Kylie Brings Back The Cassingle

Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam isn’t just her biggest hit in over a decade, it’s bringing back some physical-format nostalgia too.

As you can see above, Merch Bar is selling a recycled plastic cassette single (or cassingle) of Padam Padam and Padam Padam (Extended Mix).

Unlike an ordinary cassette tape, the cassingle only features one or two songs at most. The cassingle was introduced in 1980 to compete against the typical 45 RPM single vinyl record. In Australia they often sold at around $5, but music fans could find them for as little as $0.99 when a record label was pushing for a #1 single on the charts.

In 1991, the first-ever cassingle-exclusive single made it to #1 in Australia thanks to The Simpsons. Do The Bartman, released only on cassingles, became a #1 single on the ARIA Chart despite Julee Cruise’s Twin Peaks hit, Falling, hitting #1 in South Australia.

The cassingle died out in the early 2000s as the CD rose to dominance, coming in more stable packaging, with much better sound, and thanks to digital technology, the ability to replay and skip tracks.

You can order your Padam Padam cassingle here – it costs $6.44 and should arrive from the UK between 28 June and 7 July.

Padam Padam is Kylie Minogue’s most successful hit in over ten years. As of this week, Minogue is at #29 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and #9 in the UK. With its success, we can’t help but wonder: what does Padam Padam actually mean? You can read TheMusic’s investigation on that here.

Padam Padam is the first taste of Minogue’s upcoming album, Tension, slated to arrive on Friday, 22 September, via BMG.

On the new album, Minogue stated, “I started this album with an open mind and a blank page. Unlike my last two albums there wasn’t a ‘theme,’ it was about finding the heart or the fun or the fantasy of that moment and always trying to service the song. I wanted to celebrate each song’s individuality and to dive into that freedom. I would say it’s a blend of personal reflection, club abandon and melancholic high.”

Pre-order/pre-save the album here.