Olivia to appear at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Feb 14 1975
Olivia Newton John, the renowned Australian British singer who is one of the most popular stars in show business right now, will be presented in concert Friday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m., at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum by GFA Concerts of Jackson, Miss., and the Centenary College Alumni Association.
The concert is part of Centenary College’s sesquicentennial homecoming celebration.
OLIVIA, WHO had several hits skyrocket to the top of the charts last year, wasn’t born into a showbusiness family, but showbusiness entered her blood at an early age. Her Welsh father had an academic background and her German mother was the daughter of a Nobel Prize winning physicist.
By the time she was five years old, Olivia’s family moved from Wales to Australia where her father became master of Ormond College, and it was there that Olivia spent hours making up tunes on the family grand piano. She entertained friends with her own musical comedies and by the time she was 12 -at her sister’s insistence she entered a local cinema contest to “find the girl who most looked like Hayley Mills.”
TWO YEARS later, she and three other girls started a singing group called the Sol Four. But when the Sol Four began interfering with school work, the act disbanded and Olivia began singing on her own in a coffee lounge owned by her sister’s husband.
It was a customer who suggested to Olivia that she enter a contest being held by Johnny O’Keefe, then reigning Australian musical personality and now a television star.
Olivia won the contest but because she was in school, it was more than a year before she could enjoy her prize - a trip to London. It was soon after arriving in London that Olivia formed a double act with another Australian girl, Pat Carroll.
“WE SANG and danced, did a lot of club work and had several spots on BBC television,” recalls Olivia. In a short space of time, Pat’s visa ran out and she was forced to return to Australia.
Olivia stayed in England and in early 1971 recorded her first single for Festival Records International, “If Not For You,” which became a hit in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and on the Continent.
In 1972 Olivia started out as a regular guest on the BBC TV series, “It’s Cliff Richard.” She came out with a new hit single, “What Is Life,” and was voted for the second consecutive year as the “Best British Girl Singer” by the Record Mirror.
DURING THE first half of last year, Olivia was touring England and the Continent as well as appearing on every major TV show in England and the U.S.
In 1974, “Let Me Be There,” “If You Love Me, Let Me Know,” and “I Honestly Love You” hit the top of the charts within 15 months. Olivia’s current release, “Have You Never Been Mellow,” was introduced this month on the Mac Davis Show.
All seats for the show are reserved and tickets are priced at $4, $5 and $6, and currently on sale at all Stan’s Record Shops and at the Louisiana State Fair office.
Tickets may be ordered by mail by sending money order or cashier’s check to: Olivia Newton John Show, P. Ο. Box 9100, Shreveport, La. 71109, with a stamped, self addressed envelope. Ticket information may be obtained by calling 635-1361.
The Delhi Dispatch, Jan 30 1975.