Kiki Dee, 77, was born in Bradford as Pauline Matthews. In 1970 she became the first female artist from the UK to sign to Motown Records and in 1976 she duetted with Elton John to the worldwide hit. Do not break My Heart. She was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1988 for her role in Blood brothers musical. For 30 years, she has performed in duo with guitarist Carmelo Luggeri. She lives in Hertfordshire.
I have always been independent and good at traveling alone. When I signed with Motown in my early 20s, I went to Detroit for 12 weeks and ate in restaurants by myself, doing well in another country without my family. Detroit felt like a city with a lot of heart, but I didn’t get to see much of it. I was there to record at the label’s original studio, which is now the Motown Museum. It was mind-blowing to meet Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye in the elevator one day.
From the age of ten I was very serious about singing and would enter (and usually win) talent competitions while on holiday with my family in places like Bridlington, Scarborough and Blackpool. I was the youngest of three siblings and a daddy’s girl, so it was great to spend time with him during his annual fortnight off.
My first time in London – in 1963, when I was 16 – I auditioned for a contract with Fontana Records. Dad drove me there from Bradford and we stayed in a B&B in Finchley, north London. Fontana’s offices were in Marble Arch, in the center of the city, and it was very glamorous, like being in a movie. Oxford Street is nearby, so that was my first impression of 60s London. Dad and I ate at a Lyons Corner House and loved walking around the city.
I moved to London two years later, just as the Swinging Sixties scene was starting. My friends and I would go to clubs like the Scotch of St James, meeting various groups.
I loved America in the 70s because there was so much positivity, especially in Hollywood, where I lived at the time. There was a great music scene and I was performing at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood – and still is.
Kiki lost her passport in Maui
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While touring with Elton in 1974, I lost my passport in Maui, Hawaii, and had to apply for a replacement. It was a bit complicated, but with Elton’s lawyers you can get everything done quickly. On another holiday with Elton and Bernie Taupin, in Barbados, we decided to make bangers and mash for the staff at the villa we were renting to introduce them to British ‘cooking’.
Davey Johnstone, my boyfriend at the time, was in Elton’s band and helped John Lennon tune his guitars when he visited New York’s Madison Square Garden for Thanksgiving in 1974. He hadn’t played live for ages, but he had lost a bet. with Elton and that was the package. After the concert, John came to our room at the Plaza Hotel with May Pang, who he was dating at the time, and we spent the whole night drinking and talking. There was a wonderful moment when he asked me if I had ever eaten potato scallops made with leftover batter from fish and chips – it was absolutely crazy to be talking about mundane northern subjects with him and it felt good to connect.
When I lost my sister in 2021, Elton called me for a long chat and invited me to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles as part of his final American tour the following year. It was a really difficult time and it was special that he asked me to play with him. It was weird going back to LA because suddenly I was A-list again. Our duet was over in a flash, but the crowd went crazy and I got to meet Joni Mitchell in the wings. Elton really took care of me and I stayed at the London West Hollywood boutique hotel in West Hollywood. I stayed there for ten days, so I had the chance to spend time at the beach and at great restaurants like farm-to-table Gjelina, which is amazing. I shopped at vintage stores on Melrose Avenue near Beverly Hills; It’s great for people watching there.
I loved playing all over the world with Carmelo, because I wasn’t trying to be a pop star. We’d like to do some gigs in the west of Ireland and Scotland – places where there’s a real musical heritage.
Kiki stayed at the Palmares Beach House Hotel in Portugal last year
MARCELO LOPES
I’ve been to Portugal several times and had a great holiday there last year, staying at the adults-only Palmares Beach House Hotel in Lagos. I loved the fado show there – it’s very dramatic Portuguese folk music – even though there were only four of us watching.
I skied for the first time at the age of 55, in Sölden, in the Tyrol region of Austria, where we stayed at the beautiful Alphof Hotel. I loved skiing, but while I was taking lessons the instructor told me my posture was so bad it looked like I was in the toilet. I finally managed a few blue runs, but not many reds. Still, I’m really glad I did it – it was something special to try and after that I went skiing in the Italian resort of Pila several times with Carmelo and his family.
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri will perform and lead music workshops alongside Paul Jones, Dave Kelly and Ben Waters at Petroio Estate in Tuscany September 7-14 (rocknrollholidays.com)
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