998.
The shows were divided into four parts; ''Impossible Princess'', ''
Showgirl'', ''
Cowgirl
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
'' 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
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
-influenced props and a K symbol, and the fourth and final is an encore performance for "
Better the Devil You Know
"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. The song was released as the album's ...
". The tour garnered positive appreciation from music critics and commercial success. Tickets were completely sold as soon as dates and venues for the tour were announced, prompting the organizers to add more dates. Despite negotiations on not touring the UK, Minogue decided to visit the country and also achieved positive reviews and commercial success.
A CD and DVD version of the concert tour was released in November 1998 and July 2003 respectively. Despite the success, the aftermath of the tour took a toll on both Minogue and Baker, who were suffering from
depression. They traveled to South America and the US in order to recover from the ''Impossible Princess'' era and begin work on Minogue's 2000 album ''
Light Years''.
Background
Kylie Minogue embarked a promotional tour in the Pacific region in late 1997. Minogue performed in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and then followed with Australian state capitals
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. Next was
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and she finished off in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. After the albums European release, she went on to promote the album with concert gigs in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Both Baker and Anderson, who to this day are Minogue's creative directors, were inexperienced with
touring.
Anderson appeared with Minogue for the first time at the 1998 Sydney
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
, but Baker was absent. Baker was anxious to tour for the first time and "did not know what to expect."
In October 1997, Minogue released her sixth studio album ''
Impossible Princess
''Impossible Princess'' (briefly retitled ''Kylie Minogue'' in Europe) 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 crea ...
''.
It became Minogue's first album on which she had partial creative control on songwriting and composing.
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. The album peaked at number four on the
ARIA Albums Chart and number one on the
Australian Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 1 ...
chart in January 1998. ''Impossible Princess'' peaked at number ten on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. Minogue returned to Australia in early 1998 to prepare for her Australian tour. Minogue's creative director and longtime friend
William Baker was in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
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.
Development and production
Minogue's first rehearsal was in
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
,
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...
.
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.
Objects in the album's content, including the "K" symbol and the multi-coloured cone, had been featured on the tour.
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."
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."
Minogue felt she needed to "lighten up" and have fun on tour, rid from all the criticism and what the public said about her.
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."
They decided to extend it into the UK only due to high demand. 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
"Cowboy Style" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album ''Impossible Princess'' (1997). The song was released as the fourth and final single on 5 October 1998 through Mushroom Re ...
" artwork.
Deconstruction Records and
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
were not in control of the tour, so Baker and Anderson took control of bookings and organisation.
For venues, Baker and Minogue intended to perform at small theaters in order to create a personal atmosphere between Minogue, the crew and the audience.
This idea was to thank the audience for their support through the ''Impossible Princess'' era, hence the titling of "Intimate".
Minogue, Baker and Anderson searched several venues that had an approximate capacity of 2,000.
However, Minogue was still "worried about filling" the smaller venues after the backlash.
Costumes and listing
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. 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
"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 a ...
" days.
The track list was sorted by Baker, Anderson and Minogue.
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".
A cover version of "
Should I Stay or Should I Go?" by
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
was added to the track list after Minogue had performed the track live on
The Ben Elton Show
''The Ben Elton Show'' is a British comedy series, which aired on BBC in 1998. It was a comedy-variety show, which proved a surprise, since Elton had despised the format as much as ''The Two Ronnies''. However, this didn't avoid him from getting ...
.
Minogue had added her cover version of "
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...
" in the set list.
Concert synopsis
The concert opens with a multi-coloured opened cone, similar to the artwork of ''Impossible Princess''.
For that, she performed the first act of songs with "
Too Far" being the opener.
Minogue was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, and walked through a temple-like staircase during the set.
The outfit was derived from the video of "Did it Again", but Minogue decided to re-design the outfit.
The backdrop projections of "Take Me With You" featured a rolling storm.
During the second act, Minogue opens with "
I Should Be So Lucky
"I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldw ...
" in a pink and glitter
showgirl outfit in front of a giant glittery "K", decorated with white fairy lights.
The torch version of the song was then led into "
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...
", a cover version originally performed by Swedish group
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
and "Dangerous Game".
The third act opens with "
Cowboy Style
"Cowboy Style" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album ''Impossible Princess'' (1997). The song was released as the fourth and final single on 5 October 1998 through Mushroom Re ...
", showing Minogue in a black dress, pink belt and a pink cowboy hat.
The next song was "
Step Back in Time
"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, cas ...
" 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.
For the fourth segment, Minogue arrived in crop top and black pants for "Did it Again", and performed "Limbo" and "
Shocked" for this segment.
Minogue "reclined" from the staircase for "
Confide in Me
"Confide in Me" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, taken from her Kylie Minogue (album), self-titled fifth studio album (1994). It was released as the album's lead single on 29 August 1994 by Deconstruction Records, Deconstr ...
" in the fifth segment, wanting to "graceful" for the opening of that segment.
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
"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. The song was released as the album's ...
" in a showgirl-devil costume, complete with
devil horns
The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.
Religious and superst ...
.
Reception
''Intimate and Live'' received positive reviews from music critics. Darrin Farrant from ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' 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." Despite favorable reviews in Australia,
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."
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...
, 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,".
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."
''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' 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." Victoria Sega from ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' 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." 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".
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. Luke Dennehy from ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
'' 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." The shows had sold out in all of Australia in under ten minutes.
[Rees, Neil and Nigel Goodall. "Kylie: The Ultimate Showgirl on Tour". Kylie.co.uk (LiMBO Kylie Minogue Online). Retrieved 23 June 2007.] Minogue did not plan to tour England, but due to public pressure, she staged three small shows in London.
Broadcasts and recordings
The show was filmed at the
Capitol Theatre, Sydney
The Capitol Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre located at 3-15 Campbell Street, Haymarket, in the Sydney central business district, Australia. It was designed by Henry Eli White and John Eberson and built from 1893 to 1928. The property was ad ...
, on 30 June and 1 July 1998.
In November 1998,
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...
released the live album
with the same name as the tour in Australia and New Zealand as a cassette and double-CD set. The concert was released onto DVD on 23 July 2002 by Mushroom in Australia and New Zealand.
The sleeve design was handled by Andrew Murabito at
Mushroom Art and Baker was the creative designer.
A
VHS was issued in Australia only. "Dancing Queen" appeared on her 2002 greatest hits album ''
Greatest Hits 87-99''.
Set list
This set list represents the recorded show and information found at the linked source. It does not represent all shows.
Act I
# "
Too Far"
(Contains elements of the Brothers in Rhythm dub mix)
# "
What Do I Have to Do?
"What Do I Have to Do" is a song performed by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue from her third studio album, '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Originally, the song was planned t ...
"
# "
Some Kind of Bliss
"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 a ...
"
# "
Put Yourself in My Place"
# "
Breathe"
# "Take Me With You"
(From the ''Impossible Princess'' sessions)
Act II
#
"I Should Be So Lucky
"I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a worldw ...
" (Torch Version)
# "Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...
"
# "Dangerous Game"
Act III
# "Cowboy Style
"Cowboy Style" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, for her sixth studio album ''Impossible Princess'' (1997). The song was released as the fourth and final single on 5 October 1998 through Mushroom Re ...
"
# "Step Back in Time
"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, cas ...
"
# "Say Hey"
# "Free" (From the ''Impossible Princess'' sessions)
# "Drunk"
Act IV
# " Did it Again"
# "Limbo"
# " Shocked"
Encore
# "Confide in Me
"Confide in Me" is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, taken from her Kylie Minogue (album), self-titled fifth studio album (1994). It was released as the album's lead single on 29 August 1994 by Deconstruction Records, Deconstr ...
"
# "The Locomotion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
The song is notable for appearing in th ...
"
# " Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
# "Better the Devil You Know
"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. The song was released as the album's ...
"
Source:
Tour dates
Personnel
*Tarcoola Touring Company Pty.Ltd. – producer
*Terry Blamey – executive producer, management
*Steve Anderson – music production
*Chong Lim – musician director
*Brian Thompson – set design
*Steven Swift – lighting design
*William Baker – creative design
*Kylie Minogue – creative design
*Nick Pitts – tour manager
*Warren Anderson – assistant tour manager
*Natalie Stevenson – assistant
*Kevin Murphy – hair and makeup
*Carol Minogue – wardrobe
*William Forsythe – choreographer
Band
*Chong Lim – keyboards
* Joe Creighton – bass, vocals
* Stuart Fraser – guitar
*Carl Mann – guitar
* Angus Burchall – drums
*James Mack – percussion
*Lisa Edwards
Lisa Anne Edwards (born 25 September 1958) is an Australian solo and session singer and musician. In July 1992 she had a top 5 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with her cover version of Godley and Creme's "Cry". Edwards is primarily a backin ...
– backing vocals
*Natalie Miller – backing vocals
* David Scotchford – dancer
* Ashley Wallen – dancer
Support Acts
Maria Nayler
Maria Nayler (born 26 March 1967) is a British singer. In the early 1990s, she was part of Ultraviolet, who released two singles, "Kites" (1990) and "I Wish That" (1991). In 1995, she appeared as featured vocalist on Sasha's trance track "Be as ...
(London shows)
References
External links
"1998 Intimate and Live Tour"
{{kylie
Kylie Minogue concert tours
1998 concert tours