Dannii Minogue preps comeback single ahead of Central Station 40th anniversary gig

DANNII Minogue’s young son is about to find out his aunt Kylie isn’t the only pop star in the family as his mum returns with a new single and Sydney club gig.

DANNII Minogue’s young son Ethan has finally discovered his mum is a singer.

As she prepares to relaunch her music career with a new single and performance at the Central Station Records 40th anniversary party next month, her seven-year-old boy asked her to put together a playlist of her hits.

Minogue switched her focus to television roles in the past decade so she was able to devote herself to motherhood rather than touring the world.

“Looking after Ethan, making sandwiches and doing the school run, and touring? It’s just not possible,” she said.

Dannii is doing a playlist for her son to get to know her songs. Picture: Benji Hart

But when she started rehearsing for the gig, which included singing songs on her treadmill, Ethan asked to hear the songs which made her one of the biggest dance acts on the Australian and UK charts throughout the 1990s.

“He kind of knows Put The Needle On It but last week he said ‘Mum, I want to get an iPad so I can listen to your music on it’,” she said.

“I’m putting a playlist together, a tracklist of the show to practise to, so he knows it’s all happening.

“He wants to know what I sing, what I do.”

The former X Factor coach has performed rarely since Ethan’s birth in 2010, a couple of times on television with her sister Kylie, at Sydney’s Mardi Gras in 2015, opening for Culture Club last year and a handful of club appearances.

But two decades ago, performing on the dance club circuit in London, Ibiza and Europe was her “bread and butter”.

Minogue is the Queen of Clubs in the UK with more No. 1 dance hits than any female artist. Picture: Benji Hart

She is the Queen of the Clubs in the UK after scoring a record-breaking 14 No. 1 dance singles there — more consecutive hits than any other female artist in the world — including the 1997 smash All I Wanna Do through to 2001’s Who Do You Love Now?

“I remember one I did in Russia where I got paid cash in a brief case; I loved it because it was so wild, wild west,” she said.

“I had four dancers and for a period of about five years we literally travelled all over Europe and had the best fun; we’re all still friends.”

Minogue is keeping details of her comeback single under wraps for now but plans to premiere it at her August 11 performance for the Central Station party.

The Minogue sisters stole the show when they performed on X Factor. Picture: Supplied.

She did reveal Sia has given her a song; the Australian hitmaker also worked extensively on Kylie’s last studio record Kiss Me Once.

Minogue has been schooling herself on how to release music in the era of streaming and wants to remain an independent artist, investing her own money in her comeback.

She said she would prefer to back herself rather than rely on others to make creative or business decisions for her.

And she won’t compromise the time she wants to devote to her son.

“My main priority is being a mum; I am not going to miss out on these years with Ethan, it’s so special,” she said.

“Business-wise, this is a huge learning curve.”

Dannii ahead of her performance at the 2015 Mardi Gras party. Picture: Toby Zerna

As for when she is likely to return to Australian television, Minogue said she was working on a new project for next year.

“It’s not far enough along to say anything just yet; next year. Between now and Christmas, I will be dropping more music,” she said.

The Central Station Records 40th Anniversary event at Home nightclub in Sydney on August 11 features Dannii Minogue, Starley and DJs including Andy Van, Mark Dynamix, Kate Monroe, Bexta and more, with tickets available via oztix.com.au