Thanks to Luke Brighty
This appearance was as part of Olivia's promotion in Australia of the Nintendo Brain Train and WiiFit products, more about the ads
More photos from Susanna from Olivia's appearance at Myer
Olivia Newton-John didn’t disappoint her fans today when she made an in-store appearance at Myer in Sydney to promote the Nintendo Mother’s Day pack containing a limited edition metallic rose Nintendo DS Lite.
Several fans had lined up early in the morning, some three and a half hours before the event, not just to get ahead of the queue but also to meet other Olivia enthusiasts, exchange stories and share a good laugh. Just after 12.30pm, the line of curious shoppers and autograph seekers was impressive. Deborah Thomas, editor-in-chief of the Australian Women’s Weekly and friend of Olivia’s, took to the mike and introduced the star to the public. Moments later, Livvy, looking stunning as usual, joined her on stage and talked briefly about the Nintendo DS Lite.
She then took questions from the public about health and wellbeing issues. I put my hand up and asked Olivia about her North American tour with husband John to promote the health drink Zamu and whether they had plans to tour Australia. She looked pleased to be able to talk about the beverage, its ingredients and the benefits of the Camu Camu berry. She told us that she and John were planning on bringing the drink to Australia and would probably tour down under early next year.
After another question about Gaia, her retreat & spa in northern New South Wales, she took a seat and the signing of autographs began. I was lucky to be third in line and was ushered through in no time. I gave Olivia a bunch of roses with a Cherry Ripe chocolate bar – I’d heard she liked those - attached to them and, laughing, asked whether she was fed up getting bombarded with chocolate. She smiled and replied “No way, this is coming with me, yum!”
I then congratulated Olivia on her wedding to John saying how good it was to see her looking so happy. I told her about my recent commitment ceremony to my partner, Michael, and how I’d surprised him during our ceremony with an Olivia song I sung to him accompanied by a thirty-member chorus. She thought that was great and asked what song I’d chosen. I told her it was “I Honestly Love You”.
I presented her with a rare copy of the Toomorrow LP for signing and she looked as though she hadn’t seen a copy of the record in a long while. “Wow, that’s an oldie!” she said. Continuing from our chat about the commitment ceremony, she asked what my partner’s name was and signed the album to Luke and Michael...Love & Light, Olivia. She is such as sweetie!
After thanking her, I told Olivia that a group of her fans, led by Del Shores, were fighting to get Sordid Lives: The Series back on air and that we were signing a petition on Facebook to put pressure on the networks in the US to air year 2. She didn’t seem to know that the series had been pulled off air but thanked me all the same. Aware of the queue behind me, I quickly gathered my pen and signed LP, wished Livvy well and was on my way.
With a bit of luck, it won’t be too long until Olivia’s next visit to Australia whether on a concert tour or to promote Zamu with Amazon John. She’s certainly left us hopelessly devoted to her and longing for a repeat visit!
Story by Luke Brighty
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