Cyndi Lauper Is Coming Back Down Under

She’s coming back! After five very, very long years, Cyndi Lauper is finally returning to her adoring fans Down Under.

Lauper-ans across the country will be counting the sleeps until the enigmatic pop-icon steps onto our soil again – among them will be a huge contingent from the LGBTQI+ community. Queer people connected with Lauper from the moment she strutted onto the scene with fiery pink hair and urban-folk attire, telling anyone who would listen that she was unusual and just wanted to have fun. Yeah, girl!

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (now also Thornton) was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a Catholic family. She was penning songs and had already developed her distinctive sartorial expression before she’d even reached her teens. With her home life proving less than ideal, Lauper ventured into the world at age 17 and discovered the outside world and her inner self at the same time.

Destiny Was Right Around The Corner

After an uninspiring stint performing in cover bands, Lauper met musician, John Turi; they then found two guitarists and a drummer and formed Blue Angel. Lauper and Turi wrote most of the original material for the band who released an eponymous album in 1980.

Critics loved Blue Angel but record-buyers didn’t and the group broke up in 1982. Their lack of commercial success coupled with a spiteful lawsuit left each member financially hobbled. Unbeknownst to Lauper, however, her destiny as an immortal Goddess was just around the corner.

Record industry scouts had had an eye on Lauper for some time. She had been offered a solo deal while still with Blue Angel but turned it down. When a contract was placed in front of her a second time, though, she happily got out a pen and signed her first autograph.

She’s So Unusual, Lauper’s debut album, came out in October 1983 and made its presence known across charts, radio stations, record stores and TV. Its multitude of hits included Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Time After Time, She-Bop, Money Changes Everything and When You Were Mine.

Cyndi Lauper Was an Immediate Sensation

Cyndi Lauper was an immediate sensation, defining the sound and aesthetic for the rest of that decade. Her follow-up album, True Colors in 1986, gave us the single by the same name; a song that would go on to be adopted as an anthem of empowerment by minority groups and marginalised individuals, especially queer people.

Proving she was not just a one-trick pony, Lauper turned her hand to acting and played opposite Jeff Goldblum in the romantic comedy Vibes (1988). It wasn’t a huge hit but the song originally written for it (which didn’t make it into the film) was. There’s a hole in my heart that goes all the way to China is a high-spirited, soft punk tune that charted better in Australia and New Zealand than in any other country, reaching ARIA’s number 8.

Lauper continued to record albums, racking up a total of twelve original solo albums to date. She has also made further appearances in film and television and voiced animated characters, including her own avatar in an episode of The Simpsons.

In 2013, Lauper reached another zenith in her career when she wrote the music and lyrics to the stage musical, Kinky Boots. Adapted from the 2005 British film with a book by Harvey Fierstein, Kinky Boots was a hit on Broadway and has collected a thigh-length boot full of trophies including a Grammy Award for “Best Musical Theater Album” and six Tony Awards including “Best Musical” and “Best Original Score”.

With a drag queen as its central character, Kinky Boots is an example of the affinity Lauper has always had with the queer community. It goes much deeper, though. Lauper’s sister, Ellen, is a lesbian and someone whom Lauper greatly admires.

The True Colors Tour

In 2007 and 2008, Lauper headlined the True Colors tour which she also created. It raised awareness and funds for the LGBTQI+ community through organisations such as Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG and the Matthew Shepard Foundation, among others.

In 2008, Lauper founded the True Colors United nonprofit organisation to bring attention to and help address homelessness among LGBTQI+ young people.

Just recently, Lauper established the Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund which will initially support organisations that assist women with access to abortion and reproductive healthcare.

Cyndi Lauper has sold more than 50 million records worldwide, been inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has won Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, Billboard, American Music awards and MTV Music Video awards, but most significantly, she has won hearts around the world.

Australia has always had a soft spot for Cyndi and she, in turn, has expressed her love for the land of Oz. It’s thrilling to think she’ll be back here at a time when the country will be utterly glimmering with Pride colours, bringing her true colours.

An announcement around Cyndi Lauper’s Australian tour is imminent.