Milkshakes and marshmallows
Olivia Newton-John has enjoyed enough success to prove that many people like her style of music
Life at the top isn’t always easy, even for the girl next door.
“That was always me,” says Olivia Newton-John, “all milkshakes and marshmallows. If you’d given me a song like ‘Physical’ five years ago I wouldn’t have dared record it. But I’m not 23 any more and I’ve gained a lot of confidence. My voice bas changed. I sing harder now, and that’s really what made the difference.”
At 33, Olivia Newton-John has seen more success in her 10-year career than many performers manage in a lifetime. Her hits hold reign over a variety of styles and genres, while remaining firmly entrenched in the “easy listening” mold. Among them are country-rock singles like “If You Love Me”, disco-tinged tunes like “Xanadu,” last year’s rock smash “Physical” and its follow-up, “Heart Attack.” Her first film, “Grease,” remains one of the highest grossing movies in history. At first glance, she would appear to be a star with no room left to grow.
“That’s when I decided to change,” says Olivia. “Take chances. Physical was totally different from anything I’d done before and I was very aware of stepping away from the old stuff. I just got tired of playing it safe.”
“With “Physical, I thought I either had a very big hit or a complete flop on my hands, never anything in between. To begin with, I wasn’t sure if it was right for me, but I took it home and played it in the car over and over again. My manager convinced me that it was very commercial, I grew to like it and so I did it. I don’t always pick a song that way. but let’s face it, everybody likes to have a hit.”
Ironically enough, Newton-John’s successes have always hinged delicately on her ability to change, expand and embrace new personas in public view. Beginning as an Australian Pollyana, she soon parlayed that image into the sultry songstress in the last scene of “Grease.” The role mirrored Olivia’s changeover, and from the completion of the film, Olivia was crowned one of America’s divas of disco.
“Grease”, she sighs, “really opened up my career. I thought I’d gone as far as I could go. Looking back now, I think it’s the single most Important thing I’ve ever done. John (Travolta) and I were consulted about doing the sequel, but it never got beyond the discussion stage, because the producers decided to go with unknowns instead. But,” she acknowledages, “it was all for the best, because nothing could really surpass the success of something like Grease.”
After “Grease”, Newton-John and Travolta were instantly dubbed “hot” film properties. Acting on her Instincts, she then signed a contract to star in “Xanadu, a forgettable roller-disco romp. Fluffy and lacking focus, the film did poorly with the teenage American audience that was its target.
“I still don’t think it did me any harm,” Newton-John says. “The film was a flop here, but the music did very well. On the other hand, it’s done well overseas. Somebody told me that it was showing in Canada on a double bill with “ET’I couldn’t believe it.”
“My mistake with “Xanadu’ was falling in love with the idea. There was no script, but I read an eight-page treatment and thoroughly enjoyed it. I committed right then, which I never should have done. It wound up being written as we shot it, and it changed completely about halfway through.”
From there Newton-John began the search for material that ended with “Physical.” The video accompanying the LP was another radical departure from all her former guises. During the course of the show, she dabbles with dolphins, sado-masochism and bludgeons fat men into Adonis look-a-likes. A year later, the video and album continue to register sales in the stratosphere. Still, with all these credentials behind her, critics refuse to take Olivia Newton-John seriously.
“I’ve never done a Rolling Stone interview,” she says. “I’ve only done one in-depth interview, which I didn’t like, because I felt the guy conned me into answers She asserts glumly the magazines I usually speak to aren’t that serious themselves. People only want to write about my private life, even though I try not to talk about it. And not all journalists ask terribly intelligent questions, either. It’s always the same ones over and over I could give you 10 stock questions I get in every interview. That gets horribly boring, you know? I don’t particularly want to open myself up any more, reveal my deepest, darkest secrets That’s all I really have left to myself Everything else is already public knowledge.”
Olivia says that the minute a performer starts analyzing what makes him successful, that’s when things generally start going wrong. What is my greatest gift she ponders. “Singing is, I guess, taking a song and interpreting it, acting it out that’s what I enjoy.”
“And critics take it all too seriously,” she thinks. “I’m not surprised when I hear that Rolling Stone hates me. That’s what I expect from them. They like to rubbish anything that’s commercial. They hate anything that sells, and they simply thrive on being different. But when they say I can’t sing, I take issue with that.”
Rolling Stone describes Newton-John as having the talent of a mannequin, and the “blank, open face of a Barbie doll”. What does she have to say about that?
“I’m not a mannequin, and I don’t think I have a blank face.”
“The truth is, a lot of critics come to see me with a preconceived ideas of what they’re going to see and hear. They have their reviews already written by the time they get there. Those who come with open minds usually give me better reviews. The others always say the same things about lack of substance. They don’t realize that some people like milkshakes and marshmallows, and thank God for that.”
When all’s said and done, Newton-John says proudly, “I don’t regret anything I’ve done and I don’t have a thing to apologize for. I wasn’t ready until now to do what I’m doing. I did lighter stuff very well when I first started. If I hadn’t, they wouldn’t be talking about me at all, so I really can’t complain.”
Olivia Newton-John will perform at 8pm. Saturday at the Erwin Center.
By Kevin Phinney, Special to the American Statesman