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POP

Kylie
SECC, Glasgow

POP princess has David Pollock in a spin with choreography and theatre

There are those who vow Kylie Minogue OBE is the perfect pop star and others who say she's achieved her level of fame by copying Madonna for at least a decade and a half. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Her career, and this show, seems to be attempting to please absolutely everyone, from teens to grandmothers, but you can't deny the military organisation and choreography that goes into making it such a spectacle. Split into seven "acts" - each with their own theme, setting, costumes and one unthemed encore - this is pop music on the scale of musical theatre.

Of course, there's no narrative here, unless you count the Neighbours-to-riches zeitgeist-chasing of Minogue's own career, but swathes of Kylieites (predominantly women of all ages; gay men of all ages and obviously dragged-along boyfriends who now seem to be having themselves a good time) are overjoyed by each tableau.

For the mums and dads, for example, there's the Beach Party section, where Minogue dresses up as a sequinned sailor and offers up a semi-ironic cover of Barry Manilow's 'Copacabana'. This is almost the corniest section, despite the presence of the cheery, slightly bland 'Spinning Around'. Undoubtedly the worst part, however, is a pair of ballads ('Flower' and the unjustly slowed-down 'I Believe in You') which are delivered by Minogue in a floaty electric blue evening dress, gazing up at the lighting rig as if she were Celine Dion. Sickening.

These are small parts of an otherwise spectacular show, however. The Xposed section comes closest to Minogue's aspiration towards being an edgier adult entertainer, as she descends from a motorised, crystal-effect skull amid a gaggle of bondage-attired dancers to perform the minimal, electronic 'Like a Drug', 'Slow', and the more upbeat '2 Hearts'.

The Russian Revolution-style finale and the straight encore comprise a straight run at many of her best songs: 'Your Disco Needs You', 'In My Arm's' and, of course, the perennially ironic 'I Should Be So Lucky'.

 

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