Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Mon 24 Sept
Australian pop star and honorary British National Treasure, Kylie Minogue, turned 50 in May this year, so the Golden Tour is an appropriate title for her 2018 run of concerts, in support of her 14th studio album, Golden – whose Nashville-tinged pop and dance has been awarded a fitting gold for over 100,000 sales.
Kylie at glamorous 50 is a far cry from Charlene in Neighbours. Pop music tends to be kinder to female ageing – Minogue’s contemporary Madonna just turned 60 – but are we seeing the last of this kind of star? With the increasingly ephemeral nature of music, will the likes of Dua Lipa and Camila Cabello still be around in 30 years? Britney Spears has become a gay icon, arguably because of rather than despite her personal problems; Taylor Swift is selling out stadiums now but will she still be singing about her latest ex when she’s 50?
Minogue always brings a performance: anyone who went to her Aphrodite tour will remember her ‘flying’ on the back of an angel and ending with a fountain show. We can only theorise to what extent the country music style of Golden will translate to the live production. Of course, though, it wouldn’t be a Kylie Minogue concert without featuring some of the old favourites. Expect numbers from the early days, like The Locomotion and I Should Be So Lucky, through the comeback behemoth of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head up to more recent hits like All The Lovers.
The Cardiff show is a homecoming concert of sorts, as Kylie’s mother was born in the south Wales town of Maesteg. Minogue sr was one of the famous ‘£10 Poms’ when she emigrated at the age of 12 with her parents, and no doubt, as on previous tours, many members of the singer’s Welsh family will be in the audience. The singer recently spoke to Radio Wales about how proud she is about her roots, talking about how her grandmother – now aged 98 – would make Welsh cakes; and surprising the listeners with Welsh phrases, although she admitted she can’t do the accent. Maybe, if you’re lucky (lucky, lucky, lucky), she might attempt one onstage. CHRIS WILLIAMS
Tickets: £70. Info: 029 2022 4488 / www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk