Wasn’t she actually shy in the studio?

As I can be. I can seem very prudish, but the downside of me can be anything but. I was just happy about this discovery of her life, so in “Dance to the Music” I sing, “Just like Summer said…”

Photo: Charlotte Rutherford

You and them have so much overlap, including having diehard gay fan bases. Was there a moment when you realized you had started to develop a fervent gay following?

There’s definitely a moment I remember around 1989 or 1990. In Sydney, the most famous gay bar at the time was called the Albury on Oxford Street. I was visiting Sydney and someone said, “There’s a Kylie show in Albury.” I thought, “What?” I couldn’t go, but I heard there were drag queens dressed as different versions of me from different video looks. One of them was even modeled after a Coca Cola commercial I made. That was the moment I thought: Wow! That’s great.

It was another few years before I actually saw a drag show with versions of me. But (the fan base) wasn’t something I actively pursued. I get asked this all the time, so I don’t have a definitive answer. But what I started to realize more and more is that during my first shows, everyone was welcome. I started with parents and young children, and then the grandparents came, and then more people came. It was around the early 90’s when I saw three generations of a family, some muscle maries, some drag queens and a bunch of dudes. I would be a very broad demographic, so I’d like to think that my nature and my shows have just been inclusive. I would like to add that when I received a lot of criticism and bullshit in Australia, it was the gay community that really protected me. With that extra level of love and devotion, when someone does that for you, it is reciprocated. I really have to try to find the words, but it was very organic and powerful.