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Music > Musical Neighbours by Billy

Over the years, many of the Neighbours cast have dabbled in the music industry. Some have achieved and maintained success in this new field they have ventured into, whereas others... haven't. We now welcome you to The Perfect Blend's comprehensive run-down of all our beloved Musical Neighbours. This first section features all the stars who have recorded albums. Be sure to check out parts two and three, details below.

Note: Statistics are based on UK chart performances.

Part One: The cast who recorded albums

Kylie Minogue Charlene Mitchell Robinson
Dear old Kylie was the first neighbour to persue a career in music, but by gum she wasn't the last. Believe it or not, her singing career happened completely by accident. Minogue performed Little Eva's The Loco-Motion at a charity event, which went down a storm. It was so successful that it was released as a single in Australia, where it rocketed to the top of the charts and remained there for seven weeks. A record contract with 80's pop label PWL followed, which resulted in the release of four hit albums and a string of hit singles. During the mid-90s, Kylie left behind her dance friendly pop tunes and signed to a new record label. Mediocre record sales and an image crisis were the result. After a few years of silence, she returned with a new radio friendly sound and rightfully found herself at the top of the charts. Her comeback single, Can't Get You Out Of My Head sold a staggering 1,037,235 copies in the UK alone.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
KYLIE
1988
1
ENJOY YOURSELF
1989
1
RHYTHM OF LOVE
1990
9
LET'S GET TO IT
1991
15
KYLIE MINOGUE
1994
4
IMPOSSIBLE PRINCESS
1998
10
LIGHT YEARS
2000
2
FEVER
2001
1
BODY LANGUAGE
2003
6
X
2007
-

COLLECTIONS: GREATEST HITS (1992), MIXES (1998), HITS + (2000), GREATEST HITS 1987-1992 (2002), ULTIMATE KYLIE (2004)

Jason Donovan Scott Robinson
Hot on the heels of Kylie's success was Jason Donovan. Donovan signed to the same hit making record label as Minogue, and found himself having similar chart success throughout the late 1980s. Probably his most successful period was the time he spent in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, where he received heavy critical acclaim and a Number One single to boot (Any Dream Will Do). Things took a turn for the worse after he split from Minogue, and found it hard to crack the top ten during the early 1990s. He eventually left the limelight, started a family, and didn't return until several years later, where he appeared in London's West End in a leading role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
TEN GOOD REASONS
1989
1
BETWEEN THE LINES
1990
2
ALL AROUND THE WORLD
1993
27

COLLECTIONS: GREATEST HITS (1991), GREATEST HITS (2006)

Craig McLachlan Henry Mitchell Ramsay
By the summer of 1990, McLachlan had decided to try his luck in the pop charts, after the huge success his on-screen sister and brother-in-law were having. He scored his first (and last) top ten with Mona. A string of flop singles followed, which was finally broken when, during his long term stint in the stage version of Grease, released You're The One That I Want with Debbie Gibson (Number 13). He now concentrates full time on acting.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
CRAIG MCLACHLAN AND CHECK 1-2
1990
10
HANDS FREE
1992
-

Alyce Platt Jen Handley
After leaving Neighbours, Platt was approached by a major record label to record an album. She turned down the offer, instead choosing to focus on writing and recording her own material. The result was the critically acclaimed and extremely haunting Beautiful Death. The album couldn't be farther removed from Minogue's I Should Be So Lucky and even Imbruglia's Torn. Described as "a cut and spliced mix of Portishead and Kate Bush". Although Platt has produced the most adventurous and intriguing music from any Neighbours star, commercial success has eluded her.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
COWBOYS IN THE ATTIC (EP)
1999
-
BEAUTIFUL DEATH
2003
-
LIVE FROM THE VAULT
2005
-

Natalie Imbruglia Beth Brennan Willis
Natalie Imbruglia reportedly turned down a record contract in the early 90s because she was offered the role of Beth in Neighbours. After leaving the show in 1994, she wasn't heard of until the winter of 1997, where, out of the blue, Natalie was back with a trendy new hairstyle and a sound very disimilar to that created by her predecessors. She had avoided the bubble gum pop music, and opted for a much more mature, grungy sound.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
LEFT OF THE MIDDLE
1997
5
WHITE LILLIES ISLAND
2001
15
COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS
2005
1

COLLECTIONS: GLORIOUS (THE SINGLES 1997-2007)

Holly Valance Flick Scully
Valance's debut single, Kiss Kiss, entered the charts at Number One, no doubt due to its accompanying video clip, in which Valance appeared to be dancing naked. In reality she was wearing a "flesh coloured bikini". After receiving moderate success with the album and its follow-up singles, her career nosedived considerably when her second album, State of Mind, debuted at the back end of the charts. Since then, subsequent singles from the album were cancelled and Valance returned to acting, but has stressed that she hasn't turned her back on her music.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
FOOTPRINTS
2002
9
STATE OF MIND
2003
60

Delta Goodrem Nina Tucker
The unique thing about Goodrem was that she was a signed recording artist before she joined Neighbours. Her single Born To try was incorporated into her storylines which no doubt helped with its huge success. Her debut album, Innocent Eyes, earned her seven ARIA Awards and stayed atop the Australian charts for an astonishing 23 consecutive weeks.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
INNOCENT EYES
2003
2
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
2003
25

Alan Fletcher Karl Kennedy
Fletcher's band Waiting Room went on a national tour of the UK and Australia to much acclaim. You can read the account of our experience here. Their album has not yet received a commerical release.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
IN THE WAITING ROOM
2005
-

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Isabelle Hoyland
Bassingthwaighte is the female lead in new Australian band Rogue Traders. They have found success in their homeland with their single Voodoo Child. Although Voodoo Child hit the number 3 spot in the UK, the album, Here Come The Drums had only peaked at number 46 at the time of writing.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
HERE COME THE DRUMS
2006
46

Stephanie McIntosh Sky Mangel
Stephanie's musical career kicked off in 2006 with the release of her singles Mistake and Tightrope, followed by the album, also titled Tightrope, which reached number 4 in Australia, but has yet to be released in the UK.

ALBUM TITLE
RELEASED
PEAK
.
.
.
TIGHTROPE
2007
-

Part Two: The cast who released singles only