Here it is then. All three minutes and 22 seconds of Miss Minogue’s new chartbuster and the first flourish of new output from the Kylie camp. Less listens are needed than was the case with 2 Hearts to accept that it’s a polished, pure pop, glossy sound. A fantastic, summery-sounding track, it’s a much better ‘comeback’ single than the 2007 effort and is the type of sound that Kylie does best. Could that chorus also be just the slightest bit anthemic in a live later life? Premiered on radio all across the world today, All The Lovers is released digitally on 13 June (a physical and digital bundle follows on the original 28 June release date). The 12-track Aphrodite album hits stores on 5 July.

After three years away, how exciting is this?

Only one week to go!

Some said it would never happen. Others, that it’s too little, too late. Whatever the reasoning behind The One’s disastrous non-physical release and promotion, the video for the single has finally surfaced. And it’s really rather good.

Granted, on first watch, it appears to have been made for 1p and looks like a bootleg, but on repeated viewings, it works its magic. The pulsating backgrounds, and zooming in and out Kylies suit the style of the song very well, and it’s simple in its subdued palette with flashes of technicolour brilliance.

The art deco and Fifties styling work well, too. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s probably the best video from the X campaign singles (not to mention ‘the one’ that fits in with the X image the best), although WOW will remain a favourite, if only for its I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper overtones.

But, it’s not enough to save the single’s chart performance. Creeping in at a lowly 36, the download-only release has soon slid down the placings. It could have been so different. Undoubtedly (and deservedly), a misguided Parlophone should have used this storming remix version to kick the whole X campaign off. It would have then started with a very big bang, rather than now be going out with a very tiny whimper.

A visionary YouTuber saw the potential months ago. When I first saw the clip below, I genuinely thought that Apple had picked up on the song. Perfectly synched and with the bright 1980s colours that (the decade that X evokes tries to evoke most), who’s to say what would have happened if this had been the first shot from X’s US cannon.

After all, the coolness of the Apple and iTunes association did wonders for Coldplay recently, helping shoot them to the top of the charts across the Atlantic. There’s yet more synchronicity, too. The British music makers and Kylie share the same record company. The track has had repeated plays on my iPod this week; with a potential Apple association like this, who’s to know what could have been?

Part of that treatment is of course, the ubiquitous set of remixes. Mostly, the majority of remixes on a single (or in modern pop parlance, download) are rubbish, all dancefloor filler, only appealing to clubbers and not those of us who only wave their hands in the air when saying goodbye to someone. It will, somewhat obviously, go down a storm in the gay clubs, but will it be a summer smash?

Popjustice is campaigning the track, and so in good jumping on the bandwagon fashion, I’ve pinched their clever widget, as I like it a lot, too. I don’t know about ‘one of the most beautiful and captivating pieces of electronic music you’ll hear in 2008,’ but as the high-camp album version (also produced by The Freemasons) got such a favourable response, this remix should do equally well.

(Bah, spoilsports! You’ll have to click on the Popjustice link above to hear the remix, as Parlophone have made this player only feature recent Kylie tracks.)

And, perhaps as a masterstroke, Parlophone have chosen a 28 July release date, just a few days into the tiny stars (broken) 7-night KylieX2008 tour residency at The O2.

‘Love Me, Love Me, Love Me,’ Kylie coos in the chorus. Applicable to both the singer and the song, I already do…

What did I buy? I have long been a fan of Stock Aitken Waterman artists, and the powerhouse studio team that created them. Masterminding some of the defining sounds of the 80s, countless acts recorded with the trio, Bananarama being just one of them. A corner in my spare bedroom was already heaving under the weight of just part of the Stock Aitken Waterman back catalogue, but extended versions of I Heard A Rumour and Love In The First Degree now nestle with longer mixes of I Want You Back, Love, Truth And Honesty, Nathan Jones, and Help!

The biggest find of the day though was probably the earliest Kylie remix available in the UK. Australia was celebrating its bicentenary in 1987, and so one of the first remixes of I Should Be So Lucky was entitled ‘The Bicentennial Remix’, and it was this which was the most exciting of Saturday’s haul. At only £3.99, it was somewhat of a bargain, too.

Charity shops can hold the most surprising secrets

Yes, I do own it digitally, on a Greatest Remix Hits CD, but its always exciting to find an item which ‘completes the collection’. It never does of course, as the collection keeps growing to accommodate the other ‘missing’ records that you find, but there’s a frisson of excitement when you stumble across that rare item. That it turns up in a most unlikely place adds a certain something, as does taking it out of the sleeve to check it is what it says it is, as the said sleeve is the same as the regular 12� version, apart from a sticker proclaiming a different code number to the original.

It would appear that a Suffolk Stock Aitken Waterman fan was having a bit of a clearout, and that local Oxfam was the beneficiary, as yet more Kylie 12â€?s rubbed sleeves with Rick Astley, Sabrina, and Sonia. All in perfect condition, it is almost tempting to go back and pick up the other extended records by the tiny Australian to replace mine, which now have a yellowing edge to the sleeve opening, where, over 20 years ago, I put tape on to protect the paper. As my mum and brother will tell you, the records were in and out of their paper cases quite often…

And as artists have discovered a new-found vinyl thirty-something collector audience (even Kylie’s last single In My Arms was released on a neon pink 7-inch, and Norwegian trio Lorraine regularly offer vinyl versions of their singles with stamped labels), maybe it’s not time to put the turntable away in the loft to get covered in dust just yet…

The vintage music video is now 16 years old and has long been a favourite of mine, due to the romantic vision of Paris which it paints:

So compact is the city, it couldn’t have taken more than a couple of days to grab the shots. In the final edit, only a handful of places were used to tell the story of the song. Starting in Trocadéro and moving onto place de la Concorde, the monochrome film takes the viewer under the bridges and onto the banks of the Seine, and through the hilly streets of Montmartre.

We didn’t come to a conclusion as to which exact set of steps near the Sacré-Coeur were graced by the tiny Australian, though Rue Foyatier near the funicular railway may well have seen that overturned basket of shopping. But then, Rue Maurice Utrillo could have seen those tumbling groceries, too. There was also some confusion about which Metro station was captured in the video, as there are only a few covered ones over the whole of the Metro network. It doesn’t matter though, as Abbesses does a passable impression.

The only real difference between the Paris seen in the clip and the Paris of today are the crowded streets, full of both cars and people. Filmed early in the morning of February 1992, Kylie’s take on the city avoided the crowds altogether, and pictures a beautiful and atmospheric city just starting to wake. Although a little busier these days, both surprisingly, and thankfully, not much has changed.

Not the place to go if you don’t want to be made aware of your own mortality (and neither could it be called ‘dead exciting’), it’s still worthy of a visit if you can spare the time. Why? Many of France’s – and the world’s – leading luminaries are buried within the beautiful 116-acre site. Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Bizet, Chopin, and Proust all have tombs there. The ones that really draw 2 million visitors a year, though, are those of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and Oscar Wilde.

Pére-Lachaise a maze of cobbled avenues, shady trees, and mortality

We set out to find the most notable three, but it took us longer than we’d first thought. It didn’t help that the guidebook map was a little confusing to read, making us confuse all the division numbers which identify where each significant grave is. But, after a while, find them we did.

While Oscar Wilde’s is a quite monumental tomb with a carving of a Pharaoh-like winged messenger on the side and is covered in the lipstick kisses of his fans, Edith Piaf’s is a black marble affair, apparently always enshrined by flowers, as it was on our visit. Jim Morrison’s was so low key and tucked away, we nearly didn’t find it at all. The lone security guard standing nearby to ward off would-be graffiti artists should have been a give away.

Oscar Wilde’s tomb is one of the more unusual at Pére-Lachaise

If truth be told, seeing Kylie was the main reason to hop on the cross-channel train, but to be honest, I’d been so excited about visiting Paris, her show at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy almost paled into insignificance. That insignificance soon disappeared on the evening of the show, when the realisation of what the trip had built up to was soon to happen. Arriving in the former wine warehouse district of Bercy in the south east of the city, we enjoyed another cheap meal (Italian this time), and counted down to the concert.

KylieX2008 is the singer’s most ambitious and costly tour to date

Eventually finding the right entrance, we entered the arena and took our seats along with 10,000 other fans. Fashionably late, the lady herself didn’t disappoint, making a grand entrance onto the stage, appearing to be floating above her dancers below. With a seemingly stripped-down stage, a new band, and much more time solo on stage, KylieX2008 was in complete contrast to the opulent flamboyance of Showgirl and Showgirl: Homecoming. Even though feathers and flamboyance were out and bright colours and minimalism were in, it was no less spectacular.

Set-list included Like a Drug and many songs from the album X

The stage was a giant light box, changing with each song or section. Even with a 20-minute interval, the show was still over two-and-a-half hours long, and the 28-song (including 12 songs from latest album X, 3 new tunes, and a lot of oldies), 8 costume-change set went by so quickly. The crowd were certainly having a good time and were left wanting more, and as we departed the arena just before midnight, we felt exhilarated and euphoric, but sad too, knowing that it was our last night in the city. But, what a way to say farewell. Kylie, you really are ‘WOW’!

KylieX2008 stage almost as much of a personality as Kylie herself

Breakfasting this morning once more in place des Vosges (it soon became our spot préférée to start the day), we reflected on our time away. Spring really is the best time to see Paris, and our unseasonably warm weather was never going to make it anything else. Hot enough for shorts and T-shirt the whole stay, sunglasses were also an essential item.

The afternoon Eurostar back meant we had to stay local once again, so after leaving our bags in Gare du Nord, we headed back for a late morning stroll around Montmartre. Less busy than at the weekend, it was still more than steady with visitors. After a fruitless search on Sunday, we found both the grocery shop and the café used in Amélie, and although both now cash in on the film’s success, it was somehow right to come to the city and leave having found them.

Monsieur Collignon’s grocer’s shop as seen in Amélie is at 56 Rue des Trois Frères

The train back was just as easy, fuss-free, and relaxing as the one that took us to France, and proved that the service is both reliable and good value for money, even in standard class. As the lush green fields and bright blue skies of France disappeared through our window as we entered the tunnel, we were soon back on home soil, where we typically endured the first delay of the trip at Liverpool Street.

It didn’t matter, though. The few days in the beautiful French capital were the perfect break, where happy memories will linger, and where I had a truly fantastic time. The city has woven its magical spell on me, and I can’t wait for us to go back.

Paris: je t’aime.

Returning to her roots, the influence of 2002’s Fever album is clear, the new track sounding like previous hit Love at First Sight, 2008 style. From the moment it bounces into life, it’s a joyous, happy, and effervescent track, and a highlight from the long player with which Kylie is touring later in the year.

The video is one of the best for a while, too. With Doctor Who meets Sarah Brightman I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper meets Pet Shop Boys Minimal styling; it’s infused with bright costumes and brighter neon backdrops. Kylie even wears a very space-age white bobbed wig.

The new chart formats mean that infinite remixes are available, and as well as CD releases, a plethora of downloads can be had, with iTunes selling at least three EPs. A quick listen on the Apple download service tonight ascertained that the bonus tracks Do It Again, Cherry Bomb, and Carried Away are almost better than the single itself.

But of course, all this means that the super fan like me will be seriously out of pocket, because we have to buy everything…

And it’s made worse by the fact that Wow hasn’t been chosen for release on the continent. In Europe, In My Arms is the single of choice. Slightly edgier, and no doubt cooler, it could easily be a track to relaunch Kylie in the US. The video reflects this too, and shot at the same time as Wow, features a very eighties-looking Kylie wearing some very Grace Jones-like sunglasses, and singing in what appears to be a Tardis.

As with Wow, physical releases have been made available, with two digital bundles and iTunes ‘exclusives’ following. Both singles are also released on 12â€? picture discs for vinyl lovers and collectors. It is getting to the point now where buying a single will cost more than the album from which it came.

It remains to be seen whether the physical releases of Wow will send it to the top of the charts, as it’s been hovering around for so long now, but both territory singles deserve to do well. Camp Kylie must be hoping that any success the songs have, bode well for the KylieX2008 tour which rolls into Europe in time for the summer.