Kiki Dee

Pauline Matthews born 6 March 1947 better known by her stage name Kiki Dee is an English pop singer Known for her blueeyed soul vocals she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motowns Tamla Records Dee is best known for her 1973 hit Amoureuse her 1974 hit Ive Got the Music in Me and Dont Go Breaking My Heart her 1976 duet with Elton John which went to number 1 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart Her 1981 single Star became the theme song for the talent show Opportunity Knocks when it was revived by the BBC in 1987 In 1993 she performed another duet with John for his Duets album a cover version of Cole Porters True Love which reached number 2 in the UK During her career she has released 40 singles three EPs and 12 albums Dee was born in Bradford West Riding of Yorkshire England At the age of 10 she won a local talent contest and at 16 she had her first paid job in show business I realised when I sang at family parties and Christmases Id suddenly get everyones attention and being the youngest of three I thought what a brilliant attentionseeking ploy it was stated Dee in a 2013 interview She went on to say My older brother had a lot of Elvis on vinyl and really that was my first introduction to music during the Fifties Aged 16 Dee worked at Boots in Bradford during the day whilst in the evenings she sang songs with a dance band in Leeds A record scout liked her singing and invited her to London to do an audition There in 1963 she signed as a solo artist to Fontana Records After singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s Dee began her recording career as a session singer She sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield among others but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years In 1963 Dee released her first single Early Night the first of eleven singles on Fontana none of which reached the charts Her 1966 release Why Dont I Run Away From You a cover of Tami Lynns Im Gonna Run Away From You was a big hit on Radio London and Radio Caroline and she sang the Bside Small Town in her appearance in Dateline Diamonds the same year Also in 1966 she achieved wider coverage by singing Take a Look at Me in the hit comedy Doctor in Clover She brought out an EP Kiki In Clover which included Take a Look at Me at the same time as the films release She recorded her debut album Im Kiki Dee in 1968 which included a series of Phil Spectorstyle tracks and covers Her 1968 release On a Magic Carpet Ride which was originally a Bside has remained popular on the Northern soul circuit Much of her early recorded work for Fontana Records was released on 24 January 2011 on the CD compilation Im Kiki Dee Songwriter Mitch Murray created her stage name and penned her first single Early Night In the United States she became the first white British artist to be signed by Motown releasing her first Motown single in 1970 Source Article Kiki Dee from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30