Liza Minnelli made a rare appearance alongside Lady Gaga at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night to present the Best Picture category. She was also there to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her movie Cabaret, for which she won an Oscar in 1972.
While Liza is primarily known for singing showtunes, in 1989, she recorded a dance album called Results. It was a complete departure from her previous efforts and arguably one of the gayest things she’s ever done, which, we know, is saying a lot.
Related: The 10 gayest GIFs from last night’s insane Oscars
Results was produced by the Pet Shop Boys and Australian music producer Julian Mendelsohn, whose credits include a number of queer artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Dusty Springfield, and Elton John.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The album was an odd mishmash of unexpected material and wasn’t a hit in the US, but it reached #6 in the UK, spawning four singles, including an electronic re-working of Stephen Sondheim’s “Losing My Mind”.
Liza followed that up with the single “Don’t Drop Bombs”, another electronic track, influenced by Bananarama’s “Venus”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, and the Broadway melody ballet from Singin’ in the Rain.
From there, Liza chose “So Sorry, I Said”, a mid-tempo ballad, for the album’s third single. The video showed her looking stunning in a black gown with a plunging neckline while standing alone in the middle of an empty theater.
The fourth and final single off Results was a cover of “Love Pains”, which was originally recorded by musical theater actress Yvonne Elliman in 1979. Liza didn’t record a video for the song, but she did perform it on Top of the Pops and released several different club remixes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyrCGekHzlQ
Results remains Liza’s only full-on dance album, described by Pitchfork as “a fascinating, addled mix of show tunes, strings, and 808s that coalesces in a mood of chic Upper East Side regret.”
After its release, she would go on to star in the 1991 musical film Stepping Out. Her next album, Gently, would be a return to form. Released in 1996, it featured American standards and show tunes.
Stream Results on Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen to music.
PubicHairus
Such a great album. Pop a xanny, pour some champagne, and sit back on your pink leather overstuffed sofa while taking in the musical talents of this LEGEND.
I GOT YOU, LIZA.
barryaksarben
Honestly I had forgotten this cd but did buy it and played the shit out of it cuz of her voice which I have always loved. Sad to see her so diminished at the oscars but may the goddess bless Lady GAGA
The real Bruce
I have all of her albums and Results stand out as a really good albums! Just listening to all the songs gives you a happy feeling and good memories.
Winsocki
I still have the CD……Results. Yep.
woodroad34
Wow! I had forgotten about those tracks. Her presence and personality (even when she’s not dancing) just pop out at you. She really is an electrifying star.
inbama
I hold it in the same regard as “The Ethel Merman Disco Album.”
barryaksarben
rude, Liza could sing ethel belted
emarell9
I didn’t think anyone else remembered Merman’s album. Seem to recall it was around the same time she was all over TV in a disco-beat ad for Canada Dry – “It’s/not/too/sweet” – ginger ale. We used to *howl* with laughter, calling her “Lethal Merman” or “Awful Merman.” What a mess. Of course Liza was in a different league! These tracks really are stunning.
MarcyMayer
She was so lovely. It’s sad how much she’s physically deteriorated in the last 20 years. The drugs and alcohol she abused when she was younger certainly took its toll on her. However, she is still a grand woman.
white-queer-african
@MarcyMayer, for once i can agree with you. Yes sad indeed how her health is not good. A grand dame in my books.
barryaksarben
WOW, you actually made a complete comment without attacking trans women, are you feeling allright? call 911 gurl
white-queer-african
@barryaksarben u must be referring to M*ntalMayer as i am a trans woman / man alley. I do NOT believe for one moment that M*ntalMarcy is trans. It is a troll.
So will give u a pass!
The real Bruce
Marcy, you stepped up with class this time. I couldn’t agree with you more. The viral encephalitis that almost killed her has done damage. But she’s fought back and gained some. A few days ago she was seen having dinner with friend George Hamilton at a restaurant in West Hollywood. Wheelchair and all. Other diners said she looked happy and for now, that’s what counts.
THAT Steve
LOVED THIS! I have to get it digitally ASAP! BTW, the Pet Shop Boys version of Losing My Mind is almost as good too!
Jim
Liza was one of those rare entertainers who owned the stage. She didn’t need pyrotechnics etc. to entertain. (Yes, she had dancers etc. but they were trim.)
I saw her the summer after she won the Oscar.
A treat to be sure.
AL NATALI
I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE LIZA MINELLI IN A WHEELCHAIR AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS LAST SUNDAY.
IS SHE VERY ILL? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?
malenkas
Liza has been thru Hell & she’s still here even if in a wheelchair she remains a Gay icon a real survivor – Betty ford to near death in 2000 from encephalitis LOVE LIZA
FYI
“After a serious case of viral encephalitis in 2000, doctors predicted that Minnelli would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair and perhaps not be able to speak again.”
She proved them wrong on both counts, but time catches up with everybody… sooner or later. 22 years later & the wheelchair got her But she can still talk!!!
Man About Town
Well for one thing she got tired of people like you who don’t bother to spell her name right.
ggontarek
I remember. Losing My Mind was HUGE at the club I use to DJ at. And a few years ago – I played it in another gay bar and alot of people came up asking who it was. They loved it.
silkspun1
I went on a gay cruise with RSVP cruise line in the 80’s and every morning 250 gay men would get on deck and do jazzercise to “Results” with Liza knocking it out the park over the P.A. system. Other cruise liners would pass by and all the people on those ships were standing there watching “the Gays” dancing in unison, snapping pictures of us as they cruised on by. I’ll never forget that! What a site to see!
Ed R.
I torn through 4 copies of that CD….I love it…
[email protected]
Great memories… and her collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys was brilliant!
ericdf1
AMAZING album, one that I return to time and time again. So shocked and sorry to see Liza in that condition Sunday night. Gaga scored massive points for the sensitive way she assisted her on stage.
BigJohnSF
She has had at least three hip replacements over the years (“I didn’t know I had three hips!” she said) so I suspect the wheelchair was related to difficulty walking. Bad hips won’t kill her.
Caine
GREAT great recording!!! Huge Pet Shop Boys fan when they produced this I was in gay heaven!
Inspector 57
Me, too! I played this CD over and over and loved it. (Still do.) I remember that upon the first couple of listens I was struck by how eclectic it was and how the pervasiveness of despair in its lyrics was its thread of cohesion. Neither bothered me, but I can understand how those qualities might have made the album less marketable.
Jack
If anyone knew what I paid to get a copy of this album on vinyl you would puke. But it’s the most played album I own. I always wondered why they didn’t do another record together.
Joshooeerr
Yes, Liza needs to be better remembered and Results was a great album. That said, there are Minnelli career highlights far more worthy of rediscovery. I’ll mention just three. One of her earliest films, for which she received an Oscar nomination: The Sterile Cuckoo. A sweet, touching film and one of the most disarmingly charming and funny performances by an actress ever. Two: her 1970s TV special Liza With a Z – the kind of entertainment we never see now, and a dazzling display of sheer talent and versatility. I doubt there’s an artist alive today who could replicate, much less better, the singing, the dancing, the acting and the charisma. Third: the movie New York, New York – a seriously flawed and perhaps unsatisfying movie, but the musical sequences are equal to the best Hollywood ever achieved and, again, showcase Minnelli’s extraordinary talent. It’s a pity that, Cabaret and NY, NY aside, Hollywood didn’t really know what to do with her.
slipdisco
Well put, and complete agree!
The real Bruce
Oh Josh, I agree totally with your entire post. What a multi-talent! I saw her twice, once in Las Vegas and once in Orange County (outside). Both amazing, a few years apart. But when ya got it, ya got it!
Joshooeerr
It’s also worth adding that Minnelli’s foray into popular music with Results was not all that unusual. Her previous albums were not all show tunes. Several were mainstream pop. “The Singer” is also worth a listen.
slipdisco
I absolutely love this album! I played the CD constantly in my previous cars, and I have it in my new car in a new format.
The album should be re-released and promoted heavily!
CityguyUSA
Great CD. Glad to say I own it.
ebbourg
I remember it. It was FABULOUS!
SimsJeff
Maybe nobody in the Editors’ circle of friends remembers Results but as a Pet Shop Boys and Liza fan I still play this album at least once a year to this day.
Man About Town
It’s just ridiculous to suggest “nobody remembers” this. Start with all these wonderful supportive comments, and move on to some people, including myself. who play it on youtube quite regularly!
Derek Northcutt
Who said “no one remembers ‘Results’?” It’s in my Saab’s cd player as I type this? Hm, Queerty?
StudioTodd
Still have this cd, plus an Interview magazine with Liza on the cover that was part of the promotion of the album. Still one of the best-designed magazine covers I’ve ever seen. I also have a dim memory that she was selling a perfume line around the same time–I remember as a young, newly-out art school student standing in line at The May Co. in Houston for an autographed headshot (and she was kind enough to sign one for the guy I was crushing on at the time, who couldn’t be there). Whoever was Liza’s stylist during that era was on fire. She never looked more beautiful.