review of Olivia's concert at the Univ of Tennessee at Martin's Pacer venue
By Larry Rhodes
Special to the Pacer
Late country female singers aren’t rare. But they seldom come from England or speak with an Australian accent.
Yet Olivia Newton-John, a petite Australian pop singer who works out of England, recently received a Grammy award for the “Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female Artist.”
Nevertheless, her concert at UTM Tuesday night proved that country is only one of many facets of this fine vocalist.
It seemed that Ms. Newton-John might have been accepted better at UTM than she expected. Her opening number, contrary to the custom of many artists, was her biggest hit record, “Let Me Be There.” Often performers save that goody for the last in order to chance their new material on the audience.
And when the audience called her back for two encores, Olivia explained that she would have to repeat some songs that she had already done in the show. Evidently, she hadn’t even anticipated an encore.
Having spent her apprenticeship in night clubs, Olivia has become very versatile. Her concert Tuesday night included material by the Beatles and Bread as well as some country things.
Many American groups find audiences more receptive to new material in England than in the States, but Olivia said she thought it was just the opposite. This, however, could be because she is just a singer as opposed to the singer-writer which in so popular nowadays.
“I don’t write songs so I have never really been able to work into college concerts in England,” she said. “Here in the States, college audiences seem to like the sort of thing that I do better than over there.”
Olivia said that this was her first United States tour and that four out of the five appearances she has made here have been at colleges. She explained that most of her English work in done in night clubs.
“The atmosphere is a little different in colleges than in the clubs, and I like it better,” Olivia explained “College audiences seem to be more listening audiences.”
Olivia’s success story isn’t one of the performer with a lifetime ambition to be in show business. She said that the has never had any formal training and that she originally started singing folk ballads and then drifted into Jazz before becoming professional pop singer. “But that was just for fun,” the songstress said of her early singing.
“To make long story short, my career started when I won a song contest in Australia and got to take a trip to England. My job in England required me to be able to sing many different kinds of songs.”
“I’ve never really tried to be a country singer,” Olivia said regarding her recent success with country like recordings, “It just seemed like my voice fit that kind of material, and my manager and producer suggested that that was what I should try to do.
A night at an Olivia Newton-John concert is in some ways usual. Having the wide appeal that she is now experiencing, she is almost mobbed after the show by pre teen autographs seekers and members of the college press.
There’s one thing that Olivia’s backstage image has in common with her performances. It’s the rather obvious attempt to please everyone. And at least right now it seems to be working.