Debbie Gibson’s advice to young pop stars
In this series, Take 7, our favorite artists and thinkers wax philosophical on the same seven pressing questions.
Debbie Gibson remembers three things from her last tour to Australia in 1989, 37 years ago.
“I remember holding a koala bear. I remember being given a gold record at the Hard Rock Cafe. And I remember the lovely kids in Indecent Obsession. They opened for me and I went out with David Dixon for a minute in New York,” she says, laughing.
The 55-year-old ’80s pop icon, who will tour Australia with Go West this August and September, looks almost a decade ahead of her teenage phenom days. He keeps mementos of the period close to him in his home studio in Las Vegas.
“My original Electric Youth the sign is right here,” she says, turning her laptop camera to reveal the giant neon sign that graced the cover of her chart-topping album in 1989. “Normally it’s plugged in, but it makes me look a little green when I’m doing an interview, like Elphaba vibes.”
1. Your worst habit?
I’m so messed up. I can’t put things back where I found them, which is weird because I’m a Virgo. I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder, but I have a lot of things. My fans constantly give me gifts on the road and I hate to leave them. I’m a dachshund mom, so I get a lot of dachshund-themed gifts. Since they’re also called “hot dogs,” some of the gifts are a bit winky.
2. Your biggest fear?
I joke with my voice teacher: Sometimes when I’m singing she says, “Be a little more cool.” Because above all else, I am an extreme singer, an extreme doer! We joke that I’m not cold-blooded cool. My biggest fear is being so indifferent that I don’t care about anything. I’m proud of myself for being so invested in the things I care about. I never want to walk around feeling numb, dull, unavailable.
3. The line that stays with you?
From my songwriting hero Billy Joel: “I’d rather laugh with sinners than cry with saints, sinners are so much more fun.” I love the rebellion in this lyric. It’s a sentence all about being alive.
I’ve never been known as a bad girl, but I do have a naughty side. I went to a gala last week where people were wearing gowns, and I was focused on wearing this rock ‘n’ roll mini dress. This is my rebellion against ageism and sexism.
I’ve always been the kind of girl who can stand on her own no matter what. I sang I Want To Destroy You I was the first one on stage at CBGB with the Circle Jerks. I didn’t know going back would be so much more economical.
4. Your biggest regret?
I had a cat named Gleason, but I went through a very difficult time financially and emotionally in my 30s – I was actually divorcing my late mother, who was my manager – and I thought: “I’m giving up my house, I’m going on the road, I can’t take care of him!” So I remarried her. The current me couldn’t fathom doing this. I wish I had the mental and emotional tools to find a solution back then.
There was a flat that I similarly gave up on and I keep saying, “Damn! I wish I still had it.” At the time, I chose to use the money to make an album, but I wish I had found a way to keep the apartment as well. It was a first-floor duplex on the corner of 81st Street and Columbus Avenue in New York. I renewed it and I liked it very much. But my lifestyle didn’t matter to me at that time. All I cared about was my art.
5. Tell us about your turning point.
I was in my early 40s. I was doing reality shows and I was on a show about real estate. I didn’t have the money to buy a $10 million apartment in New York City at the time, but—because these shows were supposed to be inspirational—the show didn’t want to do $3,000-a-month rental tours. That kind of dishonesty felt like I was selling my soul a little bit.
This was a symptom of how I got started in the music business. When you start out, you are told that you have to do whatever is asked of you in order to sell records, so by saying yes you are brainwashed and disconnected from the original. I was already an independent artist, but that’s when I became my own woman, like, “I’m doing things on my own terms.”
I warn young artists about this: Don’t say yes to everything. All you have in terms of money is your honesty and integrity. Your fans stick with you because they’re like, “Oh, he’s his own person.”
6. Was the artwork you wanted your own?
Michael Jackson’s Income lid. When I think of the most classic pop album cover of all time, this is always what comes to mind. I don’t think anyone has ever looked this cool with a color photo of themselves wearing just gym clothes. It’s chic, classic and oozes so much energy and sensuality.
7. If you could travel in time, where would you choose to go?
I’d love to be in that room when George Michael was writing and producing Wake Me Up Before You GoOne of my favorite pop songs of all time. I know what an impact these songs had on me, but when he said, “Boom boom you put it in my heart,” I would love to experience where that was coming from. I’m literally getting goosebumps right now! I have a feeling George is there and stopped by to say hello.
Debbie Gibson will perform with Go West at Perth’s Astor Theater on 25 August, Sydney’s Enmore Theater on 28 August, Melbourne’s Palais Theater on 29 August, Adelaide’s The Gov on 31 August, Hobart’s Odeon Theater on 2 September and Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on 4 September.
Robert Moran is deputy Spectrum editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
