Olivia wears success well
Just when everybody thought Olivia Newton-John was the girl next door, she wanted to get “Physical.” In spite of the surprises the Australian singer has thrown at her fans, the slender, blond beauty is as sweet and unpretentious as the girl who cooed “I Honestly Love You” and “Have You Never Been Mellow” back in 1974.
Looking at the demure Newton-John, dressed in a red T-shirt, flowered cotton skirt and white bobby socks trimmed with lace, it’s hard to believe she is the co-owner of 16 retail stores, the winner of four Grammy awards, the co-star of the most successful movie musical of all time, the source of 50 million record sales, and author of several songs.
She doesn’t think it’s such a big deal. When she startled the world with her rock-tinged music, that was just just part of the natural evolution of her career, which began in her home town of Melbourne when she won a talent contest at 15.
And when she gyrated across the stage with her pulsating video for “Physical,” she was just taking advantage of the opportunity that began with her movie “Grease,” she says.
Playing Barbara Walters for some good-time blokes at an Aussie pub in a recent HBO special, “Olivia Newton-John in Australia,” was just part of the job, she says.
Newton-John’s special spotlighted her new MCA album, “The Rumour,” her first album in three years. And its release may mean more than a bullet on the charts. “I think this album is going to dictate how I feel about my career, because it’s the first time I’ve been in the public eye for a long time,” she says.
“It kind of was an evolution. Grease gave me the chance to change direction a lot,” she says. “I got to play a character, and the character got to do the song, “You’re the One That I Want. That was kind of a more rock image.”
“And from that, I made an album called “Totally Hot,” which was kind of a transition to “Physical.” The things I chose to do in my film career gave me the opportunity to make those transitions, and I guess as I grew I didn’t want to be singing the same songs every album. That would be boring.”
But she admits she was frightened. “I used to get very nervous and get myself in a state and write the lyrics on my hand,” she says. “Before I partake in anything new, I go through the jitters. And then the day of it, I’m fine. But I usually find I start thinking, “Am I actually going to have to do this tomorrow?”
She became a first-time mother at age 37. Now her daughter Chloe is 24 years old, and life has changed. “Nothing is as scary as it used to be. Now I take it in my stride because I think there are things more important. This is not the end of the world.”
While she has been promoting the opening of several Koala Blues, her Australian boutiques, her new album is her first artistic endeavor since “Soul Kiss” in 1985. “I haven’t been putting my music out there for anyone to hear or putting myself personally on the line. Since I’ve had Chloe, I’ve been a little more aware. And some of the songs I’ve written for the album have more social awareness.”
When Newton-John married actor Matt Lattanzi 3 years ago it was another shock to her fans. Lattanzi is younger than she. They met when they co-starred in the movie “Xanadu.”
“It took me so long to marry because I hadn’t met the right one,” she says. “And also because I was scared of commitment. I don’t know what I was scared of, now. Once you get through the marriage ceremony, you’re OK.”
“It’s actually better. I used to think that marriage was the same as living together. The only difference was a piece of paper. But I don’t think that any more. I think it’s different. People treat you differently on the outside. You become a couple. When you’re married people see you as a permanent fixture. Women may get more respect. It’s more acceptable.”
She and Lattanzi share the upbringing of their child. “We worked it out. When he’s not working, he would take care of Chloe, and when he’s been working I’ve been home.”
If she weren’t a singing-acting star she would probably be working with animals. “And I would have had kids earlier,” she says. “I would have had hordes of them.”
When she was pregnant she worried about loving baby. “I used to ask my friend, “What if I don’t love the baby as much as I like the dog, what am I going to to do? But the minute Chloe was born, the dogs became dogs and the horses were horses. Until you go through if, you just don’t know.”
By Luaine Lee, Knight-Ridder
More from the Down Under, Olivia Newton-John in Australia HBO special.