Because she's not beautiful, or even that pretty. She doesn't have an amazing midriff or supersized bosoms, and most of the time she looks like her stylist never made it out of the Eighties. She just has a personality you could light fires off, an extraordinary voice and the kind of songwriting ability that meant Miles Davis, no less, did a cover of "Time After Time".
The word 'survivor' is much over-used today, but that's Cyndi Lauper. I saw her recently on TV, at the big Italian pop festival where everyone from 
David Bowie to Madonna comes as guests. I wasn't watching very closely, but I heard that voice from across the room, and looked over to see Cyndi, hair dyed lemon-yellow, wearing a top hat, stripy tights, and looking absolutely fabulous, bouncing happily round the stage. She wasn't making the slightest effort to fit in with current fashions; she obviously didn't give a damn. And she was brilliant. The audience gave her a standing ovation.
Cyndi Lauper is a real pop star. No-one would give a damn about Mariah or Britney or Destiny's Child if they didn't make sure they wore few enough clothes so that the audience didn't even have to use their imagination to visualise them naked. Cyndi will never sell as many records, because she doesn't strip off, but if she wants to, she'll be around for much, much longer. She already has. And forget the Spice Girls and girl power. It's not just "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"; in 1983 Cyndi was writing a song 
about, ahem, female self-pleasuring, which went: "I wanna go south and get me some more...they say I better stop, or I'll go blind... I can't stop messing with the danger zone... but ain't no law against it yet... " You get Mary J Blige or Lil' Kim singing this kind of thing, nearly 20 years later, and you know they're only doing it to turn on the guys, just as you know that Cyndi couldn't have cared less about that. Cyndi was singing "She Bop" because she liked it. A lot. And that was it.
I just went and put Cyndi's Greatest Hits on right now. They're not all good, but I don't care. When she's good, she's brilliant. And she doesn't seem to give a shit that she doesn't look like a supermodel. I bet Cyndi would be a hell of a lot of fun to go drinking with. And that's one of the highest compliments I can give.
Tarts . .
Stories . .
Mom's . .
Man/Woman We Love . .
Route 66 . .
Studio . .