The Queen of Brighton
Translation:
England's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, Olivia Newton-John, may not have won, but she was the most beautiful of all the singers...
With squealing brakes, the silver-grey BMW stops on Calabris Road in the London district of Highbury. A few Englishmen stop, but in this upscale neighborhood, everyone drives spiritedly except for one: Olivia Newton-John.
The 25-year-old singer hurriedly gets out and, with long, flowing hair, heads quickly towards her house.
Since my performance at the Grand Prix in Brighton with the song Long Live Love, I've suddenly become a celebrated star. Even before the competition, the newspapers hailed me as the Queen of Brighton. In their opinion, I was the most beautiful and charming. Now I can hardly escape the offers. I'm supposed to perform everywhere in Europe.
Olivia is happy. In 1966, I came to England from my homeland of Australia. I had made the trip as the winner of a singing talent competition in my hometown of Ormond. On the way, I was thrilled that English newspaper reporters were lining up to welcome me as the upcoming star. These were, of course, pipe dreams, but I was only just 17 years old.
Olivia stayed in London and applied to several record companies to pursue a career. But it wasn't until 1971 that she achieved her breakthrough in England. She had her first hit with the Bob Dylan song If Not For You.
The George Harrison song What is Life
and the folk songs Banks of the Ohio
and Take Me Home Country Roads
followed.
But she owes most of all to Cliff Richard. I was with him for a lot of time. We are very close friends. He took me on his tours, including to Germany in 1971.
Cliff Richard was also the one who persuaded Olivia to register as a candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest that year. He took part twice to win for England. But he was always beaten by girls.
Maybe you'll have better luck and make it,
Cliff said at the beginning of the year.
Olivia didn't think twice and took the plunge. It was my biggest test. Because I knew: If you win, you have a great chance of finally making it internationally. And even if I hadn't finished among the top five, it wouldn't have bothered me. After all, I was able to prove my talent in front of over 400 million television viewers. I've never had such a big audience.
Finally, Olivia reveals a little secret: Half an hour before the performance, Cliff Richard called me and wished me luck. That gave me confidence and self-confidence. I knew that no matter what happened, Cliff was in my thoughts. That helped me overcome my stage fright. Besides, my song Long Live Love was already at the top of the English charts before my big performance. I'm sure it will now be a hit all over England.