Best of Kiki Dee 2009 Collection - Classic Hits Album | Perfect for Road Trips, Workouts & Relaxation

Product Description Kiki Dee has survived almost five decades of changing musical trends and she has more than proved her status as one of Britain s finest female vocalists. This new Best Of collection is the evidence of her considerable contribution to popular music, both at home and abroad, and is destined to become a firm favourite in the CD collections of discerning music fans everywhere. Review For almost five decades Kiki Dee has proved herself to be one of the finest British female singers of her generation; her rich legacy of recordings underline her vocal versatility and remain timeless in their appeal. The recordings featured in this new Best Of collection are testimony to Kiki s considerable talents as one of Britain s top female performers.Born Pauline Matthews near Bradford, West Yorkshire, Kiki had shown a strong interest in music from a young age, singing with local bands. At age of 16, she was signed to Fontana Records and managed by Vic Billings, who was then guiding the flourishing career of Dusty Springfield. Between 1963 and 1968 she released 11 singles and an album, I m Kiki Dee, for the label.In 1970 Kiki became the first British signing to the legendary Tamla Motown Records and flew to Detroit to make her debut album, Great Expectations, for the company. Once again chart success eluded her, although the album received positive reviews from the media, and after her recording deal with Motown finished it was another three years before Kiki returned to recording. Fate finally dealt a positive hand in 1972 when she was signed to Elton John s fledgling Rocket Records.There was an immediate strong rapport, both musically and personally, between Elton and Kiki. She started work on Loving And Free, her first album for the label with Elton co-producing, in April 1973, and the first single to be released was Lonnie And Josie , written by Elton and his then regular co-writer Bernie Taupin. It failed to chart but the release of a second single, Amoureuse , composed by the French chanteuse Veronique Sanson, with English lyrics by Gary Osborne, finally gave Kiki long-overdue chart success. Amoureuse broke into the Top 50 on 10th November 1972 and eventually reached number 13 in the UK, spending a total of 13 weeks in the charts. The album also included Loving And Free , composed by Kiki, and although never released as a single it became a huge radio hit and was subsequently issued on an EP in 1976 (along with Amoureuse ), climbing to number 13 and notching up a total of 13 weeks in the Top 50. The success of Amoureuse opened the floodgates to international success for Kiki. She formed the Kiki Dee Band and started work on her second album, I ve Got The Music In Me. The title track was released as a single in the late summer of 1974 and became a Top 20 success, remaining in the charts for two months. Kiki and her band travelled to the US where they performed a series of prestigious gigs with Guess Who, and later returned Stateside to play as support for Elton John at his stadium gigs. Back home, the Kiki Dee Band played a series of major dates with Steely Dan, including a show at London s legendary Rainbow Theatre. I ve Got The Music In Me was another important stage in Kiki s continued rebirth as one of Britain s most important female pop/rock performers of the era.Kiki returned to the UK charts in April 1975 with (You Don t Know) How Glad I Am , and then in the summer of the following year her duet with Elton John of Don t Go Breaking My Heart triumphantly topped both the British and American pop charts. Selling over a million copies in the latter country, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and back in the UK fared even better, remaining at the chart pinnacle for six weeks. By now Kiki s recording career had become truly international and, following the success of Don t Go Breaking My Heart , she made several more guest appearances with Elton John including at New York s Madison Square Garden. Kiki also supported Queen at their 1977 open air gig in London s Hyde Park, performing in front of a crowd of more than 150,000 people. --EmiKiki s third album for Rocket Records, called simply Kiki Dee, marched into the British Top 30 in 1977 and gave birth to two further hit singles, First Thing In The Morning and Chicago . The album was once again co-produced by Elton John (with Clive Franks) and was recorded in a variety of studio locations including New York and the world famous Abbey Road Studios in London. Kiki s 1979 album Stay With Me, recorded in Los Angeles, proved to be her last for Rocket Records. The title track, penned by Jerry Ragavoy and George Weiss, was issued as a single and, even though the song had also been recorded by several other artists, Kiki virtually made Stay With Me her own personal property. Another stand-out recording from the album was Safe Harbour , also included here.Kiki subsequently signed to Arista Records in 1981 and enjoyed UK chart success with the album Perfect Timing, which included the single Star , another Top 20 hit for her and which was later used as the opening theme for the popular BBC TV talent show Opportunity Knocks. By now however, after two decades of recording, she had decided on a change of career direction, appearing in stage musicals, initially with Pump Boys And Dinettes and later in the West End hit stage musical Blood Brothers for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 1987 Kiki returned to the recording studios, working with several different producers including Eurythmics David E. Stewart. The resulting album Angel Eyes was her first for EMI Records and included I Fall In Love Too Easily , produced by Chris Kimsey. In late 1993 Kiki performed again with Elton John on the Cole Porter classic True Love , and the single narrowly missed the top of the charts, stalling at number 2.In recent years Kiki has worked closely with acoustic guitarist Carmelo Luggeri and together they have released three fine albums, 1995 s Almost Naked (which included One And Only Love , the first song they wrote together), 1998 s Where Rivers Meet and 2005 s Walk Of Faith. Kiki and Carmelo still regularly gig around the country and one of their performances has been captured on a DVD, Under The Night Sky. --Emi