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Tracks list
Shine, Change Of Heart, Stay, All Through The Night, She Bop (Rock Version), Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, I Drove All Night, Sisters Of Avalon, Above The Clouds
True Colors, Money Changes Everything, La Vie En Rose, Fearless / Time After Time, Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

Comments by Chris Lowery
This concert was amazing. It was my first Cyndi concert, but it is one I will never forget. I will definately be going to as many more concerts as I can!!!!

Comments by Dan Andrews
Last night’s show at Rama was amazing. It was the 4th time I’ve seen Cyndi in 2 years and she just keeps getting better and better. From the show opener, Shine…through the rock version of She Bop…the new song Above the Clouds and the tremendous closers Time after Time and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi proved why she has such logevity in the business…cuz she kicks @ss! She stopped True Colors after the first chorus to tell and cute little story about being at the Grammy’s then couldn’t remember where she left off…so she started at the beginning…awesome!!! Her banter throughout the show was really appreciated, I love to hear her tell stories about her youth and just hear that cute voice speak…but even better when she sings!!! Standout songs last night: Shine, Change of Heart, She Bop, Sister’s of Avalon, Money Changes Everything and the encores (Fearless/Time after Time & Girls ….). Can’t wait for her new cd and next tour!!!!!!!

Comments by Bonnie
My sister-in-law and I have seen Cyndi four times in the last two years. We saw her last night at Rama and she still rocks! Her vocals are amazing; her sense of humour during the show is hysterical; and she still sings her greatest hits.
I’ve been a huge fan of Cyndi since the ’80’s – right down to my partially shaved and rainbow coloured head and outrageous clothes! I’ve calmed down quite a bit but am still a huge fan.

Comments by Robert Saunders
Saw Cyndi last night at Casino Rama north of Toronto and it was truly an amazing show! Shorter than usual, but the place was packed and the audience was great. She sang one new song that will be released on her new album in November, “Above the Clouds” which was very good. A bit slow, mellow but unforgettable.

She did amazing renditions of “All Through the Night”, “True Colours” (stopping in the middle to tell a story, then going back and doing it from the beginning), “Sisters of Avalon.” She did a rock version of “She-bop” which was pretty good.

“Stay” was incredible – she told the story of being inspired to do it from visiting her aunt’s and standing in the middle between the grownups’ Latin records and the original version played by the kids.

A lot of people requested “Goonies” but she said they’d never rehearsed it. 🙁 And she didn’t do “Sally’s Pigeons” but had the night before, so I was a little disappointed.

All in all a great show, and she looked fantastic!

Comments by Tasha
3rd time seeing Cyndi in Orillia… I had the Shine T.shirt on… 🙂
Cyndi you were fantastic as ever….. Sounded wonderful I loved the Hey Now version instead of the regular version of GJWHF at the end that was neat.
I don’t think I have ever seen her when she hasnt’ come back on for an oncore so was kind a sad that she just kinda wrapped it up real quick..
🙁
I thought her voice really sounded excellent tonight and the band was fab as ever..
My only complaint was the security red shirted variety I don’t believe they belonged to the Casino but I think the guy that was stood at the front left looking at the stage thought it was his show he kept coming up and standing at my side and then going back to the stage like several times and shouting at a kid that just rested his arm on the stage really rudely.. I have never experienced that kinda thing at a Cyndi show before maybe something happened that has led to that kind of atmosphere around her… but it’s too bad, it was kinda distracting.

Comments by Stephanie McNabb
The show at Casino Rama was AWESOME! Cyndi put on such a great show, i loved how she would interact with the audience, and told storys it made you feel like you really knew her. She is such a sweetheart and a down to earh person and a JOY to watch!

Comments by Mort Potter
After driving 7 hours (dragging along a friend who wasn’t really fond of Cyndi Lauper, or anything “pop”) I began to worry that driving over 700 miles (there & back) over two days and spending $90 on a motel room might have been a bit over the top. It was well worth it. My friend greatly enjoyed it, wanting more–“it can’t be over already.”

Her voice, energy and stories were far beyond what I’d expected. She really needs to write a book–an amazing story teller. She still looks and bounces around like she did 20 years ago.

My only complaint was with the audience. That group of duds didn’t keep going after Ms Lauper left the stage to get an encore or two. They just stood up to go. While most of us were far from our teens, the audience didn’t display the level of enthusiasm I’d expect or that she earned.

I hope that she returns to the Great Lakes region soon. When she does, I’ll be there.

Comments by Laura. Bell
Well what can I say, another fabulous and ever memorable weekend at Casino Rama. This year my sister Sandi and I brought our husbands to see Cyndi. You can’t truly appreciate her unless you have the priveledge of seeing her live!! We were able to get a room this year, no more sleeping in the van for us.ha,ha We attended both Friday and Saturday shows and Cyndi was in fine form… Singing her heart out as usual. I loved both shows. We were front row dead center Friday and fourth row dead center Saturday. Cyndi talked alot more on Saturday night and once again shared a few of her stories, like only Cyndi does, keep them coming. One right in the middle of her True Colors song. I guess the thought entered her mind so she stopped the song and started sharing her moment where she was waving her arms with a lighter in hand to Leonard Skynard at the Grammys..Too funny!! We were able to get a hand shake on Saturday seeing that we were one of the ones that Yes, did run up to the front of the stage. Sitting at a Cyndi concert really makes no sense at all? I especially loved Cyndi’s new song Above The Clouds, Can’t wait for the new album to come out in October. It was also great seeing the band members again, (Steve and Bill, thanks for the photo in the lounge.) The tech guys,( Hi Kevin) and Stylist, Nikki. Cyndi thanks for signing my ticket while you were trying to chat with your friends, I really appreciated it. Lastly our weekend wouldn’t be complete without meeting up with the many Cyndi fans that come back every year, like ourselves. Jen and Anthony from New Jersey and friends great seeing you. Jen maybe you, Sandi and I will have better luck next time on our Cyndi quest!! ha,ha I guess asking for the photo was pushing it. All in all, Cyndi continues to delight her fans with her impecable style, Love the new hair, amazing vocals and warm presence..Never can get enough!! Come back soon Cyndi.

Comments by Inti Ali

I finally got to see Cyndi in concert and my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it along with the two friends we brought. We loved your stage presence and your voice was amazing. How do you do it? Thanks Cyndi and Happy Birthday!!(co-incidently your birthday falls on our wedding anniversary)

Comments by John
Last night was the first time I had seen Cyndi perform and was really pleasantly surprised. Great energy, great song selection, wonderful rapport with the audience and her band and the whole night will now be a wonderful memory for years to come. Thanks Cyndi for a great show and LOVED the stripped down version of She Bop!!! Hopefully you’ll come back to Orillia real soon.

Comments by Bernie
this show was awesome!! I’ts was a dream come true for me and my wife since we’re both big fans to watch our idol Cindy Lauper perform live before our eyes. zhope to see and watch more of her concert tours in Canada. Go.. Cindy.. and more power to you!!

Comments by DH
This trip marks my third trip to Orillia, ON to see Cyndi at Casino Rama. Let me tell you kids, it was such a cool experience. She did a new version of Shine, which I really like. For those who haven’t heard it yet, it has an intro to it, and Steve plays some cool cords on the keyboards that is different from the original. The shows were good, but what made it special for me was the people with whom I saw the concert with. She also had a newer version of She Bop, which sounds a lot like Home on Christmas day in the beginning, with the cords played on the guitar. I also heard Above the Clouds, which was a nice ballad. What made this trip even better though, is the people who I met and traveled with. It was my first time meeting Julia and Stefan, as well as a cool couple from London, Canada (not England like I first thought). You guys rock! And, of course Colin, who is such as cool genuine guy. Infuriately, we call came down with a terrible case of T.B. (not tuberculosis) that dampened both nights, however, with a lot of alcohol, positive thinking, and humor we all seemed to weather through the “sagging” situation.

Comments by Rangel Mendes
Cyndi Lauper is just amazing. I was lucky enough to get right up at the stage in front of Cyndi. One of the greatest moment was one she went down on her knees right in front of me singing “All through the Night” while holding my hand. The whole show was great. I’ve been at Casino Rama 6 times in three years to see Cyndi in concert., and definetely I can tell this one was the best. Finally I met my virtual friend from brazil Julia Bertasoli, we had so much fun which started in find our way from Toronto to Orilia, ON. We got lost 3 times.. It was hilarious!!!! Ste, Julia’s husband was such a good heart, for sure they made this time at Casino Rama the best ever. The unbelivable thing was when Cyndi at 12:30 am, after the show went to Casino Rama’s Restaurant and Lounge to have a drink with her band and sat beside me.. we could watch Cyndi having fun with her friends and enjoying her food.!!!

Comments by Grant Bonsant
The concert was absolutely amazing!!!…..Cyndi’s voice was stellar and the sound at RAMA is incredible. People were in awe of her show and her voice! Her little stories that she told during the night were both funny AND interesting!! Great backup band as well. My first time seeing Cyndi live, and I was totally in awe of her voice….you could hear a pin drop when she was singing her ballads, people were so enthralled by her whole show. The crowd broke into a huge round of applause when she hit one particular note that only dogs would have been able to hear if she had gone a semitone higher with it. She’s like a very fine wine…..she only gets BETTER with age.

Comments by Michelle
This show was great! Way better than the one the night before! We decided to stay in our 10th row seats, as we were right up against the stage the night before and wanted to hear the sound a little better. The best part was meeting all the great cyn fans–Julia and Stephane, Donnie, Colin, the “Free Birds”. You guys really made it super great! And even though we didn’t get to speak to Cyndi in the bar, it was great to stare at her and talk about stalker fans! I hope to see everyone at the next show, and remember to keep in touch!

Comments by Orofino
Cyndi is not one of the most, but THE most genuine, talented artists ever. I attended both nights, and this night she was wearing black and white, while last night she had white pants (that kept on falling, which I thought was kind of cute) and a peacock colour shirt. She sang Above The Clouds (a request) a new song from her upcoming CD in October. Last night, she sang my request, Sally’s Pigeon’s. I can’t believe that she held my hand along with a Brazilian man during All through the Night. I kissed her ear and gold earrings, hugged her and kissed her hand. I have been to all of the Casino Rama shows, and I come from Ottawa. I have loved Cyndi and have been inspired by her for over 20 years. She is one of the few artists who truly love her fans, and her fans love her more. Thank you Cyndi for your voice, talent, and love for music. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Lot’s of Love, Orofino.

Comments by Sarah
I can’t believe that this was my first time ever seeing Cyndi live considering how long I’ve been a fan, but man, was it worth the wait! Cyndi was amazing! The sound was great, her voice was awesome, and I loved the new renditions on old favourites! I was in awe the whole time, especially with Cyndi’s energetic stage performance (she could give Gwen Stefani a run for her money!) I must agree with Mort though, that the crowd was much too docile during the concert. I was way in the back and wanted to get up and dance, but didn’t for fear of blocking the view of those sitting behind me. I was disappointed that it took the last song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, to get everyone on their feet. I can’t wait to see her live again (fingers crossed it’s soooon!).

Comments by Sara
I have loved Cyndi since high school. I remember watching early Muchmusic and Friday Night Videos and seeing “Girls…” over and over again. As embarassing as it is to remember, her centrefold pullouts from teen magazines made their way to my bedroom walls. Her energy was totally infectious!

This is the first time I have ever seen Cyndi perform live and it was amazing! When she began Shine, I was blown away. Her voice is powerful, sexy and sweet . She is totally underrated by the current music business and should be given her proper dues. The show was sold out so fortunately the fans recognize her true strength.

This show was absolutely perfect. She was intelligent and colourful and performed like she was in a smokey club, taking requests from the crowd. Amazing!

Last night it happened. The summer’s gayest rock-n-roll tour kicked off in Las Vegas, as the Cyndi Lauper-organized True Colors tour had its premiere show at the MGM Grand Arena. The show was fun, I’ve got lots of photos and more detailed dish coming. But here’s a quickie…

The show featured Margaret Cho hitting the stage, saying “Hey!” and introducing the Dresden Dolls, who sang their freaky, fun cabaret rock with lots of theatrics and drama. They delivered their own hits like “Coin Operated Boy” and some other gems, like the boozy Jaques Brel tune “Amsterdam.”

Next came the Indigo Girls who always sound amazing, serving up their best, like “Closer to Fine”—a lesbian classic if there ever was one— and “Shame On You” and others. Their harmonies are always sublime, and it’s good to hear some fused with some political, liberal smarts, too. Plus, they have that whole lived-in jeans and T-shirt thing down. They’re great.

Deborah Harry delivered a set of her own tunes, and sounded in great voice. And throughout the show Margaret Cho served up killer comedy, linking all the acts.

Rosie O’Donnell took the stage (more on her to follow) to a big standing O, and dished Larry King and Trump, The View, and then came back to play drums later (really!). Erasure lead the arena in a big, fantastically gay dance party, playing some new tunes and fab classics.

But the total star of the show is Cyndi Lauper. Mainly because her good will, sense of humor and unstoppable voice and talent are the concert’s guiding force. She appeared on stage at first to introduce Rosie and a video about the HRC. But when time came for her real set, she delivered big-time.

Lauper emerged from the shadows in a rainbow-hued feathered hat, long black wig and a brilliant purple strapless dress and proceeded to rock out to her classic “Hole in My Heart.” As she did for the rest of the night, she charged all over the stage (she does this one sideways dance move that is a cool, little shimmy) and belted, her trademark voice stronger than ever. She included a few new songs, but also served up fun versions of some of her best-loved tunes, like “I Drove All Night,” the theme from Goonies, “She-Bop” (done in a groovy, slower-paced guitar-strummy version), “When You Were Mine,” “Money Changes Everything” and more. On “Shine” she was joined by Rosie O’Donnell on drums, which was kind of weird, but also kind of festive. Who knew?

Cyndi is amazing at interacting with the crowd. She ran out into the arena a couple of times, singing from the side sections amid the audience, and she’d run out to the end of the stage and ham it up with guys in the front row, and just chatted and joked throughout.

She also was fighting a rather fun ongoing battle with the bustline of her dress, with a constant hazard of spilling out of the bustier-styled top completely. As a safeguared, she had stripey heart pasties on underneath, fully ready for a wardrobe malfunction. And she even donned a big button-down that one of the guys in the audience tossed her, to cover up any possible boob spillage.

And yes, she ended her set with a blisteringly fab version of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” And it was clear that Cyndi herself was having a blast! And so was the crowd.

Encore-time Cyndi bopped around onstage with all of the other acts joined in a big, giddy group version of Abba’s “Take a Chance On Me,” before ending things finally with a really sweet, almost poignant version of—what else?—“True Colors.”

Well done, Cyn. You rocked out, organized this tour with will raise gobs of money and awareness for gay rights causes, you look fab and you just don’t stop. You rule…

Raised in Ozone Park, Queens, Cyndi Lauper swept onto the music scene in 1984 with her album She’s So Unusual, the first debut record by a solo artist to spin off four top five singles, including Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Time after Time. When the Grammy Award-winning singer married actor David Thornton in 1991 at the Friends Meeting House on Gramercy Park, Little Richard led the couple in the recitation of their non-traditional vows and Patti LaBelle sang the wedding theme. For Nick Cassavetes’ new film Unhook the stars, Lauper has contributed two haunting new songs to the soundtrack. The film stars Cassavetes’ mother, Gena Rowlands, and co-stars Lauper’s husband, who plays Marissa Tomei’s abusive spouse. The Kewpie-doll-voiced singer will release her latest album, Sisters of Avalon (Epic records), early next year.

Interview by Deborah Scott

I usually get up around nine – anytime before that is a little obscene for me. But no matter what time it is, I’m always late for whatever I have to do because there’s just not enough time in a day.
If I work out, it’s from 9 to 10:30. Since I never make it to the gym, I have to do one-on-one with my trainer. Right now we are into yoga and doing some weights.

Also I run around the reservoir. This summer I was doing five miles. My husband, David, just ran the New York City marathon for the fifth time. I live between my places on the Upper West Side and Connecticut, but mostly out of my suitcase, which is kind of disconnecting. All my friends are downtowners, so it’s strange to be “upstate” (that’s what we call it uptown). The good news is that Ricky’s, the beauty supply store, has moved up here, so there’s a lot of people running around with colored hair.

I grew up in Ozone Park, where I was really a geek. I didn’t have too many friends. I went back once, but it’s completely different; I don’t have a lot of ties there. The idea of buying a house in Connecticut was to be a New Englander, like in the Pepperidge Farm commercial where the guy is riding in the wagon and everything moves really slow.

I used to collect antiques until the house cleaners turned the heat up to 100 degrees and everything cracked. For awhile we were only buying armoires. Then we realized we had nothing to sit on and had to buy a sofa.

I always wanted to live in Cape Cod, like Lillian Hellman. I did once for about a minute, but it didn’t work out. Someday I’ll get back there.

I wrote and recorded a lot of my new record, Sisters of Avalon, in Connecticut and Tennessee, where my friend Jan Pulsford lives in the woods. I can’t write in the city except in the middle of the night. That’s when I wrote Fearless with Catherine Russell. In the city, the phones never stop, the traffic’s awful. It’s like a Monty Python film or something from Charlie Chaplin movie.

One day I was sitting having my hair done, and I looked around at who was in my appartment. There was my makeup artist, my dog trainer, my cat therapist, my stylist, assistant and cousin. When some men came in to move the furniture my stylist, Cheryl Wilson, said, “Where’s the flame thrower ?”
I hired the cat therapist about a year ago when I got a new dog, a chocolate Labrador, which upset the cats — two are Burmese and one is part Siamese, part Burmese.

The first therapist I hired was particularly nutty. My cousin was scared of her. The therapist sprinkled some catnip-like dust around and played the cats tapes. By the time I had finished paying her, I figured she had a racket and I should get into it.

I don’t have time for breakfast. Sometimes I forget to eat until dinner. This morning I just grabbed some cereal that David picked up; it’s called Kamutios and it’s made out of an ancient Egyptian grain.My diet is something I really have to conquer. When I need the energy, I tend toward coffee and sugar, or else pump myself full of vitamins, and that’s no good either. It makes you to yin, which means not enough fire. You feel cold at night and get colds.

Now that I am preparing for my tour to Japan, I go to rehearsals, where I have to remember my new songs, figure out how I arranged them with my partner, as well as do the lighting, the merchandising and the set list. We want to do mostly new songs, but have to do some of the old ones too.My favorite time is when I am writing. It usually takes a day to write a song – it depends what the song is. I wrote Fearless in about an hour.

Once you are in there and know what you are doing, it comes naturally. When you have to sit with other people to collaborate, its shell-shock. Lately I have been collaborating with my friend, Janet.

We sit down together and I play dulcimer or guitar – not well, but I write on these instruments – and Janet has a keyboard.The collaborative process is different each time. I don’t think lighting strikes in the same place twice. If you try and go back to the same formula, it may not work. It has to be a discovery.

We’re different Jan and I, but we kind of match. One day we sat together and she started to play keyboard and I just started singing. We wanted it to be kinda “ska” – I’m a fan of ska music.When I’m writing, I don’t do anything else; I just work. We might take a drive and get some lunch.

When I eat, ideally it’s chicken or fish. This summer I was good and ate a lot of protein and vegatables. If I’m throwing caution to the winds I’ll have carbs, rice and beans – but carbs mess me up.

I once had a cook, but I was never home to eat. I went to a nutritionist, who said, “Eat this amount of meat, grab an apple and put almond butter on it.” It sounded good but I couldn’t keep up with it.At night, if I’m not writing, I spend time with my husband, renting videos or going out to the movies or dinner.

There’s this great Sicilian resturant – I’m half Sicilian, a quarter Swiss and a quater German – at 10th street and fourth ave called Briscola that has the best gelato I’ve ever tasted. I get the hazelnut kind whenever I can. It’s tough, though, since I have a lactose intolerance – sinus stuff. We got married at the Friends Meeting House and had our reception at Briscola, where they have changed the look, but it stil has the same owners.

Davis’s an actor so he loves films. We look at them differently. I like to look at the backdrops, shots, clothes, and lighting. David opened a whole world to me. I have never heard of Satyajat Ray and I wasn’t at all familiar with the director Akira Kurosawa.

David went to Yale Drama School, so he’s a Yalie. The way I wrote the songs for Nick Cassevetes’ film, Unhook the Stars was through David. Nick sent me the script and I really related to it.

Basically at night, David and I talk about whatever happened during our day. I like to talk about him because I’m sick of what’s happening to me. You don’t want to wind up with that famous persons disease: You know, “Enough about me — how about more about me ?”

Grand in Las Vegas. The tour was organized and headlined by Cyndi Lauper to raise awareness (and funds) for gay and lesbian rights, and was co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, The Matthew Shepherd Foundation, PFLAG, and a few others. Opening night featured performances by The Dresden Dolls, the Indigo Girls, Debbie Harry, Erasure, and Cyndi Lauper.

Margaret Cho was the emcee of the event, and she did such a great job that my fear of a lot of down-time between acts was never realized. Cho did stand-up and smoothly tied all the performances together, with nary a moment to be bored. Special surpise guest Rosie O’Donnell also popped in for a stand-up session, and later played percussion on a few Cyndi Lauper songs.

All the bands were super, although I guess I’m getting old because I thought Debbie Harry was just too loud. I’m going to end up being the dork with wearing my Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones at future concerts I attend. Dresden Dolls were the first act to perform, and although I’d really never heard of them before, I thought they were entrancing. Their performance was simple yet theatrical, and my eyes were glued to the stage the entire time.

For some reason, the venue didn’t offer the show on video screens (even though the video screens were present), so I unfortunately wasn’t able to fully appreciate the Dolls’ costumes and facial expressions. I’ve had two of their songs, “Coin-Operated Boy” and “Sex Changes” stuck in my head since the show ended (I think they also played “Shores of California” and “Girl Anachronism”, but I’m a new fan so don’t bet money on that).

Indigo Girls were next, celebrating almost twenty years of touring. They played four songs together (“Closer to Fine”, “Shame on You”, “Pendulum Swinger”, and “Galileo”), and Amy Ray performed one solo piece on a mandolin (I believe… my knowledge of instruments is a bit generalized), “Let it Ring”. They were wonderful, as they always are, and I was glad they were able to appear at the Vegas show. They start a tour of their own next week, which I assume is why they only appeared in Las Vegas.

Debbie Harry performed with a full band, debuting songs from an as-yet-unreleased album. Some of the songs were quite good and catchy, and a couple of them were pretty awful. I thought her performance was stiff and stilted, but my partner says that even in her younger years, Harry was never a very animated singer. She’ll probably improve as the tour continues, as she and the band had a couple of glitches and miscommunications, and continued practice should fix that.

I don’t know anything about Erasure except that I’ve heard many of their songs on the radio, but they were pure, shiny techno. Their staging was like something from Star Trek, all silver and glitter, with three background vocalists who were illuminated in a way which make them look as if Scotty was about to beam them up. Andy Bell sounded great, is a great dancer, and a fun performer. I’m happy I had the chance to see them, and I’d definitely see them again if I had the opportunity.

Cyndi Lauper closed the show, which lasted a little over four hours. If you’ve ever seen Lauper perform before, she was her usual funny and spontaneous self. She sang her classics, like “Money Changes Everything”, “I Drove All Night”, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough”, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, and a very cool and dark arrangement of “She-Bop”. She introduced a couple of songs as “being new”, so I assume that means “unreleased”. The show closed with all the performers singing a group version of “True Colors”, as well as a cover of ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me”.

I’m sorry I can’t provide more detailed set lists for Debbie Harry, Erasure, and Cyndi Lauper. They each sang at least ten songs, and I’d gotten to the point of brain overload and couldn’t remember any more information. I can tell you that Erasure did not sing, “Master and Servant”, because that’s a song by Depeche Mode, which shows you how well informed I am about these things. I happen to know every single lyric to every Indigo Girls’ song every recorded, and that’s how I used up all my little grey cells.

There was an afterparty held at Studio 54, and the audience was invited to attend, but my partner and I didn’t because of the high cover charge ($40 each), as well as the fact we’re generally old and sleepy. A video of the “red carpet” outside of the club appeared on the website “Raw Vegas” today, but only Margaret Cho, Andy Bell of “Erasure”, and The Dresden Dolls are interviewed. I don’t know if that means they were the only ones in attendance.

The True Colors Tour runs until the end of June, keeping up a crazy schedule of fifteen cities in 22 days. I’m already plotting about how I could attend the final show in Los Angeles on June 30th.

Review written by: Leigh Ann Gerow

The Woman who didn’t want to be Madonna.

Louise Gannon meets Cyndi Lauper, the singer whose look and attitudes predated the Material Girl.
Cyndi Lauper is standing in a hotel suite holding two copies of her latest CD’s in front of her naked breasts. A photographer snaps away. “It’s for the Sun,” she yelps in her Betty Boop comic-strip voice. “They’re gonna put me on Page Three.”

Ten minutes later and dressed in a grey jumper with her hair coloured blue and green, she shrugs her shoulders: “They’re not exploiting me. Hell, I’m exploiting them. I used the album and the single. You won’t be able to miss them in that shot.” She lets out a quick burst of laughter. Cyndi Lauper hasn’t had a hit in a while. Fifteen years ago, it might all have been different – if Cyndi had wanted it to be. There was a time when her look, her attitude and even her voice proved the inspiration for another New York wannabe.

“In the early Eighties I got famous,” She recalls. “I found it terrifying. I felt embarrassed because I thought I wasn’t good enough. I spent the first few years trying to find places to hide away. “I remember the first time I saw pictures in a magazine of a girl wearing the same sort of freaked-out clothes I wore. I went cold. I felt that my identity had been stolen. It probably explains why I changed my look so often. I’m always running away.”

So when the fellow New York lost girl Madonna came along with her similar image and similar songs, Cyndi stepped back and allowed her to get on with it. Many have attacked Madonna for cashing in on Lauper’s ideas but she just smiles; “I could never had done what she did or live the life she does.” At 43, Cyndi seems to be having fun again. She looks in excellent shape. Her figure is tiny and toned (yoga and jogging) and her skin appears unlined. “It’s a family secret,” she says. “I’ve been putting moisturizing creams on my face since I was nine.

My grandmother is 96 and she has the skin of a baby.” But Cyndi doesn’t want to talk about skin-care. She wants to talk about her music. “People are still more hung up about how I look than how I perform.” Her new album, Sisters of Avalon, is released on February 10th and the single, You Don’t Know, should enter the charts this Sunday. She is excited about the project, believing that it’s one of her best albums.

“When I was a kid I really, really wanted to be famous. I loved to sing, I loved to dress up. I loved to live in an alternative world to the one I was stuck with. I had a lot of misery with a step-father who physically abused my mother and terrified me, my brother and my sister.” Cyndi has since found her own happiness. In 1992 she married Scots-born film director David Thornton (he is currently working on Home Alone III). “He sorted my head out. I have a lot of daemons but he can handle them. I’d split up with my fiancé, who was also my manager, and fallen into a really abusive relationship. David came along and I was calm again.”

She would like children, but refuses to be traumatized if nothing happens. “I love that I am working again even though it keeps me away from David. He encourages me to put down my thoughts and feelings on paper. At first I hated it because I’m dyslexic, but now I love it. David told me that I was a poet and I could express myself better than anyone, even if the spellings are all wrong.” She smiles and adds: “And with a man like that, you can see why I am so happy.”

Which is definitely something Madonna can’t say.

AFTER some 20 years being the girl who described herself so successfully in She’s So Unusual back in the 1980s, Cyndi Lauper has gone through various reinventions over the years, with different rates of success. When a pink-haired, baby-voiced singer who had less style but greater vocal talent than Madonna burst upon the music world and a fledgling MTV scene back then, she offered a bright, colourful fusion of pop, New Wave and post-punk. Compared to those beginnings, this album seems to be a complete about-turn for the singer.

Believe it or not, Lauper is 50 years old this year and it may be apropos for a singer who has always found a tune in the quirkiest of ways to have produced that which is unexpected, a confection of material that grows on you. At Last is an album that delves into her nostalgic memories of growing up in New York’s Queens district, where working class communities came together on the weekends regardless of race and creed.

Each summer, Lauper recalls, music and families spilled out of row houses into back yards. For all the cultural differences, we all had two things in common: a love of music; and the believe that Manhattan was Mecca. The album is more about old standards reinterpreted in her inimitable style than it is about Manhattan, though; these songs have been sung before by artistes as diverse as Santa Esmeralda and Edith Piaf.

This is perhaps Lauper’s most successful attempt to re-establish herself as a serious artiste in recent times and as a real grown-up At Last is all about adult contemporary music. The arrangements of the songs are minimal, but there are playful moments where a Latin beat insinuates itself in Stay and there are shimmering strings in Unchained Melody. In the forefront of all the songs, though, her own voice is still as compelling and forceful.

Songs like Unchained Melody, At Last and Hymn To Love profile her voice at its most tender, whether the tone is yearning and heartfelt in the former or scorchingly bluesy in At Last. The vocals can be versatile in the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song Walk On By, she turns Dionne Warwick’s version inside out as she takes on a darker tone, all shadows and melancholy compared to Warwick’s comparatively sunnier original.

Tracks like My Baby Just Cares for Me and On the Sunny Side of the Street profile Lauper at her quirkiest, and the element of fun injected into the tracks is strongly evident. The only song obviously off the mark is La Vie En Rose, where her vocals are too strong and harsh and mars the soft-edged implications of this classic torch song.

At Last is the latest chronicle of how much Lauper has matured and moved on into new territory, and this transition to a new image is the smoothest to date for the album is intimate, resonant in its personality and difficult to resist, quirks and all.

Cyndi Lauper should make a pop-umentary film. It could be a fruit punch montage. With comedic flip footage of Cyndi sporting her manic-panic hair-do on the street in “Girls just wanna have fun” and spots of her talking to a ceramic dalmatian in her “Time after Time” video, it’d be a smash. For the art-house folks, rushes of Lauper wandering on a beach with a chandelier on her head during her “True Colors” phase complemented by voice clips of her acceptance speeches form her Grammy (Best New Artist) and Emmy (guest appearances in Mad About You) would be sure to astound.

For the intellectual, a portion of the film could be devoted to Gloria Steinem and Camille Paglia discussing whether Lauper was worthy enough to be Ms magazine’s woman of the year in 1985 and whether or not “She-Bop” is really a song about female masturbation. Enter Polaroids of Captain Lou Albano, slides of her zany fruit basket concerts and overlapping images of every album she released (with transparent floating Billboard charts as background) and “She-Bop!” the film is almost over.

Towards the ending of this imaginary flick, a home movie premise: Cyndi’s newest album Sisters Of Avalon is being recorded in Tennessee, New York, New England and finished with Cyndi meeting Japan’s rock group Shang Shang Typhoon to record “Mother”. The one through line: The fabulous muddle that Lauper was, is and presumably, will continue to be. Elio Iannacci: IT SEEMS THAT YOU, LADY MISS KIER AND CRYSTAL WATERS ARE THE LAST GROUP OF POP SOCIALISTES IN NEW YORK.

Cyndi Lauper: Oh, you’re kidding me, no. I don’t think so, really ? I don’t know if [the places I hang out] are really hobnob. Maybe I go to Lips, and hang out, that’s pretty slick. I adore Junior [Vasquez], so when he’s playing I go and sneak in.

EI: YOU MADE QUITE AN IMPRESSION AT THE GAY GAMES WITH YOUR DRAG TROUP…
CL: The Gay Games were really important to me. And I just try to make time for things that are really very important. I actually did the Gay Games [because] I’ve always wanted to. I have a very close friend [Chris Tanner] who is an artist and performs in drag. He helped put [everything] together for me. He was saying, “You should have your own float with all of us on it”, and I said “Well how am I going to do that in two weeks ?” He said “You can do it, you’re Cyndi Lauper !” And actually it was fabulous. I really felt gay pride. I was with my friends and my sister, and it just made me feel so proud. Greg Louganis was on our float so we felt very important.

EI: SO YOU’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH THE QUEENS.
CL: Well, I was on tour with these drag queens when I had to do some promotion in Europe. I toured through Italy and Spain and Copenhagen. We were in Amsterdam, we were wild. And in Italy we were in a tour bus driving.

EI: JUST YOU AND THE DRAG QUEENS IN FULL DRAG ?
CL: Well, they were…They live like that ?

EI: IN THE MIDDLE OF ITALY ?
CL: Yeah. It was wild. They were yelling out: “Daddy !Daddy !”- it was hysterical ! When we were in Spain we went on this TV show and we really did this number and it was kind of hysterical ’cause I’m not a dancer, so it was kind of camp. When you do something camp, you can do anything. We got there, we run on stage, we do our number, and it’s for Spain, and they’re all just sitting there, just looking at us. I felt like we were bad, like I was in Catholic school again, and I did something really bad. [The audience] was kind of shocked.

EI: WAS “THE BALLAD OF JOE AND CLEO” BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THEM ?
CL: The people that I wrote it for will know that it’s not really [directly] about them, it’s just the human side of being different. Like my friend Chris Tanner told me once, “You know, when I dress up in drag I dress like a woman, but because I feel like more of a man when I do.” And I thought, I understand that, so I wrote it.

EI: HOW WOULD YOU SAY SISTERS OF AVALON IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR EARLIER WORK ?
CL: Sisters of Avalon is more relaxed. I think there’s more of me. And I always try to write about the people I know and love because if you’re a writer, that’s the one thing you’ve gotta do. Obviously from listening to this record, my circle of friends are…(laughs)… well, this is my circle of friends, you know. I always felt that in life there’s that grey area [that is] always more difficult. There’s people who don’t fit into the square pegs and round holes.

EI: YOU ONCE SAID IN ROLLING STONE THAT “IT’S NOT TOUGH TO BE YOURSELF.” DO YOU STILL BELIEVE IT ?
CL: It’s harder to be someone else. Although, you’re always refining yourself. There are some habits that you have that stink, So you have to change them. I just think that sometimes people refine the fabulous out of themselves and make themselves very humdrum, plain and have strange values on what they think is important, and just for me, with music I had to remember the joy of music because I’d forgotten. I got tied up in being a star.

EI: WHEN AND HOW DID THAT HAPPEN ?
CL: About 1986 and 1989 was the worst of it, and I just said “forget it.” I walked away. If I didn’t walk away I’d still be a hamster on a treadmill. It’s still hard to maintain what it is you want, what makes you happy, to keep it all in balance.

EI: IT SEEMS THAT IN THE 80’s WITH “TRUE COLORS”, YOU COINED THE PHRASE FOR A WAY OF LIFE. WHAT’S YOUR NEW MESSAGE TO US ?
CL: Oh my. Me, a new message ? I don’t know. I just wrote these stories. I write what I know but I don’t know about new messages. [Sisters] is a journey, I just hope that people can listen to the music and that it will be empowering. In the 80’s I tried to write about what I say and heard around me. I tried to capture the pulse and the sound. But this record is about now. There’s great moments right now.

EI: DID YOU READ THE FILM SCRIPT BEFORE WRITING “UNHOOK THE STARS” ?
CL: I read it, and of course I say it. That’s my husband in it, he played Frankie [David Thorton]. I read script first, and that’s when I started writing it. I had spoken with a lot of women who told me [how] their husbands passed away- they were older and one woman especially really moved me. [After talking with her] I read the script [again] and I said “Oh, my god, I know what this is.”

EI: IN AN ARTICLE YOU WROTE IN THE MELODY MAKER, YOU LISTED CELIA CRUZ AS AN IDOL. HAVE YOU MET HER YET ?
CL: I did ! I burst out crying…I was such a jerk…I could hardly talk to her. So stupid though, ‘cuz you feel like an idiot. She’s fabulous, she still dances and sings ! She’s a hot woman !

TORONTO — She sang, she danced, she headlined. Oh and she bopped too.

The first True Colors tour made its lone Canadian stop at the Molson Amphitheatre last night, with Cyndi Lauper closing the five-hour, six-act show. And while she’ll be turning 54 a few days from now, the singer still wowed the crowd with a bevy of hits from her heyday as well as some new material.

Opening with Hole In My Heart and wearing an umbrella-like hat with an orange wig underneath, Lauper and her five-piece cast energized the already energetic crowd by dancing barefoot, shaking hands with those on the floor and going deep into the audience.

The tour, created by Lauper, is in support of the Human Rights Campaign aimed at bringing awareness and advocating issues facing the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. A portion of the show’s proceeds also goes to Pride Toronto.

After thanking the crowd for coming, Lauper, who came on roughly 25 minutes later than originally planned, tore through songs such as the disco-tinged new tune Set Your Heart before dishing out When You Were Mine.

While fans enjoyed the early songs, Lauper left her best for last, with the punchy pop tune Money Changes Everything and the almost obligatory Girls Just Want To Have Fun slated for the homestretch.

Although she was the headliner on the bill, it appeared that Lauper might have been upstaged by British dance faves Erasure. Led by the flamboyant dancing maven Andy Bell, the group’s electro-meets-techno pop was well received from start to finish.

Opening with Sunday Girl, Bell, keyboardist Vince Clarke and three female backing singers shone with Chains Of Love, Oh L’Amour and especially during A Little Respect which made the roughly two-thirds filled venue feel like a discotheque.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Debbie Harry, not for what she performed but more for what the lead singer of Blondie singer didn’t.

Although showcasing some new material from her upcoming album Necessary Evil, Harry never dished out a single Blondie hit, instead relying on basically unknown pop songs like Whiteout and the ballad-ish If I Had You. The result left many sitting on their hands.

While Harry didn’t go over so great, fans lucky to arrive early got an eyeful and earful from rock trio The Gossip. Fronted by the rather hefty but extremely dynamic Beth Ditto, the group’s dance-rock set closed with Standing in the Way of Control. Ditto also managed to rip off her dress for the song, wearing nothing but her undergarments and leaving little to the imagination.

Other opening acts included the cabaret-meets-rock duo Dresden Dolls as well as local band The Cliks, who seemed to take pride in the fact they were playing at home during Pride Week.

Unquiet, graceful, ironical and, for moments, severe like a executive secretary, showed herself the goodness of POP in HER recent visit in Chile. CYNDI LAUPER is a combination of all this and much more. With HER voice of an animated cartoon, was much clear that about rock, CYNDI has much to down. The creator of songs like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” or “True Colors” said that for a woman, was really difficult to be someone in this male world of rock. What SHE did to enter in equality of conditions was create HER own band and work alone. Was tired of pull down HER head before the men’s decision.

Of Chile, said that remember of the sky and the ground, because in the dark time, was the only thing that SHE remember of HER first visit, and SHE knows that Chile is full of people who like very much of HER. Said that is a mutual feeling. CYNDI is very thin, wear shoes with high heels with trousers that make to see till more HER legs.

HER hair can be seen of meters of distance, per the color “canary-yellow”, ordered in “ones” that aren’t tresses. Tell that was original since HER birth, in Brooklyn, New York.

Since SHE was a little child, SHE paint, writes poesy and sing. At twelve years old, already composed and played guitar in folk style. Being out of the college, created the band Blue Angel, and with them, recorded a disc in 1980 that included the songs “Maybe He’ll Know” that SHE put lately in HER album “True Colors”.

The big debut of CYNDI LAUPER was in 1984 with “She’s So Unusual”, that sold more than 15 millions of copies in all the world. The success followed in ’86 with “True Colors” and after the recess, in 1990 continued with “A Night to Remember”. In our country, came to present HER new disc “Twelve Deadly Cyns”…and then some, that has 16 songs, that between them, surpass “Hey Now” that is a new version of the classic “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”. And CYNDI says that follow being a girl that just want to have fun and to fun HER fans.

I am my rival. Very much transgressor is you CYNDI… How do you combine this condition with the much established of your marriage?

With love. My husband loves me, for this that he don’t be afraid when he wake each day with a different woman… is to say, that’s me, what happen is that frequently wear my hair and my “look” without the shorter advice. That’s why I like my husband… everything in me, he likes. Well, that’s what he said me always.

I’m not so transgressor. I like to have the things in their place. All the things. For example a song, a combination of good themes in a show, a good actor in a movie… a husband that is a good lover… all these things.

Why do you use this hairdressing ?

Did I ask to you when did you cut your hair the last time or when did you decide that your hairdressing that you use fall good in you ?… no ? So, why do you ask to me ? I have my reason for comb me this way…

Which are ?

My love for the painting. Since I was a little child, I have a big love for the plastic, before I paint, soon I did photography, for all that has a combination of colors, of textures, of materials of various types in the same work, touch me. I had wanted to be a painter, paint when I have time, for this I don’t paint very much.

Is that true that Madonna is your big rival ?

Who is Madonna ? Didn’t come with me. No, in reality she isn’t my rival neither my friend. Isn’t nothing. Don’t interest me to talk about her. The only rival that I have is myself., overall when I don’t get a good recording as I want or if I lost the lights in one of my shows… In reality can’t exist a rival of mine bigger than myself.

NEW YORK, NY – For the first time ever, music legends and today’s hottest artists take the stage for a historical musical event -Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls, The Gossip and The Misshapes with host Margaret Cho join in celebration of the inaugural True Colors concert tour in support of the Human Rights Campaign. This 15 city nationwide tour, presented by Logo, kicks off Gay & Lesbian Pride Month on June 8th at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The concerts will feature five hours of nonstop music with other exciting special guests appearing on select dates throughout the tour including Rufus Wainwright, Rosie O’Donnell and Indigo Girls with additional guests to be announced.

The True Colors Tour was conceived by Cyndi Lauper stemming from her desire to give back to the community for the love and support they have given her throughout her career. Through a joint program with the Human Rights Campaign-the nation’s largest organization working for GLBT equality- as well as PFLAG and The Matthew Shepard Foundation, the True Colors Tour will bring together Americans across the country to voice their solidarity against discrimination and for equality and raise public awareness about the issues facing the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. One dollar of every ticket sold will benefit the work of the Human Rights Campaign.

True Colors is a celebration of the basic values and freedoms that should be shared by all Americans. Fans will experience these values through the music of both legendary icons and the newest and coolest acts this generation has to offer. “As an American I was raised to believe that all people have the right to live with the same dignity, opportunity and safety. This should include everyone no matter what gender or sexual orientation,” said Lauper. “This tour was created to celebrate our differences by raising awareness for liberty, fairness and dignity for everyone – not just some of us. Our fans can come out to celebrate a great cause while also hearing some great music.”

Host for the musical events Margaret Cho says, “I am thrilled to be part of this tour because I am about as colorful and as queer as it gets. Who else is going to keep all those Queens in line?”

Human Rights Campaign seeks to improve the lives of GLBT Americans by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law and increasing public support among all Americans through innovative advocacy, education and outreach programs. HRC works to secure equal rights for GLBT individuals and families at the federal and state levels by lobbying elected officials, mobilizing grassroots supporters, educating Americans, investing strategically to elect fair-minded officials and partnering with other GLBT organizations. HRC has close to 600,000 members — all committed to making this vision of equality a reality. Visit http://www.hrc.org/ for more information.

“Without fear Cyndi Lauper has been a champion for equality for not only gay and lesbian Americans but for all people,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Cyndi has always stood with us and selflessly used her talents to promote fairness for everyone. We are honored to be a part of the True Colors tour which will empower both gay and straight Americans to show solidarity against discrimination.”