Published April 30th 2015
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It’s exactly 25 years ago since the song “Better The Devil You Know” was released, sung by Kylie Minogue. At the time, I have to admit, I didn’t really notice the impact this single has had on Kylie’s career.. and yes, I call myself a fan. I think it kind of got lost in between all the other things that were going on with her at the time. The movie “The Delinquents” with the shedding of her “girl next door” image and her dating Michael Hutchence. They all seemed to explain her growing up and for me, it is the shedding of the girl next door image that caused me to really push through on being a fan, as I had my doubts still the years before. Also, at that time, I was more focused on getting the hang of her dance routines, but enough with the confessions.
For Kylie Minogue this single, as well as this era of her career, was the moment she started to take charge over her career. This immediately translated into a sexier single cover and a sexier look. For PWL, always having produced the people next door smiley pop stars with light bubbly pop music, this was some getting used to.
Rumour has it, the song’s lyrics reflect her leaving “Neighbours” and her relationship with Michael Hutchence. However, the song was not one of the songs she co-wrote at the time. Stock, Aitken & Waterman wrote the song, who wrote and produced everything for her previously. The album that the song was taken from, Rhythm Of Love, features a few other producers and Kylie starting co-writing in her career since this album.
The song did get written after Pete Waterman had told Mike Stock the news about Kylie not dating label mate and neighbour Jason Donovan anymore, but Michael Hutchence. His comment that it was better the devil you know for them now as they feared life was going to be pretty difficult for them, led to the idea for the song.
Funny enough, you could say, that growing up may have gone hand in hand with some growing pains, but today even Pete Waterman recognises the importance of the songs from this era of Kylie’s career. It was a turning point for PWL too bringing them to a more mature sound.
In the UK the song was kept from the number one spot by Adamski’s “Killer” featuring Seal.
The song is still one of the audience’s favourites and usually is being performed by Kylie during live shows. She re-recorded the song in 2011 in a new arrangement for her Abbey Road sessions turning it into a ballad.
Read more:
Better the Devil You Know (wikipedia)
Rhythm Of Love – The Collector’s Edition – Behind The Box with Pete Waterman (Cherry Red Records)
