Beyond the big hits and dancefloor fillers there are plenty of hidden delights to be found in Kylie’s diverse back catalogue. This is Classic Pop’s pick of the best of the crop…

In a career that’s hurtling towards spanning the 40-year mark, Kylie Minogue has built up a fair array of deep cuts, ignored tracks and general unreleased excitement, that navigating through it all can seem a little daunting.

The internet is flooded with off-cuts and demos originally recorded for particular albums, that it’s odd that a full-on reissue/deluxe-up treatment hasn’t been mooted on her catalogue, if only to give fans a glimpse into the conceptual stages of how each album was put together and what was deemed dreadful or not.

In this list, we’ve tried to rustle around and also sought counsel from fans as to what should be on the list. While Your Disco Needs You may not need any introduction – it’s an track that’s probably far better known than some of the actual hits – there are still a lot of strong emotions about Parlophone’s refusal to put it out as a single. But best not get in too deep with that, trust us…

There are also a handful of cover versions that have turned up in unlikely places that are worth cocking an ear to, too, that only the very vigilant appears to keep track of.

We’ve refrained from going down the route of selecting singles that should’ve fared better, banging on about the ‘low chart placing’ of Some Kind Of Bliss – a UK No.22, no less – seems almost quaint these days when people would remove a limb for such a position, and there’s a few tracks here that you could bandy a petition for them to be properly released.

Anyway, here we have, in alphabetical order, our guide to some of Kylie’s best deep cuts.

20 BPM (2004)

BPM was a B-side to Ultimate Kylie’s lead single I Believe In You in 2004. Written by Kylie, Biff Stannard and Julian Gallagher (5ive, Mel B), the song initially started life as an instrumental track entitled Sunset River, and then evolved through many variations. Originally in the longlist as a track for the Body Language LP, and then also as a new track on greatest hits album Ultimate Kylie, its relegation to B-side status shows that there must have been a wealth of fantastic stuff flying around during this period.

19 Bette Davis Eyes (2014)

Bette Davis Eyes (written about the Hollywood Golden Age star) is a song originally written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974, but was made a bigger deal by Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the biggest selling singles in the States that decade. Kylie recorded a cover of the song for the BBC Radio 2 album Sounds Of The 80s in 2014 and also featured it in the setlist for her 2015 mini-tour.

18 Change Your Mind (2010)

Co-written by Kylie and the Scissor Sisters, Change Your Mind was recorded during the Aphrodite sessions, but wasn’t included on the final tracklisting because… well that’s not entirely a hard one to fathom, frankly. Basically its use of deadmau5’s instrumental Brazil (2nd Edit) was thwarted by the same sample being utilised in Alexis Jordan’s imperial banger Happiness, and so unfortunately it was abandoned after several tables were metaphorically thrown about in anger. It’s an absolute tragedy, really.

17 If You Don’t Love Me (1994)

Another gem from 1994’s Confide In Me single (CD 2), If You Don’t Love Me was originally a Paddy McAloon song released by Prefab Sprout in 1992 as a new track added to their A Life Of Surprises hits compilation, hitting UK No.33. Kylie’s version saw the arrangement stripped back to a piano and indicative of the whole Deconstruction era where she was up for anything as long as it wasn’t PWL, leading to numerous contributions and rumours of songs written for her by the likes of The Auteurs, Primal Scream and Prince.

16 Love Is The Drug (2007)

Established 1967 was a 2007 compilation celebrating 40 years of Radio 1, with contemporary acts covering a hit from each year. The album was a bit of a minefield – no one needs Stereophonics covering You Sexy Thing, Natasha Bedingfield doing Ray Of Light or Kasabian’s Too Much Too Young – but there were little gems like Franz Ferdinand (with Girls Aloud) giving Bowie’s Sound & Vision a going over, Lily Allen’s Don’t Get Me Wrong, Amy Winehouse’s Cupid, as well as Kylie faithfully romping through Roxy Music’s Love Is The Drug.

15 Made Of Glass (2005)

Written in 2004 by Kylie with Xenomania during sessions for Ultimate Kylie, Made Of Glass was a B-side/extra track to the single release of Giving You Up. This shows that the idea of a full XenoMinogue album would be quite tantalising, especially with what heights were achieved with their ensuing work with Girls Aloud. Made Of Glass was also recorded by S Club’s Rachel Stevens, also with Xenomania (trust us, there’s a whole album of incredible offcuts and unreleased gems that Xenomania made with Ms Stevens as it is) but was never released.

14 Magnetic Electric (2007)

A real ‘nearly’ track, the disco sex robot glory Magnetic Electric was recorded during the sessions for 2007’s X album. Released into that curious digital limbo as an iTunes bonus track on X – but currently not on streaming, so maybe we should get the police involved – Magnetic Electric was the opening track on Kylie’s Anti Tour, so there’s clearly the love for it. If there’s some kind of petition going around for Kylie to give some of her bonus tracks and extras a bit of love, then this is reason enough for you to sign it.

13 Marry The Night (2021)

A queen recognising queen moment, as Kylie took on Lady Gaga’s Marry The Night as part of the tenth anniversary of Born This Way in 2021 with a series of reimagined celebrations of songs off the album focusing on LGBTQ+ turns and allies, with Big Freedia’s Judas, Orville Peck’s Born This Way, Ben Platt doing Yoü & I and Years & Years’ rendition of The Edge of Glory among others. Kylie effectively makes Marry The Night her own and why it wasn’t issued as a full-on single with a series of reswizzles at the time is a complete mystery.

12 Nothing Can Stop Us (1994)

Saint Etienne were one of the key names attached to the Kylie rebranding after she fled PWL in search of something new, and her cover of their 1991 single Nothing Can Stop Us was the very first thing she recorded as part of her new deal. Bob Stanley reckoned that Kylie’s ‘people’ “had no idea what they wanted, apart from being different from the SAW stuff”. According to Pete Wiggs: “Because she’s such a superstar, we were in awe of her and didn’t have much to say to each other. I just remember me and Bob giggling nervously in the corner.”

11 Nothing To Lose (1989)

Written and produced by SAW, Nothing To Lose first appeared on 1989’s Enjoy Yourself, and was also as the B-side to 1990 chart-topper Tears On My Pillow in some territories. Much as Tears On My Pillow was lovely and all that, we think Nothing To Lose would have been a better choice of single as Kylie stared down the barrel of a new decade. Confusingly, you can find both instrumental and backing track versions – should you feel like bellowing out your own version – on the digital release of Wouldn’t Change A Thing.

10 Ocean Blue (2000)

Stuck away as one of the B-sides of On A Night Like This, Ocean Blue was co-written by Kylie and Steve Anderson during sessions for 2000’s Light Years. Ocean Blue obviously didn’t quite fit the brief for Light Years – the album was precision designed to cause as big a back-Back-BACK impact after Kylie had pivoted back to pop. Still, the gentle guitar and Kylie’s vocal – “The sun is dancing on the sea/ I thank the gods for today” – means Ocean Blue manages to encapsulate the feeling of being windswept on a beach and being all reflective.

9 On The Up (2003)

On The Up was co-written by Kylie, Karen Poole and producer Johnny Douglas, and was recorded during the sessions for her ninth album, 2003’s Body Language. On The Up has yet to get an official release as either a bonus track or what have you, but a short snippet was leaked in 2006 and the full track followed online in 2008. While it’s a cracker in its leaked filter-y disco form, it might have been upgraded to album track status had it been pitched down slightly. Look, if her A&R ever need some tips, we’re here to help.

8 Paper Dolls (2000)

Sounding not unlike Sixpence None The Richer’s global smash Kiss Me, which was possibly why it didn’t feature on the pop-facing Light Years, the twinkly, acoustic Paper Dolls was co-written by Kylie and its producer Steve Anderson, and appeared as the B-side/CD2 extra track to Light Years’ lead single Spinning Around. Due to its fondness held by fans, Paper Dolls was included in the setlist for the Anti Tour in 2012. That series of gigs was launched as part of the celebrations for K25, and was focused heavily on B-sides, demos and rarities from Kylie’s career, played mostly to smaller crowds in more intimate venues.

7 Sleeping With The Enemy (2014)

Increasingly as the nature of the singles chart changes, the concept of a third, fourth track racking up a lower Top 20 position is unlikely with a certain type of artist, and Kylie always impacts with a comeback but struggles to gain momentum thereafter. Sleeping With The Enemy was a bonus track on the deluxe edition of her 12th studio album, Kiss Me Once. Written by Claude Kelly (Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) and the Grammy-winning Greg Kurstin it could easily have been such a hit and it’s a mystery as to why it wasn’t upgraded to the album itself.

6 Sparks (2014)

Not actually about or even a collaboration with the Mael brothers (OH GOD, IMAGINE), Sparks was written by Karen Poole and Matt Schwartz for 2014’s Kiss Me Once album – on which it appeared on the Japanese edition as an extra track, while also serving as the B-side to the album’s first single Into The Blue. Sparks deserved a little better than relegation to B-side status – plus what even was a B-side in 2014? – and the rushy whoosh of Jaxber’s Electro Mix showcases what a poppers-aloft anthem it could’ve been. Not that Kylie’s catalogue is necessarily short on that sort of thing, but you can never have enough.

5 Take Me With You (1998)

Take Me With You was written by Kylie and Steve Anderson during the early studio sessions for 1997’s Impossible Princess. Produced by Brothers In Rhythm, it was on the initial tracklist of the album but ultimately denied a place. One of the reasons her label, Deconstruction, weren’t wild on it was possibly due to its running time of over nine minutes – which can be a little off-putting – plus it not being quite the instant earworm, meaning the label extended sessions for the album in order to find more instant tunes. However, in the right circumstances, Take Me With You is quite the jam.

4 Tightrope (2002)

The atmospheric Tightrope was written and recorded during the sessions for Kylie’s 2001 album Fever, and although it did not appear on the main album tracklisting, it was released as a bonus track on the Australian and Japanese special editions of the record. Elsewhere, we had to make do with it as a one of the four B-sides (alongside Good Like That, Harmony and Never Spoken)to the release of second single In Your Eyes. You can imagine it must have been a right song and dance trying to nail down a final tracklisting for the album when there was stuff of this quality knocking about.

3 We Know The Meaning Of Love (1989)

Originally featured as B-side to Tears On My Pillow, We Know The Meaning Of Love was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. Very much of its era – there’s the ebbing out of the SAW template being accentuated by the clubbier dimensions easing into their sound – and quite forward facing for the Enjoy Yourself sessions, this track was considered one of both SAW and Kylie’s best early B-sides and an indication of what was to be expected with her third album, 1990’s slightly more sophisticated Rhythm Of Love.

2 Your Body (2015)

Kylie + Garibay are a B-road left turn from the Kylie pop motorway, composed of US producer Fernando Garibay and Kylie, who made their musical debut with the EP Sleepwalker in 2014, released just as Kylie’s Kiss Me Once Tour kicked off. The duo have worked with Sam ‘Black And Gold’ Sparro, the boombastic-ly chart-topping Shaggy, and – on this song – Giorgio Moroder who both co-produced and delivers a spoken-word monologue here. The track was recorded as part of the sessions for Kiss Me Once but ended up on a free EP instead.

1 Your Disco Needs You (2000)

Okay, so there are hidden gems tucked away on CD singles or as Japanese bonus discs, and then there are the WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING moments of Kylie’s catalogue of album tracks that really should’ve been singles.
The Robbie Williams-co-penned Your Disco Needs You from 2000’s Light Years was issued as a single in Australia and certain other territories, but was considered ‘too gay’ for the UK. ‘Too gay’. I ask you. It’s not done it much harm to be honest, as Kylie has performed it on most of her tours since.