It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter of a century since Dannii became queen of the clubs with the release of her third studio album “Girl” in early September 1997.
Many people may have ended Dannii’s musical career following the muted response to 1993’s “Get Into You” album, which despite one of Dannii’s best-known hits “This Is It “, failed to set the charts on fire peaking at 52 on the Official UK Albums Chart.
In her personal life, Dannii had to deal with the aftermath of her short marriage to Julian McMahon ending and later revealed that she was also going through financial difficulties at the time.
Also in the public eye, Dannii had returned to television projects, including as a traveling host for The Big Breakfast, hosting a superfan quiz show called Fan TC alongside Toby Anstis, and even hosting the television special The Lion King for Disney; who can forget his rendition of ‘Hakuna Matata’!?
In those pre-internet years, fans didn’t know that Dannii recorded an entire album (later released in 2009 as “The 1995 Sessions”) after 1993’s “Get Into You.” fans first heard of new music in August 1997 when Dannii emerged from her musical hiatus as a sexy blonde bombshell ready to set the dance floors on fire with the absolute banger “All I Wanna Do”.
This track was the first to be released on Dannii’s new recording deal with Eternal, via Warner Records and ushered in a whole new sound for Dannii that would see her carve her own dance-pop path for years to come.
“All I Wanna Do” was written by Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Matt Gray and Stuart McLennan; the first three would be instrumental in the creation of Xenomania, whose hits include the majority of Girls Aloud’s back catalog and Cher’s monster hit, “Believe.”
Initially, Dannii wasn’t convinced the track was right for her, as she details in her autobiography “My Story.” Luckily, close friend and collaborator Terry Ronald managed to persuade her to give it a shot and the rest is history!
‘All I Wanna Do’ soared straight to No. 4 on the Official UK Singles Chart – its highest peak at the time – and in 2017 it was confirmed as her best-selling UK single by the Official Charts Company. It was also the first of 13 Club Chart No.1. Dannii Queen of the Clubs is born!
The album “Girl” was released four weeks later, but despite the success of the first single, it only reached No. 57 and only spent a week in the Top 100. Undeterred, Dannii prepared the following single “Everything I Wanted”. .
This time, Dannii draws more inspiration from the drum ‘n’ bass genre, on a track she co-wrote with Mark Taylor and Steve Torch. The latter would go on to co-write Kylie’s “On A Night Like This.”
The music video for “Everything I Wanted” was in stark contrast to the bright and shiny “All I Wanna Do” and was instead shot with a Super 8 camera, giving a home video style, grainy black and white feel. Directed by Dannii and his then-boyfriend, photographer Steve Shaw, it sees Dannii in a vintage Mustang, driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, roller-skating and diving in the hotel pool. The track peaked at number 15 on the Official UK Singles Chart in November 1997, becoming Dannii’s 7th Top 20 and 11th Top 40.
In March 1998, Dannii released the album’s third and final UK single, the trance-pop ‘Disremembrance’. A fan favorite, this track is otherworldly, filled with strings that are beautifully complemented by synths in the chorus. Dannii’s voice pleads “You will remember me” and I think there is no worries, fans will forget this song in a hurry. Remixes came from Flexifingers, Trouser Enthuisasts and Xenomania. He just missed giving Dannii another UK Top 20 hit when he peaked at No. 21.
For the filming of the video, the floor of the studio had to be filled with water, and as Dannii recounts in his collection “The Videos”, it was going to take all day to fill up; a new plan was needed. Dannii’s team had to phone the local fire department to come and fill the tray with water. Fortunately, they accepted and Dannii didn’t complain about being surrounded by firefighters!
Another single was released in Australia and was actually a hidden track at the end of the ‘Girl’ album. Dannii’s cover of Nilsson’s “Coconut” turns the early ’70s novelty into a tropical-tinged club track. It was originally recorded as part of the 1995 sessions and for this updated version DNA’s original vocal production has been retained. Minogue fans will of course recognize DNA as the team that remixed Kylie’s ‘Shocked’ for its 7″ release in 1991. The track’s production update came from Ian Masterson and David Green who also wrote ‘ Disremembrance’. While Dannii was on tour in the UK when “Coconut” was released, a video was made by mixing his three previous videos.
Dannii’s ‘Girl’ album in its original format contains 10 listed tracks plus the hidden ‘Coconut’ track at the end. She takes us through many different genres in the dance world, adding her own pop sensibilities as she goes. From the techno-lite “So In Love With Yourself” (which features her sister Kylie on backing vocals) to the more soaring “Am I Dreaming? » ; there’s definitely a lot to like about this album.
Perhaps one of the most interesting tracks is ‘Everybody Changes Underwater’ which goes completely ambient, with whale sounds and Dannii speaking much of the verses in what feels like an echo chamber. It’s an ambitious track for sure, if a bit forward-thinking.
Elsewhere, “Heaven Can Wait” mixes 90s dance beats with a psychedelic, swinging 60s retro vibe. It could have made a great summer single if the UK had gotten a fourth single. Written by the same team as ‘All I Wanna Do’, remixes graced the ‘Coconut’ single, including a 7″ version, so maybe this was in the running?
Hidden towards the end of the album is one of Dannii’s finest ballads “It’s Amazing”. Beginning with heavy breathing, it gently expands star attraction with Dannii’s vocals as she hits impressive high notes in the chorus of this moving track.
The ‘Girl’ album was re-released in 2007 with additional tracks ‘Someone New’ and ‘Keep Up With The Good Times’ as well as remixes. The first is a high-energy Euro-dance number that was originally a bonus track on the 1997 release in Japan and was another track written by Ian Masterson and David Green. ‘Keep Up With The Good Times’ is another Higgins et al composition and ups the tempo even further with piano house and a euphoric chorus.
The ‘Girl’ era was an exciting time to be a Dannii fan, as she discovered her inner dance diva and wasn’t afraid to experiment and go against the pop tide. Although very similar to the release of the albums in 1997 (a single then an album), it would have benefited Dannii to release two or even three singles before releasing “Girl” to allow fans to reconnect after several years away from music. . Regardless, “Girl” is still an important part of Dannii’s musical development and a great listen today!
Revisit other classic albums:
Dannii Minogue – ‘Neon Nights’ and ‘Love and Kisses’
Kylie Minogue – ‘Kylie’, ‘Fever’ and ‘Aphrodite’
Britney Spears – ‘Woman Fatal’
Celine Dion – “Falling Into You”