English pop singer Kiki Dee was born 77 years ago as Pauline Matthews in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, and is single.
When she was 10 years old, Kiki won a talent competition, and 6 years later, worked during the day and sang with a dance band in the evenings. She caught the attention of a record scout who invited her to do an audition, which eventually led to the beginning of her singing career after being offered a contract.
Dee started as a session singer and acted as backing vocalist to several artists amongst which there was Dusty Springfield. As solo artist, however, she was unsuccessful for numerous years. In fact, her first single ‘Early Night’ released in 1963 plus 10 others did not chart. Three years later, her career took a positive turn when she had a major radio hit ‘Why don’t I run away from You’, as well as the track ‘Take a look at Me’, which featured in the comedy movie ‘Doctor in Clover’.
Kiki’s debut album came out in 1968 and she also performed regularly cover versions on a British radio, as well as sang along with a group on a TV series. But it was when she signed with singer Elton John’s record company that she actually became famous. In fact, she had 2 big hits, namely ‘Amoureuse’ and ‘I’ve got the music in Me’.
Then, in 1976, she enjoyed her biggest hit ever when she sang ‘Don’t go breaking my Heart’ in duet with Elton John himself. This track peaked to number one both on the UK and US charts. After a 5-year hiatus, Dee returned to the music scene and had another big hit ‘Star’ in 1981. She was also actively involved in music theatre.
To date, Kiki had 22 albums, 3 EPS and 40 singles.
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