Can't Get You Out Of My Head: In Search of Kylie

by Michael Cragg

From her late-80s beginnings, capturing our hearts as Charlene in Neighbours and singing ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ in a bubble bath, to her gold-plated hits like ‘Spinning Around’ and ‘Padam Padam’ soundtracking the euphoria of dancefloors the world over, there is only one Kylie Minogue.

She has sold over eighty-million records internationally, is the best-selling Australian pop star of all time and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, fashion and photography across her various shape-shifting eras. She is, undoubtedly, a modern-day icon. But who is the ‘real’ Kylie? And how has she remained a mystery while also navigating a forty-year career in the fickle world of pop?

Award-winning writer Michael Cragg takes us on a journey into the psyche of one of the world’s most enigmatic pop stars. Via a mix of brand new interviews, a dash of oral history and some playful music writing, Can’t Get You Out of My Head aims to put the pop puzzle pieces together.

Genres: Biography, Music

493 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2026

Reviews

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread)]

If you know me at all then you know about my love for Kylie Minogue. From the very beginning I have been a huge fan, despite my parents telling me I would grow out of it. As a teenager my walls were covered by posters , my record player played her albums on repeat and I watched very episode of Neighbours. I have been to every live tour she has ever done.. I just love her 🩷

I bought this book a d received a complimentary copy of the audio book thanks to Faber & Faber and Libro.fm it is clear from the very start that the author is also a big Kylie fan. The amount of research, travel and interviews that went into this book is phenomenal. It was a delight to listen to Michael Craig read the book, and an added bonus on the audiobook is an interview with him talking about it. The author is very funny, and the book is full of humorous moments and stories.

This book follows Kylie’s career from the early days on Neighbours and Stock Aitken and Waterman through to the present day with the hugely successful Padam Padam. Through all the highs and lows of an almost 40 year career, it is all here. Kylie is a woman who knows what she wants and does what she wants. Her story is constantly evolving as is her music. She does the unexpected… hello Nick Cave duet , and is always trying something new. Her loyal fans are with her through it all, the press is forever truing to pull her down.

Through her romances, her record label changes, her health battles, her style changes she has lived quite the journey and is still going strong. What I love about her is that she is still down to earth, her fame and fortune has not gone to her head. She is relatable and honest. She is always smiling and she just makes me happy. Het music is fun and puts a smile on my face. Seeing her live in the front row on the Tension tour last year with one of my best friends was a dream come true. It was the most special night and I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face.

Kylie is a woman to look up to and I am proud to be a fan.

[Ross]

maybe i’m a little biased because kylie minogue is my god but i thought this was EXCELLENT

[Daniel Roque]

Despite the nearly 200 pages dedicated solely to "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (rightfully so), if they ever make a Kylie biopic, it MUST be adapted from this book. Not only the highs and lows of the pop star's career, but also Cragg's batshit funny journey across the world in search of her are worthy of being immortalized on the big screen.

A joyous kunt everlasting.

[Bert]

I would’ve loved a little more focus on Kylie’s acting career, but as far as her music career goes, this is so incredibly detailed, I gotta say very impressive. Kudos to the author for the fantastic research and effort they’ve out into crafting a genuinely fascinating read.

[KRISTEN CONNELL]

Can’t Get You Out of My Head: In Search of Kylie is an intriguing attempt to look beyond the familiar image of Kylie Minogue and ask a deceptively difficult question: who is the person behind one of pop music’s most enduring identities?

Michael Cragg approaches Kylie’s extraordinary four decade career not simply as a chronological biography, but as an investigation into how an artist can become both immensely visible and remarkably elusive at the same time. From her beginnings as Charlene in Neighbours and the instant phenomenon of “I Should Be So Lucky” to later reinventions that produced global dance-floor anthems such as “Spinning Around” and “Padam Padam,” Kylie has repeatedly transformed herself without losing the qualities that make her unmistakably Kylie.

That tension between familiarity and mystery is at the heart of the book. How does someone who has sold more than eighty million records, become Australia’s best-selling pop star, and spent decades in the public eye remain so difficult to fully define?

Cragg’s combination of new interviews, oral history, and playful music writing gives him an ideal framework for exploring that question. Rather than simply cataloguing achievements, he examines the cultural forces, collaborators, eras, reinventions, and carefully constructed public images that have shaped Kylie’s extraordinary longevity.

The book is also about much more than celebrity. Kylie’s career provides a fascinating case study in pop culture itself: the relationship between music, fashion, image, sexuality, nostalgia, reinvention, and fandom. Her ability to move between eras and audiences makes her career unusually valuable for understanding how pop stars survive cultural change.

For Kylie devotees, the book promises new perspectives on a familiar icon. For broader readers, it offers an engaging examination of celebrity identity and the strange distance between the public figure we think we know and the person who exists behind that image.

Ultimately, Can’t Get You Out of My Head is compelling because it recognizes that the mystery may be part of Kylie’s enduring appeal. The closer we look, the more fascinating the pop puzzle becomes.

[Lynda]

Although I like Kylie and think she is a fantastic live act my brother is an absolutely massive fan so I was looking forward to reading this. It covers the periods 1986 to the present (2025) concentrating more on her music career than acting although the aim of the book is to discover more about the person that is the phenomenon Kylie.

The author is obviously a fan and has clearly done a lot of research and the details uncovered are fascinating. It’s amazing that such an iconic woman has been able to retain a vestige of mystery and keep her private life largely private.

Kylie is a little pocket rocket. Intelligent, focussed, knowledgeable and a true professional she encompasses all that is right with celebrity. She has the uncanny knack of moving with the times and kudos to her. A fascinating read for all Kylie fans but also for anyone interested in the pop industry and that elusive thing called stardom. Very entertaining (no pun intended) read.

[laura_does_books]

I was absolutely delighted to receive this gorgeous limited “light years album” edition proof copy of this upcoming biography about Kylie Minogue.

My thoughts:
I very much enjoyed this engaging and interesting biography charting Kylie’s long and varied career from playing Charlene in the Aussie soap, “Neighbours”, to becoming an 80’s pop star, right up to the present day.

Meticulously researched, it’s very obvious from the first few pages that the author is a huge Kylie fan and I enjoyed reading his thoughts on his idol aswell as all the facts and figures.
The book was interspersed with chapters featuring recollections from people who have come into contact with Kylie throughout her career, both personally and professionally and I really enjoyed reading these.

If you’re a Kylie fan, you’ll love this book!

Thank you so much to @faberbooks for sending me this lovely early edition.