In the 1980s she was the MTV ‘it’ girl, setting fashion trends with a kooky take on glam punk. The frou-frou skirts and multi-coloured locks may have gone but Cyndi Lauper continues to reach out to her fans and set her own musical and social issues agenda.
Lauper’s audience demographic is impossible to pin down. Fading beauties from the heady ’80s (think big hair and padded shoulders) rub shoulders with young punked-up Goths and a large number of gay men and lesbians. Just how has she managed to build such a diverse following? Well, with Cyndi Lauper back on our shores with her ninth studio album, The Body Acoustic, we have a chance to find out.
In her most recent album, the singer re-evaluates her better-known hits through a string of collaborations. It’s a bold recording from a performer unafraid of trying on new ideas. Featured artists include Sarah McLachlan, Shaggy, Jeff Beck and Ani Defranco. Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara and Vivian Green also kick in, giving tracks like Money Changes Everything a new twist.
In the thick of work on a new ‘up-tempo’ dance album, Lauper is off-handed at such collaborations.
‘They are all artists I admire and have become friends with over the years,’ she tells bnews. ‘I would love to work with Annie Lennox, she is a genius and I would love to write a song with Dolly Parton as well.’
That Lauper can command such respect in the music industry is a no-brainer. The singer was the first artist to have five top ten singles from a debut album and has produced some of the most influential pop songs of the ’80s and ’90s. To name but a few, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun has gone on to become the party anthem the world over and True Colours is credited as the most covered song of its era. More recent numbers such as Shine and Ballad Of Cleo And Joe have attracted attention from high profile DJs and released for gay fans hungry for Lauper dance hits.
The singer/songwriter makes no secret of her affection for her gay fans. A favourite interview quote has her hoping God is a drag queen.
‘… so we have a lot to discuss about fashion, makeup and cleavage,’ she told DJ Ron Slomowicz.
But there’s also a serious side to this support. The front page of Lauper’s website includes links to New York City’s PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. There’s also a link to The Gay American Heroes memorial website honouring the lives of people who have died as a result of hate crimes based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
True to her convictions, last year Lauper initiated PFLAG’s Straight for Equality pledge campaign. Oppression comes in many forms and speaking out, she says is simply ‘the right thing to do’.
‘I think it’s extremely important for people in the straight community to stand up for people in the gay community just as it was important for men to stand up for women during the women’s movement and for white Americans to stand up for black Americans during the civil rights movement. I have been working for PFLAG for years and they have created this initiative, and I will be working with them again on my True Colors tour this summer, just as I did last year.’
Lauper is up front about her own sexuality, claiming she is not gay but comes from a family and friend network that is.
‘I feel at home with my gay fans,’ she says. ‘I am an individual. I wasn’t always accepted by the mainstream as a person or an artist when I was younger. I am one of those straight people that lives and breathes among gay people. And I do my best to preach inclusion of everyone.’
Cyndi Lauper will perform on February 22 in King’s Park before heading east for Mardi Gras.
Daren Pope is a writer for bnews (www.bnews.net.au).
