Kylie Minogue, BST Hyde Park, review: Pop princess doesn't quite make headliner status

But she certainly proves she's trying to remain current

Pierre Perrone
Monday 22 June 2015 12:01 BST
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Kylie Minogue headlines BST Hyde Park 2015
Kylie Minogue headlines BST Hyde Park 2015 (Rex Features)

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Fast becoming the corporate alternative to Glastonbury for music fans who can't be bothered to leave the capital, the British Summer Time Festival welcomed the Aussie pop princess to central London.

However, Kylie Minogue didn't quite make the leap to outdoor headliner status, despite strong support from Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, and Grace Jones, two acts synonymous with the disco boom of the late '70s.

Kylie came on regally, wearing a diamanté crown on top of a red floral headband and flashing one of her winning smiles as she sang ''Better The Devil Your Know'', her 1990 smash given a synth pop sheen all the better to blend into recent floor-fillers like ''In My Arms'' and ''Wow''.

As she gyrated in front of male dancers carrying huge letters that spelt KYLIE, the staging began to feel like a '70s TV special on acid, though the game girl she will always be couldn't help but quip “I'm so happy we had the letters in the right order.”

Having changed into a scarlet bodysuit and thigh high boots, she revisited her 2000 purple career patch with a triple whammy of ''Spinning Around'', ''Your Disco Needs You'' and ''On A Night Like This'' before covering ''Bette Davis Eyes'', the 1981 Kim Carnes soft rock hit she used to sing as a 14-year old with showbiz dreams that came true.

Rather than chasing the latest EDM trend like a bargain basement Madonna, you could make a case for la Kylie to settle into a series of covers album that would satisfy her fanbase as much as the irresistible ''Can't Get You Out Of My Head'' that followed.

The welcome ''The Locomotion'' and Kool & The Gang's ''Celebration'' received certainly backed this up though encoring with ''Into The Blue'' proved she is determined to try and remain current.

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