It has been a hell of a long time now – 25 years – since Kylie Minogue last played Shepherds Bush Empire. During her last rodeo, the cowboy-themed Intimate and Live tour, the Australian pop icon was right on the cusp of taking control of her destiny, branching out into collaborations with indie figureheads like Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, and getting far more heavily involved in the creative process.
And back on the very same stage again, now as a true powerhouse of pop, Kylie snuck in a nod back to a gig that in hindsight feels like a turning point. Amid the obvious greatest hits – Spinning Around, Can’t Get You Out of My Head, and a hip-thrusting rendition of The Loco-Motion among them – she also snuck in a rare live performance of that era’s twinkling and underrated electronica track Breathe in the middle of a hit-packed set.
