Kate Gudinski, the daughter of Michael Gudinski, has opened up about her childhood with the late music industry legend.
The 36-year-old was a guest on Channel 10’s The Project on Friday and described her years living at the home of the famous Australian music mogul and concert promoter as “hectic” and “colourful”.
Michael rose to fame in the 1970s as one of the founders of Mushroom Records and hosted stars such as Sting, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman at his family home in Melbourne.
When asked about her most memorable experience with fame as a child, Kate recounted how she once convinced American superstar Madonna to give her a ‘piggyback’.
Kate, born in 1988, said she first met the Into the Groove star when she was about five years old and on holiday in the countryside.
Michael was busy promoting Madonna’s tour Down Under at the time.
Kate explains: ‘I literally had no idea who she was at that point.
‘I was running around in the garden, which was hilly, and I didn’t feel like running up the hill and I said, [to Madonna] “Excuse me, can you give me a lift up the hill?”
Michael Gudinski’s daughter Kate Gudinski has opened up about her childhood with the late music industry legend and revealed a wild story about her first meeting with Madonna. Pictured: Kate Gudinski on The Project
‘And she looked at me and one of her background singers said, “Come on Madonna, give that little girl a lift on her back.”
She said that Madonna, who was not yet a mother at the time, eventually carried her up the hill.
And Mom and Dad were like, “What’s she doing on Madonna’s back?”
Elsewhere in the chat, Kate shared a painful story about her meeting with U2 singer Bono.
Asked about her most memorable taste of fame as a child, Kate revealed how she once convinced US superstar Madonna to give her a ‘piggyback’ when the Aussie was just five years old. Pictured: Madonna performing live
After greeting the Australian singer backstage, the Irishman told Kate: “Good for me you,” to which she replied: “You too.”
‘And I said [to myself] ‘Did I really do that?’
Kate is currently promoting a new podcast, “Gudinski,” in which she highlights her father’s extraordinary 40-year career.
In addition to Kate, Gudinski also had a son, Matt, with his wife Sue.
Kate’s own music career began when she signed with her father’s record label, Liberation Music, in 2004.
Her third single, All I Hear, was an ARIA top 10 hit in 2006.
Gudinski died in his sleep at his Melbourne home in early 2021 at the age of 68.
In October of that year, it was announced that the tycoon had not died of a heart attack in March, as initially reported.
Kate described her years as “hectic” and “colourful” growing up in the home of the famous Australian music mogul and concert promoter. Both pictured
Instead, the man behind hit singles such as Kylie Minogue died from a cocktail of drink and drugs that proved too much for his disease-ridden heart.
An autopsy found he had 12 types of drugs in his system, including cocaine, oxycodone and morphine, according to a death certificate filed in the Victorian Supreme Court.
The certificate revealed that Gudinski also suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and ischemic heart disease and had recently fractured his spine.
Gudinski’s death was met with great sadness in the Australian music industry and beyond, with tributes paid by stars including Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran and Madonna.