Livvy rocks Japan

Kicking off her first world tour in more than 20 years Olivia Newton-John pays a very special visit to Japan

Olivia Newton-John isn’t normally so bold, but overcome by the aura of Tokyo’s Honmonji Temple, she couldn’t resist the chance to ask respected Buddhist priest Nisshu Hamayi to teach her a prayer for peace.

For just a few brief minutes, the traditional silence of the temple was broken by the familiar and delightful voices of the Aussie beauty, her band and her daughter Chloe, who chanted prayers to end world suffering.

“I don’t know what came over me”, Olivia says. “It was a very spiritual feeling and I felt like I had to ask for a prayer. It seemed like the right thing to do.”

“There’s a lot of awful stuff going on in the world at the moment with the war and the SARS virus, so it felt right.”

“It was a very moving experience. I could feel an amazing energy with our combined voices and I feel incredibly humbled and blessed to have shared that experience.”

The private trip to view the temple proved just the tonic Olivia needed during the Japanese leg of her Heartstrings world tour. It was one of the few chances she had to do some sightseeing of the country she last toured more than 20 years ago.

With performances in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and finally Tokyo before heading home to Australia this week, Olivia treated Japan to the opening performances of her biggest world tour in two decades.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been here. I was worried that they wouldn’t remember me!” Olivia says humbly. “The response has been so much warmer than I expected.”

In her endearing, self-deprecating style, Olivia’s description of a ‘warm’ reception is an understatement.

The previous night in front of a packed auditorium, she proved she has lost none of the charm that Japanese fans fell in love with when she donned the leg warmers for her Physical world tour so many years ago.

Inviting New Idea along for a sneak preview of the show, which begins in Australia this week, it was clear that she was the hottest ticket in town.

Thousands of Japanese fans, many wearing SARS protective masks, queued for hours before Olivia took to the stage. They’d waited more than 20 years, and not even the threat of a deadly virus could keep them at home.

And they couldn’t get enough of her! Every skerrick of Olivia memorabilia, including old record covers, programs, Physical T-shirts, and even Koala Blue wine and chocolates were snapped up.

But they were saving the best for last. As the lights went up, they flooded the stage with flowers, teddy bears, Japanese mementoes and even a marriage proposal to show their appreciation.

“This is a big project for me,” Olivia says. “It’s the biggest tour I’ve done in a long time and, at my age, I’m so grateful for the reception I’ve had. The flowers were divine.”

“I’m amazed they’re still interested in me after so long. We went to a karaoke bar after the show and they had six of my songs in their book!”

This tour, which she says is her most personal yet, is made more special by the fact that her daughter Chloe, now 17, is invited on stage.

"I'm so grateful for the reception I've had"

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Olivia beams. “Chloe is the reason I’m touring. If she hadn’t agreed to come, I don’t think I’d have done the tour because I couldn’t bear to be away from her for so long.”

“One of the great joys in my life is being able to show her different places and perform with her, because I know it won’t be long before she’ll be doing this on her own and I probably won’t be invited along!”

Singing It Takes Two with Olivia and performing her own song Reason To Cry, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the pair took a bow.

“From the moment she was born she has been a performer. It’s just been a matter of when her time would come,” Olivia says.

“When I asked her if she wanted to do this tour and she said yes, I was delighted. I love having her with me and it’s great for me to have her on stage, because this is probably my last chance to be with her in this capacity and I’m savouring it.”

While clearly relishing her time on stage, Olivia says it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, she used to be so overcome by nerves, she avoided touring for a long time.

“Until now I’ve been focused on Chloe so I haven’t done a tour like this, and to be honest I never really liked touring.”

“There was a 10-year gap before The Main Event when I didn’t perform at all, and that’s when I focused on Chloe growing up. But Cliff Richard dragged me out for a show, then John Farnham coaxed me out for The Main Event and I got more into it.”

“The nerves are gone now. I love performing and I love the show, and I can’t wait to bring it home to Australia.”

“I feel like I’m coming home to show my family my show, and I’m more excited than I am nervous. It’s a nice homecoming for me. I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve for Australia too. I can’t wait.”

And can she see the day when she is invited onto the stage by her daughter?

“Absolutely! Wouldn’t that be nice? I love working with her, but I don’t know whether she’d ask her old mum up on stage!”

By Sue Smethurst Pictures: Kaku Karita

IS GREASE the word?

Hollywood has been abuzz for months with conflicting reports about a new Grease sequel. Speculation has been rife about the status of the movie, the cast and characters, with some reports even suggesting Kylie Minogue has been cast to play Olivia’s daughter. But Olivia wants to set the record straight.

“The interest in the production has been amazing, but at this stage there’s not even a storyline or a script,” she says.

“Nobody has been signed on to do it and I have only given an in-principle agreement that if everything falls into place, and providing John Travolta signs on, I would do it. It’s a long way off. In fact, I think it’s still a few years away yet.”

Olivia says the hardest task for the writers is to work out what happened to her much-loved character Sandy and Danny, played by John Travolta.

“There are so many possibilities… maybe you could run a competition!” she laughs.

“I ran into Kylie about a month ago in LA and I said to her: “Have you heard you’re going to be my daughter?” and she laughed. She knew nothing of it. The hype and the interest is just amazing and it’s all a possibility.”

“I’d love to see it happen, but we’ll wait and see.”

There’s little doubt though that the original Grease just keeps enduring. In June, Mattel will release a Sandy doll for the legions of new Grease fans.

“Grease just keeps going. It keeps finding a new audience and I never imagined it could be so enduring. I’m really proud.”