Kiki Dee, 77, was born in Bradford as Pauline Matthews. In 1970 she became the first female artist from the UK to be signed to Motown Records and in 1976 duetted with Elton John on the worldwide hit Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. She was nominated for an Olivier award in 1988 for her role in the Blood Brothers musical. For the past 30 years she has performed as a duo with the guitarist Carmelo Luggeri. She lives in Hertfordshire.
I’ve always been self-reliant and good at travelling on my own. When I signed to Motown in my early twenties I went to Detroit for 12 weeks and would eat alone in restaurants, coping well in a different 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 in the label’s original studio, which is now the Motown Museum — it was mind-blowing to meet Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye in the lift one day.
From ten years old I was very serious about singing and would enter (and usually win) talent contests while on holiday with my family in places such as Bridlington, Scarborough and Blackpool. I was the youngest of three siblings and a daddy’s girl, so it was great hanging out with him during his annual fortnight off work.
During 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 at a B&B in Finchley, north London. The Fontana offices were by Marble Arch, in the centre of town, and it felt very glamorous — like being in a movie. Oxford Street is close by, so this was my first impression of London in the Sixties. Dad and I ate at a Lyons Corner House and we loved walking around the city.
I moved to London two years later, when the Swinging Sixties scene was kicking off. My friends and I would go to clubs like the Scotch of St James, meeting various bands.
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I adored America in the Seventies because there was so much positivity, especially in Hollywood, where I was living at the time. There was a great music scene and I used to perform at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood — which is still going.
When I was touring with Elton in 1974 I lost my passport on Maui, Hawaii, and had to apply for a replacement. It was a bit of a hassle, but with Elton’s lawyers you can get anything done quickly. During another holiday with Elton and Bernie Taupin, on Barbados, we decided to make bangers and mash for the staff of the villa we were renting to show them British “cuisine”.
Davey Johnstone, my boyfriend at the time, was in Elton’s band and helped John Lennon to tune his guitars when he guested at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thanksgiving in 1974 — he hadn’t played live for ages, but had lost a bet with Elton and that was the forfeit. After the gig John came to our room at the Plaza Hotel with May Pang, who he was with dating at the time, and we spent the whole night drinking and chatting. There was a wonderful moment when he asked whether I had ever eaten potato scallops made with leftover batter in fish-and-chip shops — it was completely bonkers to talk about mundane northern matters 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 last American tour the following year. It was a really difficult time and it felt special that he had asked me to perform with him. It was weird going back to LA because suddenly I was on the A-list again. Our duet was over in a flash, but the audience went nuts and I got to meet Joni Mitchell backstage. Elton really looked after me and I stayed at the London West Hollywood boutique hotel in West Hollywood. I was there for ten days, so I had a chance to hang out at the beach and nice restaurants such as the farm-to-table-style Gjelina, which is amazing. I shopped at vintage stores on Melrose Avenue near Beverly Hills; it’s great for people-watching around there.
I have loved performing around the world with Carmelo, because I haven’t been trying to make it as a pop star. We would like to do some shows in west Ireland and Scotland — places where there is real music heritage.
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I’ve been to Portugal many times and had a great holiday there last year, staying at the adults-only Palmares Beach House Hotel in Lagos. I loved the fado performance there — it’s very dramatic Portuguese folk music — though there were only four of us watching.
I skied for the first time when I was 55, in Sölden, in the Tyrol region of Austria, where we stayed at the wonderful Alphof hotel. I adored the skiing, but when I was having lessons the instructor said that my posture was so bad it looked as though I was on the loo. I managed some blue runs eventually, but not many reds. Still, I’m really glad I did it — it was a special thing to try and after that I went skiing a couple of times in the Italian resort of Pila with Carmelo and his family.
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri will be performing and hosting music workshops alongside Paul Jones, Dave Kelly and Ben Waters at the Estate of Petroio in Tuscany from September 7 to 14 (rocknrollholidays.com)
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