Olivia in Italy and Happy Circus TV show - TV Sorrisi

Translation from Italian:

Olivia Newton-John, 32, (pictured), Rettore, and the Albenias are at the disco with Barbot. The circus act is performed by the fakir, 18.50, Sindrakan.

The New Queen Of Physical Rock

The singer of "Grease" and "Xanadu" came to visit us in the editorial office. Jeans, a sweater, and shorter hair, Olivia has changed her musical image. After the successes achieved in the past as a melodic and country singer, her style today leans toward a more "physical" rock, as the title of her latest LP, "Physical," suggests.

The Album Description

SIDE A

Landslide
Stranger's Touch
Make a Move on Me
Falling
Love Make Me Strong

SIDE B

Physical
Silvery Rain
Carried Away
Recovery
The Promise (The Dolphin Song)

Olivia's new musical image was crafted by the album's producer John Farrar, the true éminence grise of this work.

Farrar wrote and co-wrote six songs on the LP, playing guitar, vocoder, electric bass, and synthesizer. Among the musicians on Physical, special mention goes to bassist David Hungate and guitarist Steve Lukather. These two soloists, members of Toto, are among the best in the elite of international recording studio session musicians.

Photo captions: Olivia Newton-John, 32.
Top right, the singer chooses photos from the editorial office of Sorrisi. In 1974, she participated in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Above, the song Carried away that Olivia sings in the Popcorn TV show.

Her name is the same as Popeye's partner, but compared to the comic book character, she's sweeter, blonder, and undoubtedly attractive.

Olivia Newton-John, the actress from Grease and Xanadu, the slender Australian who became a country diva in the US, has changed her image from a simple, fresh-faced girl to the more assertive one of an international rock star.

She arrives at the Sorrisi editorial office with a crowd of people: record company executives, personal managers, and a few friends.

Sweet and discreet, she chats with us. Despite the incalculable number of gold and platinum records she's received for the sales of her previous albums, Olivia doesn't have the invasiveness of certain Italian stars, nor the smugness of someone who's already made it this far.

Olivia, how did your new image come about?

Because I am more mature as a woman and as an artist.

For many, rock is just a fad.

I'll start by saying that I don't deny my past as an American country girl. Only five years ago I was a completely different woman than I am today. My private life has changed. Today I can finally say I'm in love with a man. He's an Italian-American, his name is Matt and he lives with me in Los Angeles. As an artist, rock has become an achievement for me, a point of arrival of my professionalism that responds to my way of being a woman today.

Your latest album, Physical, has the imprint of a very well-known producer in the industry.

John Farrar has been my producer since 1974. With him I have shared the successes and failures of my career to date. John is a dear friend of mine. He was the first to notice my inner change. He could no longer suggest songs to me like he used to. Because even my musical tastes have radically changed. I spend hours at home listening to Ronnie Laws' soul jazz or the easier music of Earl Klug. Today it's the whole universe of black music that fascinates me, it gives me more intense feelings.

Olivia: Why do you love dolphins so much that you dedicated a song to them on the album?

I like their sense of freedom and their proverbial sweetness and availability towards humans, which makes them friends, playful and fun. Enormous living creatures, sensitive and intelligent.

Let's get back to music. You were once the number one in country, but today rock is full of female performers, capable of hindering your rise to success in this genre, like Linda Ronstadt, Pat Benatar, and Stevie Nicks.

It's not the comparison with these artists that worries me. But the comparison with myself. I didn't make an album thinking only of the market but of a professional work that's now mature enough for an experience like this.

How much does Sandy, the female character in Grease, reflect the current Olivia?

I'd say very little. That role earned me an unpleasant nickname: innocent girl. And if I'd stayed like that, I might have quit and changed careers.

Who is the woman and who is the artist?

The woman is romantic, a bit of a dreamer, in love. The artist is tenacious, sometimes a pain, and tries to be as confident as possible.

By Fabio Santini

More details on Happy Circus TV performance.