Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish - reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!
Last week, I posted my third of three posts covering a fantasy trip to the Isle of Wight. Tina reviewed Changing Roles by Dr. Vivien Newman, a nonfiction book about how British women's lives changed during and after the first World War-including the stories of some famous British women at the forefront of change.
Kiki Dee turns 75 on Sunday. Elton John turns 75 later this month. British music-lovers probably know Kiki Dee for other things, but I associate her most with the duet that she sang with Elton John, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" from 1976, when I was a freshman in High School. Does anyone else remember wearing fashionable overalls in the 1970s?
Kiki Dee was born and raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. She began singing there and in neighboring Leeds, eventually catching the attention of a London scout. In London, she was a session singer backing up more established musicians like Dusty Springfield ("You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Son of a Preacher Man"). She regularly performed cover versions of songs on BBC Radio in the 1970s.
Her solo career took off when she signed with Elton John's label, The Rocket Record Company. She had hits in the UK with "Amoureuse" and "I've Got the Music in Me."
In the 1990s, she began performing with acoustic guitarist Carmelo Luggeri. They've made several albums and continue touring to this day. Check out this list of shows that they have scheduled for 2022. Her beautiful, warm voice is well-suited for guitar accompaniment. Here they are performing on BBC Four:
If I were traveling, I would be tempted to schedule a trip around catching one of their shows. What do you think?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
