How does Kylie Minogue look back on her musical evolution?

Kylie Minogue, the undisputed queen of pop, turns 50 on 28 May 2018 (happy birthday, Kylie!) - although it feels like it was only yesterday that she was charming us in Neighbours, back in the 1980s.

Radio 2 celebrates her landmark birthday, and her return with new album Golden, in a three part documentary on her career, Kylie Minogue: From A to Z, available to listen to in full now.

You can also hear a special Kylie Mastermix in the latest edition of Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s.

Ms Minogue has been through some incredible transformations throughout her career. But what does she make of all her different incarnations? We've taken a closer a look at her evolution below with the help of some archive interviews...

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Ms Minogue's debut album, the eponymous Kylie, was released with PWL in 1988. The label was famous as the home of record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, nicknamed The Hit Factory, who also had the likes of Jason Donovan and Rick Astley on their books.

Although Kylie made some of her most joyous, catchy pop records with PWL, including I Should Be So Lucky and Better The Devil You Know, eventually she would come to crave a bit more creative independence.

After four years with the label, it was time to spread her wings.

"I was very much a puppet in the beginning. I was blinkered by my record company. I was unable to look left or right," she told Q back in 1992.

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Over the 1990s Kylie turned temporarily away from the bubblegum and disco pop which had made her famous, experimenting with alternative, dance and indie styles. She released a song with Nick Cave, Where The Wild Roses Grow, and dated INXS rocker Michael Hutchence.

Kylie took more creative control and co-wrote every song on the 1997 album Impossible Princess, for which she worked with artists including The Manic Street Preachers.

In 2012, Kylie told The Quietus about the incredible time she had working with Nick Cave - a wild rock star by reputation, but a total gent in real life.

"After working with him and recording this, ultimately a tragic song but this very tender, beautiful, sexual song, then I speed-read a biography on him," she said. "And oh my god, the life that he led! It just seemed in complete contrast to who I met, and who I recorded with, and what we did together. And even my performances with him, whenever we duetted, it was very tender. Super-tender."

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In the year 2000, after a period of relative professional quiet following 1997's Impossible Princess, Kylie burst back into the limelight with the disco pop banger Spinning Around.

The gold hotpants which she wore in the video have, of course, become iconic. The song set the tone for a glittering, empowered comeback, and over the coming few years Kylie would release a string of dance pop classics including Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Love At First Sight.

Widely seen as the launch of Kylie 2.0, the star frequently talks with affection about the era - and about THOSE hotpants. "You can't touch them without white gloves," she told Graham Norton in 2015. "The gold hot pants got pretty worn away - they worked very hard in that video!"

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Kylie has always been famed for fantastic performances, costumes and showmanship. But in 2005 she debuted perhaps her most iconic incarnation, donning an array of feathers and sequins for the fabulous Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour. While she was on the tour she was sadly diagnosed with breast cancer, and had to take time out for treatment. She returned to finish the tour, to rave reviews, in 2006.

The singer told The Daily Mail in 2011, "I have had an amazing life, but no one is exempt from illness. You take what you have and you make the best of it. I try to make the very best of everything I do." Kylie, you definitely do.

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In 2012, to mark 25 years in the music industry, Kylie recorded an orchestral album at legendary London studio Abbey Road. The Abbey Road Sessions featured swanky, grown up new versions of classic Kylie hits, as well as new song Flower.

"Initially, Abbey Road was a bit intimidating," she told Classic Pop Magazine. "I thought the place would have attitude, but the whole experience was really gorgeous and you know you’re on hallowed ground."

"I tried to channel The Beatles – to get some Abbey Road coming through me. I did think it sounded really nice there, plus there was a great café with flapjacks!" Kylie, we'll bake you an oat-based treat any time you like.

Kylie was influenced by recording in Nashville for her new album, Golden, and the record infuses her usual dance pop style with a fabulous country and western flair.

The star, who has described her latest vibe as "Dolly Parton on a dancefloor," spoke to Radio 2's Chris Evans about how much she'd learnt from her time in Nashville. "It taught me about putting more story into the song," she said.

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