But Kylie had no time to grieve in private. As the usual speculation began about why Kylie didn’t seem able to forge a lasting relationship, she was called upon to put in an appearance at the V&A as the exhibition devoted to her began. And she put on a show as only she knew how: clad in a purple Dolce & Gabbana gown and £1 million worth of diamonds, she assured well wishers, ‘I’m fine. My only sadness is that my mother is not here. I can’t believe that there are disco balls and glitter at the V&A. I, for one, think it looks fabulous.’
It was hardly ideal, however. Kylie was now 38, the survivor of breast cancer and hardly an ingénue: yet another public split with yet another boyfriend just as she was relaunching herself on the world stage would not seem to have been part of the plan. More than ever, it appeared that in some ways, Kylie had simply never moved on from Michael Hutchence. Time and again her choice of men since then had centred on dark commitment-phobe bad boys and time and again they had let her down. It was argued, with some justice, that Olivier was not really at fault – after all, he had stood by Kylie when she needed him and could hardly have been expected to stay in a relationship forever just because the public wanted him to, but for Kylie, work and not love was what had come out on top again.
And work there most certainly was. She made an appearance at Harrods, to launch a new perfume, Darling, and to meet fans, some of whom had been queuing on the pavement overnight. She used the occasion to defend Olivier: ‘None of the rumours about Olivier cheating are true,’ she said. ‘I don’t believe any of it. Olivier and I still care a lot about each other and there’s still a lot of love there between us. I still speak to Olivier and you never know what will happen in the future.’
Olivier’s mother Rosemarie Martinez was also keen to defend her son. ‘He is distraught they have broken up,’ she said. ‘They were together for four years, but sadly they just fell out of love. Any actor like my son is bound to be photographed with beautiful actresses. It comes with the job and does not mean they are having an affair. Olivier is a sensitive man and right now he is heartbroken. It will take him some time to get over it. I looked on Kylie as a daughter. I was very fond of her and will miss her. Our whole family is very upset that it’s over.’
Yet another person to stand up for him was Penelope Cruz, who had been pictured with him shortly after the split was announced. ‘Olivier and I have been friends for seven years. We are very close,’ she said at a party held just before the BAFTAs. ‘You can understand that it’s a difficult time for him right now, so I have been there for him to offer support. And it was lovely seeing him the other day – it has been such a long time. He’s a great guy but, no, nothing happened [when the two of them met up].’
Meanwhile, support for Kylie came from quite another corner – Helena Christensen, the woman for whom Michael Hutchence had left Kylie. ‘She’s no different than anyone else,’ said Helena. ‘She dates amazing guys for a long time and then naturally, as often happens, they break up. Speak to any girl and she’ll be dating people and breaking up. That’s life. Kylie went through a horrible disease that she conquered, which is wonderful. She looks amazing, she has incredible talent and has dated some hot guys. She has successful businesses and a tight-knit family. There’s nothing to feel sorry for. I admire her and think she’s incredible.’
Speculation also continued that Kylie wanted to revive the relationship, but the woman herself, as usual, got on with her work. Plans for a new CD were announced: ‘I’ve already been in the recording studios doing some demos,’ said Kylie. ‘The songs are amazing. I promise it will be the sexiest pop album ever.’
The tour finished and Kylie promptly did a modelling session for H&M swimwear, which had the double impact of making it clear to the world that she was as stunning as ever, while showing Olivier what he was missing. Shortly after this, reports surfaced that Olivier was now very definitely with Sarai Givati. But, as usual, Kylie took it on the chin: she appeared at John Galliano’s Paris fashion show looking more stunning than ever.
Bizarrely, it then emerged that Kylie had recently had dinner with the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown. The two had met at a dinner party at the London restaurant Rules, and had, by all accounts, hit it off. ‘She was very intelligent and had lots to say about politics and the world,’ said Mr Brown, while Kylie’s camp revealed that she was ‘knocked out’ by the PM to be.
The novelist Kathy Lette was present at the meal. ‘Gordon was very sociable and charming,’ she said. ‘He absolutely charmed everybody. Gordon and Kylie got on really well. They spent quite a bit of time talking to each other over drinks. He is so much more relaxed in private. He is not tense or nervous. He is a really good listener and a wonderful storyteller. People who hadn’t met him before were really knocked out.’
Attention briefly shifted from Kylie when her sister Dannii was chosen to be a judge on the next series of The X Factor, but she still remained very much in the spotlight as her fight back to normality continued. And the pace was frenetic. She was pictured in Shanghai launching the new H&M swimwear range, in an elegant cheongsam-style dress, followed shortly afterwards by larking around on various beaches in her own range of swimwear. Scarcely had that hit the newsstands before it was announced that she would be starring in the Christmas special of Doctor Who. Then came the news that she would appear at that summer’s Princess Diana memorial concert. Kylie’s workload before she became ill had not exactly been slack, but now she was taking on more than ever: partly to prove to herself, perhaps, that she was back to full health, and partly to make up for the fact that she was single again. Whatever the reason, though, she was as professional as ever: always beautifully dressed, with a beaming smile for the fans and an increasing variety of hairdos, as her hair grew back to its former length.
However, eyebrows were raised when Kylie was spotted shortly afterwards in Chile with a man called Alexander Dahm. The two had met at a film shoot in Mexico for Kylie’s swimwear – Dahm was a film director – but far from being the ideal man for a heartbroken star, Dahm was, in fact, a married father of one with his second child only two weeks away from being born. There were denials from everyone that anything untoward was going on, but even so, Kylie’s choice of holiday partner was a little unfortunate.
Dahm’s wife Laura was adamant that it was all perfectly innocent. ‘Alexander and Kylie have struck up a friendship,’ she said. ‘But it’s ridiculous to think there is some sort of affair going on. There isn’t, they’re only friends and I’m not worried.’
Kylie’s friends were, though. She had just come through a serious illness and romantic split, and was now working harder than ever at a time she might have been expected to relax. Nor, if truth be told, was this doing her public image any good. It is never enjoyable to be thought of as a loser in love, but scarlet woman was not a good look, either. And Kylie, for all her sensuality and daringness, had always been perceived as a decent person underneath, not the sort who would run off with another woman’s husband, especially when she, too, knew what it was like to be dumped.
‘Kylie is still quite fragile after her cancer battle and the split with boyfriend Olivier Martinez was only three months ago, so her emotions are still raw,’ said one concerned friend. ‘She and Alexander met on a shoot for her H&M bikini range and have kept in touch ever since. They’ve obviously got a lot in common and really enjoy each other’s company. He cares about her a lot and the feeling seems to be mutual. Even if there is no romantic involvement between them, the speculation is resulting in pressure that Kylie could well do without right now.’
Kylie was unamused at the speculation and eventually was forced to deny anything untoward had been going on. ‘I have never been unfaithful to a partner and would find it completely immoral to be involved with a married man,’ she said. ‘I’m working on an idea for a new musical film. It’s very exciting for all of the team involved. Just to whet your appetites … I had the pleasure of learning to tango from some of South America’s best.’
Alexander wasn’t pleased about the speculation either. ‘I emphatically deny those rumours, they are totally rubbish,’ he said. Shortly afterwards, both flew off – Kylie to the States and Alexander back to his wife.
It was time for everyone to move on.
18
Showgirl
Given the controversy over Kylie’s most recent holiday, she was losing no time in getting back on the road. In quick succession, she was seen in New York, London and Cannes, which was in the middle of the film festival, and which hosted an Aids charity auction. Kylie, sporting yet another new hairdo, teamed up with Sharon Stone, who provided the backing as Kylie performed ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ and ‘Locomotion’. George Clooney, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Matt Damon were in the audience, whooping with delight.
That Kylie was back where she belonged – firmly in with the A-list – was not in doubt. She was also on good terms with her old flame Jason Donovan, who himself was now working on the story of his life, and who, like so many others, had been flabbergasted when he heard the news that Kylie was ill. ‘I was shocked and concerned to hear of Kylie’s illness,’ he said. ‘We’re old friends and have drifted in our own directions. But I sent her a card when she was ill and she wrote back. I’m writing my autobiography at the moment she’s told me she can’t wait to read it. Kylie’s cancer really brought it home to me how unimportant what we do for a living is. It’s really made me value my two kids more.’ But she had nothing to fear from his recollections. ‘It’s not salacious,’ said Jason. ‘Let’s put it in perspective. She was three years of my life but there’s a bigger story than just that. There are 22 chapters in my book and only two on her.’
She broke new barriers of sorts in June, when it was announced that Kylie was to be the first woman to be honoured by the Music Industry Trusts’ Award in its 16-year history. Previous recipients included Sir Elton John and Sir George Martin, who produced The Beatles. ‘It is an incredible honour to be the recipient of this year’s award and I am truly thrilled to be recognized in this way,’ Kylie said.
‘There is no doubt that of our 15 award recipients to date, Kylie is by far the most glamorous,’ said David Munns, chairman of the awards committee. ‘She deserves this award for her success over 20 years, staying at the top in one of the toughest professions and inspiring millions with her grace, dignity and humanity. The award is being presented to Kylie in recognition of her universally acclaimed status as an icon of pop and style achieved over a 20-year career which has seen her re-invent, experiment and inspire. Kylie has established one of the longest and most successful careers as a performer in contemporary popular music and her tenacity and determination to succeed, on and off the stage, have been an inspiration to so many. We salute Kylie for her unique gifts as one of the great entertainers of all time.’
To a woman like Kylie, always ambitious, always seeking to achieve even more, this would have been a vindication of a lifetime’s work. It was also a strong indication of the affection in which she was held within the industry. To this day, Kylie remains unusual, in that there are no queues of disgruntled acquaintances with scores to settle – although as she would be the first to admit, you don’t achieve what she has without some very hard work.
As the summer wore on, there was growing excitement about Kylie’s next project. It had now been confirmed that she was indeed to star alongside David Tennant in the forthcoming series of Doctor Who, and she was taking it as seriously as she did everything, revealing that she had even been having acting classes. ‘I have to as I have not acted in years and I need to shed the skin of Kylie the pop star,’ said Kylie rather modestly. ‘I would hate to offend any Doctor Who fans. This has really got me excited about acting again.’ Details of the episode were beginning to emerge: it was to be called ‘Voyage of the Damned’, and the Tardis was to crash into the Titanic. Everyone assumed, erroneously, that the Titanic in question was the doomed ship from 1912. ‘It is an incredible thrill to be joining David and the entire Doctor Who production for this year’s Christmas special,’ Kylie continued. ‘Doctor Who enjoys a unique history and it is going to be very exciting to be a part of that.’
Not that she was giving up on music just yet. There was a new kid on the block, Calvin Harris, whose debut CD I Created Disco was taking the charts by storm, and for some time it had been rumoured that the two would work together at some point in the future. Now those rumours were confirmed, as the two prepared to work on an old Roxy Music hit together. ‘I’m doing “Love Is The Drug” with Kylie,’ said a clearly excited Calvin. ‘I’ve no idea how many of my tracks she’ll use on her album – I hope at least two.’
Kylie was also continuing to work with the Scissor Sisters, who were fulsome in their praise of her. ‘We definitely work her really hard in the studio, from midday to midnight, although sometimes we pepper it with a shopping trip in between,’ said frontman Jake Shears. ‘We’ve written songs with her that are ridiculous and may never see the light of day. We’ve also written songs with her that I think are amazing, but they may never see the light of day either.’ As for her illness – ‘she’s still the same amazing person that she’s always been, if not even more exuberant.’
Not everyone, however, was so complimentary. The DJ and musician Sister Bliss of Faithless lashed out at Kylie at the Loch Lomond festival during the summer.
It was a surprising attack, and very much out of sync with mainstream opinion. Affection for Kylie, both within the music industry and in the country at large, was as strong as it had ever been: her recovery, and subsequent determination to regain her position on the world stage had inspired a good deal of admiration. She was more popular than she had ever been, something that only looked set to grow.
Meanwhile, it emerged that even when she wasn’t working, Kylie was still making a fortune. In her year off, she earned £4.5 million, according to accounts filed by her company Darenote, comprising a salary of £1.85million, expenses of £42,366 and other earnings of £2.63million. ‘It is testimony to her amazing popularity that her finances remained in such good shape despite the well-publicised problems with her health,’ said a financial expert.
There were signs, however, that Kylie was not moving on from the break-up of her relationship with Olivier quite as fast as it initially seemed. She was pictured in Paris, walking his dog Sheeba, to whom she had become exceedingly attached, but there were some observers who wondered if this was merely a way of staying in touch with her ex. A friend denied this. ‘Kylie and Olivier are not back together,’ he said. ‘Kylie has told us she only has eyes for Sheeba. It was the walks with her when she was struggling through cancer treatment that kept her sane. She loves Sheeba, that was her biggest worry when they split – that she would be denied visiting rights. Very often she jumps on the Eurostar and gets off at Paris to take Sheeba for a walk, have lunch and then gets the train back home. She says it’s a great way to spend her day and really chills her out.’
That summer, Kylie, now 39, celebrated an unbelievable 20 years in show business with a party in a marquee at London’s Fulham Palace, with 90 guests including Natalie Imbruglia and Jason Donovan. Terry Blamey, her manager, made a speech, in which he praised her for being ‘sexy and strong’, while Dannii, also present, embraced her on stage. Kylie changed outfits halfway through the evening, from an elegant white dress to a short purple outfit to facilitate dancing, after which she moved on to the London nightclub Movida, where her hits were played all night. Celebrations continued until 4am: Kylie clearly had as much stamina as she’d ever had.
In early autumn, details of Kylie’s next CD were released. It was to be called X – as indeed was an album by INXS – and released in November, ironically the tenth anniversary of Michael Hutchence’s death. The credits included the elite of the pop world, including Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis and Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard, who had worked with the Spice Girls. Clearly, everyone involved was pulling out all the stops to ensure it would be a success: a sin
gle from the CD, ‘2 Hearts’, was due to be released at the same time.
More memories of Hutchence were evoked when Jason Donovan’s autobiography came out in the autumn. True to his word, there were no salacious stories about Kylie – more, if anything, a sadness about how he lost her to someone who was then one of the world’s biggest rock stars. Kylie was his first great love, related Jason, and he had hoped for them to be together forever – but how could he compete? As he wrote about their time in Neighbours together, and their burgeoning love affair – a brushed hand here, an extra, on-screen hug there, a picture was painted of a lost innocence, a Kylie who had yet to grow into the superstar she was to become. And yet, ironically, by the time of writing, Jason had managed to settle down with a long-term partner and two children. Kylie had not.
Jason seemed to see that himself. Asked in an interview if she was the one who got away, he replied, ‘Maybe, but I’ve been with my present partner for eight years now and she’s the love of my life. What [Kylie and I] experienced was a bit of a teenage romance, the first love of your life. I can think of worse people to be associated with, and worse things to be associated with. Will I ever be able to move away from it? Probably never, but you know what: I’m pretty happy that she was part of my life.’
And he professed as much surprise as anyone at what had happened to the little girl he had worked with so long ago. ‘She wasn’t [initially] someone I wanted to be with,’ he said. ‘Then she blossomed and I thought, “Hey, I’m with an incredibly beautiful woman!” Kylie’s star started to shine and I did the chasing – and I slowly lost her. I was slowly losing her. When you feel you’re losing someone, you threaten to do things you wouldn’t normally do. I would threaten to leave, or tell her she couldn’t go away. Jealousy is very unattractive.’
Kylie Queen of the World Page 22
