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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

People: After all these years, she’s still having fun


Cyndi LauperAssociated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Kevin O'hare Newhouse News Service

She may forever be best known as the offbeat singer with the multicolored hair on early MTV hits like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time.”

But Cyndi Lauper never faded away like so many of those other 1980s pop stars.

There was always substance beyond the style and it’s still there, surfacing most recently on her latest album, the European-flavored, dance-‘til-you-drop “Bring Ya to the Brink.”

It’s exciting, invigorating and propulsive, and Lauper’s taking it on the road with her “True Colors” tour, where she’s co-headlining with the B-52s, Rosie O’Donnell, Carson Kressley (“Queer Eye For the Straight Guy”) and a revolving series of musical acts, including the Indigo Girls, Joan Armatrading and many others.

They’re focusing on voter awareness and registration among the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

Lauper stresses that the tour isn’t about choosing candidates.

“I am not a politician; I am not going to tell you how to vote,” Lauper says.

“I just want to tell you how to be able to vote. Because with all the discussions about inclusion and not being included in this country, you’d better include yourself.”

Lauper’s wildly diversified career blossomed in the ‘80s before she went on to embrace various endeavors as a singer, dancer, actor and writer.

Her song “Time After Time” has been covered by a huge range of artists, including Dave Matthews, Cassandra Wilson and Willie Nelson – and, most surprisingly, jazz legend Miles Davis.

She also played a significant role in the 1985 superstar collaboration “We Are the World,” which she looks back on with mixed emotions.

“It was an extraordinary experience,” Lauper recalls. “But I kept thinking, ‘Where’s Aretha Franklin? How can they do this without Aretha? How can they just have a bunch of guys singing? No Aretha, no Patti Labelle. What is this?’

“Oh, I think Ray Charles was fantastic, Dylan was fantastic, all of them were fantastic, bless them for taking time out after the whole night and day.”

Her early music videos were unforgettable, including “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” which featured wrestler “Captain” Lou Albano playing the role of Lauper’s father.

When’s the last time she heard from him?

“A long, long time ago,” she says. “But I did write a forward to a book he wrote recently.

“One thing Lou did teach me a long time ago was that 10,000 people booing at once or cheering is the same. I realized that when I opened for the Kinks and I was upset (about the response).

“And Lou talked to me about it. And it really changed my whole appreciation for the stage and my whole outlook on performance and what you could really accomplish on stage.”

The birthday bunch

Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 81. Comedian Joan Rivers is 75. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 68. Musician Boz Scaggs is 64. “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams is 51. Actor-director Keenen Ivory Wayans is 50. Actress Julianna Margulies is 41. Rapper Kanye West is 31. Folk-bluegrass singer-musician Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 27.