Olivia They Love Her!
By Martin Thorpe
WHEN YOU’VE been locked up in an aluminium tube for something like five hours with no form of escape, the last thing you want on getting out is to be faced with a barrage of pointed questions. Your defence is low and easy prey for a scoop hunting reporter who reckons a nod’s as good as a lead story.
So when Olivia Newton-John stepped off a plane from America, it didn’t take said reporter long before he had his story about her fleeing from England and the clutches of those blood-sucking taxmen who have been sinking their fangs into various music people of late.
“He asked me if I‘d ever thought about living in the States,” explained Olivia, “and of course I’d thought about it so I said ‘yes.’ but I have never made any definite plans to live there.”
Mind you the question was pretty logical for any journalist worth his salt. At the time it was asked Olivia had just reached Number One in the America Top 100 singles and overall the lady was enjoying far more success in the States than ever she had during her Eurovision sortie and sundry TV guest appearances over here.
And when you think that she’s going to be away from these shores for the next six months or so, the subject takes on an added degree of validity.
But from that to deduce she’s gonna live in America is like presuming Nixon’s innocent purely because he says he had his fingers crossed while the tape was running.
Although her emergence from unknown Limey Aussie to American star status is probably as big a mystery as Watergate.
While hordes of other UK acts continue to bang on the front door of US House, Olivia has nipped round they back via the influential country charts and made a quick dash up the US singles Top One Hundred.
So unobtrusive was her entry into the States that the third single was out before people had any idea of what she looked like.And that, not surprisingly was the point when sales really boomed and I Honestly Love You reached number one.
Her English image of family shows and flowers bears no resemblance to the country girl image she holds in the States, though this is changing:
“The first two records were country” she explained, “but the current one is not. The other two had the same sorts of sound but this one is different, its gotta a fresher sound which people just latched onto.”
Latched, on in the biggest possible way as well, for its was only fours weeks before I Honestly Love You hit the stop in America.
“Country people are accepted there, though they didn’t know what I looked like, which showed they liked the music rather than me. Gimmicks don’t count in America, it’s the record y’see.”
“Radio there is so good, with such a wide variety, that people are much more choosey because they have got more choice. You can only get a hit through radio, you won’t get on TV without a hit.”
So there’s, a lesson for the glitter-rock purveyors, it‘s no use just doing tours, you’ve got to have the material as well. And talking of tours, that’s another department where Olivia comes out with a good report.
Her first tour of the US was a six gig Mid-West package connected by bus, or occasionally the luxury of a “big silver bird in de sky” for the longer hops. She headlined that, and also picked up Goldstreet, the band she uses for live appearances.
After two weeks in Los Angeles, with Charlie Rich,sandwiched between visits to the UK, she embarked on her second US tour — a package taking in State Colleges, with the likes of Ray Stevens and Mac Davies.
Playing to 50,000 people for the first time didn’t turn out to be the nerve wracking experience it could have been though she was a bit apprehensive of playing the colleges.
“I was terrified the first time I played a college because it was the first gig on the tour. I thought they’d be all sort of ‘y’know man,’ but they were great.”
“I played two shows at the Ohio State fair, each one in front of 50,000 people and I loved it. They are so receptive. I asked them to join in and they were signing and, swaying away. The sight of 50,000 people swaying with their hands in the air is unbelievable.”
“And they’re not just fair weather fans either: We played Allertown in Pennsylvania and it, really rained, but the audience sat through it - rows of little eyes peeping out of the plastic, bags over their heads.”
“We were a bit worried about the equipment but we played on and when I came off I looked like as drowned rat.”
So close have the American public taken Olivia to their wallet shrouded hearts that there’s even six taped shows with Andy Williams to be screened while she’s in England promoting the release of I Honestly I Love You single via appearances on Top of the Pops, Sez Les and, of course, with Cliff Richard.
“When I fist started singing I thought one day I want to do a duet with Andy Wi1liams and now I have.”
It’s the little touches, either hero worship or the odd joke or funny voice she sometimes uses that shows the ‘star’ image hasn’t quite got to her yet.
“When I’m on stage I like to chat to the audience and muck about with them. But they don’t like pretention, they like participation, they come out to have a good time.”