For The Love Of Chloe

Stunned by the terrible tragedy at New York’s World Trade Centre on September 11, Olivia Newton-John fumbled for the telephone in her luxury hotel suite in a frantic effort to reach her 15-year-old daughter Chloe, 5000km away in LA.

She was winding up an eight-week concert tour in Florida, but all she could think of was being there to protect and comfort her child. To add to her frustration, Olivia couldn’t get out of Miami or any other American city as civilian air traffic was shut down for several days.

“I’d thought about going home to Australia for a long time and this horrific event spurred me to make that decision,” says the 53-year-old singer-actress. “I’m taking a chunk of time off so I can go and feel things out.”

“It could be permanent, I just don’t know at this stage.”

However, there are no plans at the moment for her American boyfriend of five years, lighting director Patrick McDermott, to make the move with her, according to Olivia.

“He’ll visit because he has certain commitments in LA, doing film, television and commercials,” she says, denying that their relationship is heading for marriage in the immediate future.

Although she tries her best to let it rest, Olivia’s thoughts keep drifting back to the fateful day when she watched through tears as the horror of the attacks unfolded on TV.

“It was too shocking to put into words and really hard for me to even think about for several days,” she recalls.

“Working to fulfil my contract, I was on stage for two days afterwards. Emotionally, it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.”

With time to reflect on the terrible tragedy, Olivia can only conclude that her life has changed in a multitude of ways and will continue to do so for the rest of her life.

“I’m hoping and praying that this will change us all for the better,” she says softly. “In the wake of horror, I hope people will come together and help each other. I’m touched by American children reaching out to help the kids of Afghanistan.”

In June, long before the civilised world exploded and imploded on the same day, Olivia and Chloe Rose (whose father is actor Matt Lattanzi) filmed a cable TV movie called The Wilde Girls in Queensland.

In the film Olivia plays Jasmine Wilde, a vet and single mother trying to raise her teenage daughter Izzy (Chloe), an aspiring singer, while covering up her own past as a drug addict.

A loving, caring mother, Olivia was primarily extending a helping hand to her daughter when she agreed to co-star in the film and executive produce the vehicle with the powers-that-be at Village Roadshow Productions.

“It isn’t autobiographical at all,” she hastens to point out.

“I’ve been very supportive of Chloe since she decided to take singing and acting seriously about three years ago. As an actress, she’s a natural, but she’s concentrating on a singing career. She really is the one singing on the soundtrack of our movie.”

Olivia has few regrets about giving her only child a helping hand and eventually passing the baton.

“I wouldn’t have encouraged her if she didn’t have the talent,” she says.

“There are pitfalls in this business and I’m a protective sort, but you can’t protect your children from everything always. You’d love to take the pain and disappointment for them, but in every career things that go wrong are part of your growth,” she continues.

“I don’t want her to suffer, but it’s inevitable. My most painful experience was a movie in 1970 called Toomorrow. There was a huge build-up, then it fizzled out and died.”

The next step for Chloe is finding a producer for her debut album. Olivia, meanwhile, is hyping a new album called Magic - a compilation of her songs from the 1970s and 1980s, due for release in December.

Once safely back in Australia, she also hopes to record a dance music album with her nephew, musician Brett Goldsmith.

A person who has yet to discover the art of doing nothing, Olivia is writing an autobiography, working hard for an organisation called the Children’s Environmental Coalition (CHEC) and narrating an upcoming TV documentary on the Galapagos Islands.

“Galapagos was an absolutely amazing experience,” she says. “I snorkled among rare species of fish and animals found nowhere else on Earth. I’m so lucky.”

Born in Cambridge, England, Olivia was raised in Melbourne from the age of five when her father, a German literature professor, became the dean of Ormond College, At 14 she formed an all-girl band; a year later she won a talent contest and the top prize was a trip to the UK.

Since recording Bob Dylan’s If Not For You, she’s cranked out 25 top 40 singles, five No.1 hits and has won four Grammy Awards. The 1978 movie Grease with John Travolta assured her a place in movie history when the soundtrack became the most successful of all time.

Going home to Australia means even closer ties with her mum, brother, nieces, nephews and lots of friends-just the stable environment she seeks in an increasingly violent world.

“But I’m not leaving all my projects in the US behind,” she says. “Working with phones, faxes and e-mail is almost like being there.”

By Eric Blackmore