Author guest post from Clary Saddler.

There’s a Welsh word known in Wales and beyond: cwtch. It technically means cuddle, but it’s better. It’s what your Nain (gran) might call the pantry under the stairs. It’s comfort, safety, warmth and love. It’s what a Kylie song feels like on a drizzly Monday morning in Wales when you need it most.

That’s the word I kept coming back to while writing Kylie Minogue Album-by-Album: Stick or Twist. Because for so many of us, Kylie’s music is a glitter-drenched, joy-sparking, disco-ball-lit cwtch.

So when Pen & Sword invited me to write a summer blog post to mark Kylie’s birthday (28 May) and the close of her UK Tension tour dates, I couldn’t resist a moment to reflect on what this tour and this book have meant to me and, hopefully, to fellow fans too.

The Book

In the pop culture pantheon, an Album by Album isn’t your typical biography. Mine is part music critique, part fangirl scrapbook, and part cultural deep-dive, with interviews, trivia, and a few snippets from my own life woven through.

As a lifelong fan, musician, and exhausted queer mam of four (I was pregnant with the twins while writing the manuscript), I wrote it in snatched moments between nausea, school runs and managing a creative arts business. But every time I pressed play on Rhythm of Love or fell back into Impossible Princess, I felt like I was reconnecting with that younger version of me. Scribbling lyrics (“feel like speed, feel like liquid”). Working out chords. Mimicking Kylie’s choreography on the Cardiff gay scene (‘What do I have to Do’), and dreaming big.

The Tour

Confession time. I’m a bad fan. I haven’t actually made it to a Tension show yet. My Kylie nightlife currently consists of rocking the twins to sleep on each shoulder to The Abbey Road Sessions version of ‘Love at First Sight’ (C – G – Am – F). But I’ve been living vicariously through fan clips, reviews and glowing recaps shared online.

My friend Mikey Phillips, photographer for my book and makeup artist to the stars, has seen the show several times from the Golden Circle. He, and a few other friends, have given me full and fabulous reports. From what I’ve heard (and seen in clips), Tension is far from a legacy set. It’s a visually stunning, high-energy celebration that pulls from both Tension and Disco – the tour we never got thanks to lockdown – alongside the essential hits for newer audiences.

The staging is so elaborate it apparently wouldn’t even fit in Cardiff (arena, not city). The vocals are out of this world. The setlist hits just right. Nothing feels tired. It’s a fresh, creative burst of Kylie magic.

If I can get all my ducks and childcare in a row, I’m hoping to catch a European date later this year under the guise of a family holiday. A proper Kylie cwtch in person.

Birthday Month and Kylie’s Hot Hootenanny

To celebrate Kylie’s birthday this May, I created a themed Spotify playlist: Kylie’s Hot Hootenanny. It’s full of glittery bops, deep cuts and classic collabs. It’s summer in playlist form. Kitchen dance party guaranteed.

It also sparked a little social media buzz. A signed book giveaway. Clips from my book launch at Café 21 in Maesteg, where Kylie’s Nain (gran) once worked. And a TikTok where I compared her early Eisteddfod win with my own squeaky school clarinet performance at age nine. (Spoiler: she won with ‘Run Rabbit Run’. I… did not.)

What the Fans Say

The response to the book has been overwhelmingly lovely, especially from Kylie fans who’ve said they felt seen in its pages.

Amazon (Verified Purchase): “A love letter to a pop legend. What sets this book apart is the author’s unmistakable love and admiration for Kylie. It radiates from every page.”

Goodreads: “I’m still spinning around after reading this book. A sharp, informative read. Definitely worth picking up.”

Waterstones: “The author is clearly a huge fan and writes with humour, affection and respect. Has been fun delving into her body of work.”

NetGalley: “Perfect for any Kylie fan. I loved rediscovering her albums, especially Fever.”

Entertainment Focus: “It’s clear that Clary is a fellow Kylie fan as well as being a musician, amongst other things. They share some of their own personal journey and how Kylie impacted their life. A more unique angle to take.”

And I’ve loved connecting with fans via podcasts and radio. I’ve been lucky enough to talk all things Kylie on Time to Talk Australia, BBC Radio Wales (the Bhenaz Akhgar show), Mouth-Off, The McCartney McAlphabet, Radio Cardiff and SA Radio Live – all helping to keep the glitter flying.

What Comes Next?

This is the first in my Album by Album series with Pen & Sword. Next up is Kate Bush – a total dream project. Each chapter takes a different creative form. One is a fairytale. Another a graphic novel (for Never for Ever, of course). One even reads like a surrealist poem. All woven together with admiration and analysis.

I’m also deep into What to Expect When You’re NOT Expecting, my brutally honest, sarky IVF memoir. It’s chaos, cackles, pineapple spray anecdotes and medical-grade hormones. It’s honest, it’s raw, and it’s mine.

Where to Find Me

You’ll find all my Kylie posts, podcast clips, launch photos and more at:

Substack

TikTok

Instagram

Threads

X

Facebook

However you first found Kylie – whether it was through a disco banger, heartbreak ballad or an Impossible Princess deep cut – I hope this book helps you fall in love with her all over again.

Diolch, Kylie. And cwtches to you all.

Order your copy here.