She sounds like Fran Drescher, without the nasal. But that thick, quirky Queens accent is as much a part of CYNDI LAUPER as the colourful tutu skirt she rocked in her breakout smash Girls Wanna Have Fun all the way back in 1983. KIRSTY BROWN connects a call to every girls favourite ‘80s redhead.

“You know, I am so proud that I was a part of that song!” she laughs down the phone after a rather girly gush from yours truly. “When I was first given the song, I thought it was misogynistic and what I really wanted to convey was a message about empowerment and liberation. I am so glad that you love it, and I really love that young girls all over the world recognise this for what I wanted it to be.”

You see, it’s basically impossible not to love Cyndi Lauper. In her long, hugely successful career she has never stopped creating, nor ceased to push boundaries and hoped to make the world right for people. Her work in the Gay (or LGBT) community has made her an icon. She has tirelessly campaigned for equal rights and civil liberties and she is a stalwart at Gay Pride parades around the world. Some of you may remember her incredible appearance at this years Mardi Gras in Sydney, an event which she describes as “one of the bestest nights of my whole life!” and cannot wait to return. “I wasn’t in the parade, but I was certainly there in the morning when it was finishing and oh my God, it was soooo much fun. The people were great - and oh my God! They made me such a beautiful costume! It was great!”

Over the years, Cyndi Lauper has continued to release albums and to her surprise, has continued to enjoy chart success. “You know, I always just try and put my best foot forward. I like to make music that is uplifting and has passion. A serious passion to it.”

This then begs the question, what is the ‘serious passion’ behind Laupers’ latest release Bring Ya To The Brink? “Well, I wanted to make something modern- and so I reached out to some modern musicians and producers because I felt like they could help me to be more innovative and interesting.” She’s talking about Basement Jaxx, Axwell, Dragonette and Digital Dog amongst others. “I tried at first to reach out to producers who I felt were like me, because when you produce your own work, you have a different mindset. But when two artists come together, you can become more like a band- you can get a much better sound. It becomes more about what you can do and achieve together.

“It’s so good to indulge in this process as much as possible- because when you work on your own, you get stuck with your own process. I feel better when I watch other people work - sometimes you think to yourself, ‘am I crazy?’ and then, when you see other people working the way you do you’re like ‘AH! Maybe I’m not so crazy after all!”

This idea of working with a variety of people and keeping fresh is something that Cyndi Lauper takes quite seriously. On her recent True Colours tour, Lauper travelled around with Regina Spektor and Tegan and Sara - with whom she “learnt a thing or two about a thing or two” according to a recent blog post.

“Oh, you get so much from working with these strong artistic women. When everyone talks and shares ideas- it benefits all of us. I find talking so joyful and inspiring. I wanted to create an artist community because I feel that it is important for artists to have a dialogue together.”

Summing up, Lauper is proud of her choices, “I chose the life of an artist and that is something that I’ll always want to promote. I came away with a new look on things with some hope in my eyes, to see young artists with so much passion. You have to have community! Isolation leads to apathy and apathy is the fulcrum of hopelessness. When you talk about things you learn about how other people feel and then you can begin to understand. When you have no information, it can lead to helplessness, which in turn can lead to hopelessness. So whatever I can do to help create community, I gotta do it!”

BRING YA TO THE BRINK is out now through Sony BMG.

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