Song 153 - Too many broken hearts in the world by Jason Donovan

Kylie and Jason are a bit like salt and pepper, you can't have one without the other, especially not in a jukebox where we are having a whole section of Stock, Aitken and Waterman (SAW) acts. Too many broken hearts was Jason Donovan's first solo UK number single from his album Ten good reasons. Following his co-star into the pop world, Jason Donovan signed with SAW in the late 1980s. His first single, Nothing can divide us was a top ten single, but this was followed up with  Especially for You, his duet with Kylie Minogue, that went straight to number one in January 1989. It probably reached number 1 as most Kylie and Jason's fans were caught up in the hype of whether they were a couple in real life.

 At the time any relationship between them was played down but years later it was confirmed that some of the pictures used in the video had been taken from their own personal album. I remember having a pop-poster of the two of them released to promote their single on my wall and I think the nine year kid still inside of me was absolutely delighted when it was confirmed they had been lovers.

The success of Especially for you (which is the most commercially successful song written by SAW), probably guaranteed Too many broken hearts would be number 1 when released  in  March 1989. Donovan followed this up with his album Ten Good Reasons, which also topped the top spot in the album chart and became the biggest selling album of the year. I know I had a copy on tape.

Like all SAW hits, there is a bubble gum pop element to it, and, again, I think there were probably critics who thought that Jason Donovan was just cashing in on his fame through Neighbours. But I think it is important to remember that, like Kylie, Jason Donovan, since his days with SAW, has become a international star of musical theatre. I know that I was lucky enough to see Jason perform in The King's Speech, when the play toured Edinburgh last year. Seeing my school idol perform the part of the Australian Speech Therapist, Lionel Logue, was superb and I heard him sing! It was very different to the Scott Robinson character I had loved in Neighbours but still I had never believed I would have seen him perform live.

To relive the Australian Blond Bombshell's first number one:
Too many broken hearts

Kylie and Jason's Duet
Especially for you

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman
Release: March 1989
Album: 10 Good Reasons

Song 152 - Kylie by Kylie Minogue

This week has been a bit of a muddle with the blog, as although I had tried to schedule posts, there has been a technical issue my end and it hasn't worked! My apologises for this, but lets get back to the music and I am going to jump straight into the 1980s and start with Stock, Aitken and  Waterman's acts. Although there are many iconic acts who signed with SAW in the 1980s, for me, I have to start with  Kylie Minogue, as I was a huge fan of Kylie when she first appeared in Neighbours and the British Charts. To give you an idea of how big a fan I was, I was a member of her fan club, posters all around my walls and I think I watched the Neighbours' episode, when Scott and Charlene married, about 100 times. I had taped it for my sister, who was on a cruise when it was broadcast.

Kylie's relationship with Britain and the pop scene exploded in 1986, when the BBC started showing the Australian soap, Neighbours, in the tea-time slot. Kylie was cast as Charlene Mitchell, who's on/off off love affair with Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), gripped fans all over the world. When the online characters eventually married, there were 20 millions viewers in the UK alone watching Neighbours. Due to the fame of Neighbours,  Kylie had the opportunity to perform The Loco-motion by Little Eva at a Fitzroy Football benefit Concert. Off the back of one performance, Kylie was signed to Mushroom Records. The song was released in Australia and became the highest selling single of the 1980s in Australia. Due to the success, Kylie travelled to London to work with SAW, who knew very little about her and even forgot she was coming to record in their studio. When they did remember, Kylie recorded I should be so lucky in less than an hour. 

I should be so lucky was released in December 1987 in the UK, charting at number 90 but after 3 weeks, reached Number 1 and stayed there for five weeks. The single was certified Gold in the UK and became an instant hit around the world. The video of the song is as iconic as the song, with one scene of Kylie in the bath blowing bubbles.

Due to the success of her first hit, SAW never forgot about their Australian star again and Mike Stock went across to Melbourne to apologise to Kylie and record the second song Got to be so Certain. His words to Kylie must have been successful as she returned to record her debut album in early 1988 in London. 

Kylie was released in the UK in July 1988, and after 7 weeks in the album chart, it eventually reached the number 1 slot and remain there for 4 weeks. It was the biggest selling album of 1988, and by the start of 1989, it had been certified six times platinum. In the UK, Kylie became the first female singer to have their debut album sell in excess of 2 million copies in the UK (at that time). Avril Lavigne would beat the record in 2003.

For me, this album reminds me of friendship and a period in my life before everything changed and a certain innocent of childhood would be lost for ever. Kylie is an artist which I will happily listen to now and although at the time, I remember my Dad moaning about the bubble-gum pop music that I was listening to, the beats of Kylie's early work make up my own music footprint of life.

Listen to Kylie's first album here:

Kylie by Kylie Minogue

Written by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, with the exception of The Loco-motion which was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

Released: 1988

Song 99 - White Diamond by Kylie Minogue

With the amount of songs going into the Jukebox to pay tribute to artists, I thought I would change tempo today and the idea of a diamond came into my head and with it this little beautiful track by Kylie Minogue. White Diamond written with the Scissor Sisters  is taken from her 10th studio album, X, and the first album she released after being treated successfully for cancer.

One of the most pleasing aspects of this song is the two different versions there are of this track; one is perfect for a slow dance and the other will help you prepare for a night out.

The album version is a slower version. Appearing as the last track of the album, the tempo is soulful making the lyrics sound very reflective and, placed in context to what Kylie was going through at that point, the word seem to reflect  the pressure of going through radiotherapy and her inner fight against the horrible disease.

Then for her Showgirls - homecoming album, which is an album of the resumed tour she started again in 2007, the version of White Diamond is a classic pop song, and it is unmistakable a track that has been written with Scissor Sisters' Jake and Babydaddy. When you hear it, all you want to do is dance.

For me, Kylie is one of those artists that I had a fondness for as I was ten when Neighbours was at the height of the Kylie and Jason mania that led to the pair of them signing with Stock, Aitken and Waterman and I remember have all the posters around my bedroom walls. But like me, Kylie grew up and her music and image changed and with it, her fan base and popularity grew and grew. She is pop royalty and an icon of pop for my generation. Kylie will be given more space and time in the jukebox over the next few months.

The pop version
Showgirl Homecoming Live Version of White Diamond

The slower version
White Diamond by Kylie Minogue

Written by: Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears and Babydaddy
Album: X,
Album released: 2007.