Name	Electric Light Orchestra
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Birmingham, England
Genre	Rock, progressive rock
Years active	1970–83, 1985–86, 2000–01
Label	Harvest, Warner Bros., United Artists, Jet, Columbia, Epic, Legacy, Sony BMG
Associated acts	The Move, The Idle Race, Wizzard, Violinski, Black Sabbath, ELO Part II, The Orchestra, Traveling Wilburys, Olivia Newton-John
Url	Official website
Past members	Jeff LynneRoy WoodBev BevanRichard TandyLouis ClarkKelly GroucuttMik KaminskiHugh McDowellMelvyn GaleMike EdwardsMike de AlbuquerqueWilfred GibsonColin WalkerBill HuntSteve Woolam

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) were a British rock group from Birmingham, who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. After Wood's departure following the band's debut record, Lynne wrote and arranged all of the group's original compositions and produced every album.

Despite early singles success in the UK the band were initially more successful in the United States, billed as "The English guys with the big fiddles". They soon gained a cult following despite lukewarm reviews back in their native United Kingdom. By the mid-1970s, they had become one of the biggest selling bands in music. From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated 27 Top 40 hit singles in both the UK and the US. The group also scored 20 Top 20 U.K. hit singles, as well as 19 Top 20 hit singles in the U.S. Billboard charts. The band also holds the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits of any band in US chart history without ever having a number one single.

ELO collected 21 RIAA awards, 38 BPI awards, and sold well over 50 million records worldwide, not including singles.

History

Birth of the band

In the late 1960s, Roy Wood—guitarist, vocalist and songwriter of The Move—had an idea to form a new band that would use violins, cellos, string basses, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound, taking rock music in the direction "that The Beatles had left off." Jeff Lynne, frontman of fellow Birmingham group The Idle Race, was excited by the concept. In January 1970, when Carl Wayne left The Move, Lynne accepted Wood's second invitation to join the band on the condition that they focus their energy on the new project.

On 12 July 1970, when Wood added multiple cellos to a Lynne-penned song intended to be a Move B-side, the new concept became a reality and "10538 Overture" became the first Electric Light Orchestra song. To help finance the fledgling band, two more Move albums were released during the lengthy ELO recordings. The resulting debut album The Electric Light Orchestra was released in 1971. (It was released in the United States in 1972 as No Answer, the name being chosen because a record company secretary had tried to ring the UK company and get the name of the album – since they were unable to contact them they left a note saying "No Answer" and that is how the album became named in the U.S. "10538 Overture" became a UK top-ten hit. Lynne, Wood, and Bev Bevan were the founding members of Electric Light Orchestra. They were joined by Bill Hunt (horns, keyboards) and Steve Woolam (violin)on the debut album.

ELO's debut concert took place on 15 April 1972 at The Fox & Hounds Pub in Croydon, U.K. with a line-up of Wood, Lynne, Bevan, Bill Hunt (horns, keyboards), Wilfred Gibson (violin), Hugh McDowell (cello), Mike Edwards, Andy Craig (cello) and Richard Tandy on bass.

However, tensions soon surfaced between Wood and Lynne due to problems with management. Amid the recordings for the band's second LP, Wood left the band taking cellist McDowell and horn player Hunt with him to form Wizzard. Despite predictions from the music press that the band would fold without Wood, who had been the driving force behind the creation of ELO, Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bev Bevan remaining on drums, joined by Gibson, Richard Tandy (now on the Moog synthesiser), Mike de Albuquerque on bass and vocals and Mike Edwards and Colin Walker on cellos.

The new line-up performed at the 1972 Reading Festival. Barcus Berry pick-ups, now sported by the band's string trio, allowed them to have proper amplification on stage for their instruments, which had previously been all but drowned out by all the sound of the other electrified instruments. The band released their second album, ELO 2 in 1973, which produced their first US chart single, a hugely elaborate version of the Chuck Berry classic "Roll Over Beethoven". ELO also made their first appearance on American Bandstand.

During the recording of the third album, Gibson was let go after a dispute over money and Walker left since touring was keeping him away from his family too much. Mik Kaminski joined as violinist, while remaining cellist Edwards finished the cello parts before McDowell returned to ELO from Wizzard. The resulting album, On the Third Day, was released in late 1973, with the American version featuring the hit "Showdown" along with an unusual photograph, seen at right, taken by famed photographer Richard Avedon which had ELO's "Do It With the Light On Tour" line-up exposing their navels.

Global success

For the band's fourth album, Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept album about a daydreamer, Lynne was finally able to stop overdubbing strings, and hire a proper orchestra and choir. Louis Clark joined the band as string arranger. The first single of the album, "Can't Get It Out of My Head", became their first US Billboard charts Top 10 hit, and Eldorado, A Symphony became ELO's first gold album.

After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque (who, like Walker before him, quit since the ELO tours were keeping him away from his family too long) and Edwards respectively. The line-up stabilised as the band took to a decidedly more accessible sound. ELO had become successful in the United States at this point and the group was a star attraction on the stadium and arena circuit, as well as regularly appearing on The Midnight Special (1973, 1975, 1976 & 1977) more than any other band in that show's history with four appearances.

Face the Music was released in 1975, producing the hit singles "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic". The opening instrumental "Fire On High", with its mix of strings and blazing acoustic guitars, saw heavy exposure as background music on CBS Sports Spectacular montages, though most viewers had no idea of the song's origins. The group toured extensively from 3 February till 13 April 1976 promoting the album in the USA, playing 68 shows in 76 days. It was on the American tour that ELO first debuted their use of coloured lasers.

Despite the recognition and success they enjoyed in the states they were still largely ignored in the United Kingdom until their sixth album, The platinum selling A New World Record, hit the top ten there in 1976. It contained the hit singles "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Rockaria!" and "Do Ya", a rerecording of a Move song. The band toured in support in the US only from October 1976 to April 1977 with a break in December, then an American Music Award show appearance on 31 January 1977, plus a one off gig in San Diego in August 1977

A New World Record was followed by a multi-platinum selling album, the double-LP Out of the Blue, in 1977. Out of the Blue featured the singles "Turn to Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Mr. Blue Sky", and "Wild West Hero", each becoming a hit in the United Kingdom. The band then set out on a nine-month, 92-date world tour, with an enormous set and a hugely expensive space ship stage with fog machines and a laser display. In the United States the concerts were billed as The Big Night and were their largest to date, with 80,000 people seeing them at Cleveland Stadium. The Big Night went on to become the highest-grossing live concert tour in music history up to that point (1978). The band also played at the Wembley Arena for eight straight sold-out nights during the tour as well, another record at that time. The first of these shows was recorded and televised, and later released as a CD and .

In 1979, the multi-platinum album Discovery (or "Disco? Very!", as fans refer to it), was released. Although the biggest hit on the album (and ELO's biggest hit overall) was the rock song "Don't Bring Me Down", the album was noted for its heavy disco influence. Discovery also produced the hits "Shine a Little Love", "Last Train to London", "Confusion" and "The Diary of Horace Wimp". The band recorded videos for all the songs on the album.

The Electric Light Orchestra finished 1979 as the biggest selling act in the United Kingdom. ELO had reached the peak of their stardom, selling millions of albums and singles and even inspiring a parody/tribute song on the Randy Newman album Born Again.

In 1980 Jeff Lynne was asked to write for the soundtrack of the musical film Xanadu, with the other half written by John Farrar and performed by the film's star Olivia Newton-John. The movie performed poorly at the box office, but the soundtrack did exceptionally well, eventually going double platinum. The album spawned hit singles from both Newton-John ("Magic," #1 in the United States, and "Suddenly" with Cliff Richard) and ELO ("I'm Alive", which went gold, "All Over the World" and "Don't Walk Away"). The title track, performed by both Newton-John and ELO, is ELO's only song to top the singles chart in the United Kingdom. Xanadu was turned into a surprising hit Broadway Musical that opened on 10 July 2007 at the Helen Hayes Theatre to uniformly good reviews and received 4 Tony Award nominations. The Electric Light Orchestra Story, Bev Bevan's memoirs from his early days and throughout his career with The Move and ELO, were also published in 1980.

In 1981 ELO's sound changed again with the science fiction concept album Time, a throwback to earlier, more progressive rock albums like Eldorado. With the string section laid off, synthesisers took a dominating role, as was the trend in the larger music scene of the time, although studio strings were present on some of the tracks conducted by Rainer Pietsch, the overall soundscape had a more electronic feel inkeeping with the futuristic nature of the album. Time topped the U.K. charts for two weeks and was the last ELO studio album to date to be certified platinum in the United Kingdom. Singles from the album included "Hold on Tight", "Twilight", "The Way Life's Meant to Be", "Here Is the News" and "Ticket to the Moon". The band embarked on their last world tour to date to promote the LP. It was the first ELO tour without cellists, although Mik Kaminski returned to play his famous "blue violin." The live line-up was completed with Louis Clark on string synthesisers and newcomer Dave Morgan(guitar, synthesisers, vocals) playing the string parts on synthesisers, and "Fred the Robot" voicing the "Prologue" and "Epilogue".

Decline

Jeff Lynne wanted to follow Time with a double album. CBS blocked his plan claiming a double vinyl album would be too expensive. The new album was edited down from double album to a single disc and released as Secret Messages in 1983. (Many of the out-takes were later released on "Afterglow" or as b-sides of singles.) The album was an instant hit in the UK reaching the top 5. The album's release was dampened by a string of bad news—that there would be no tour to promote the LP, that drummer Bevan was now playing drums for Black Sabbath and that bassist Kelly Groucutt had left the band. Rumours from fans about the group disbanding were publicly denied by Bevan. Although Secret Messages debuted at number four in the United Kingdom, it fell off the charts, failing to catch fire with a lack of hit singles in the U.K. (though "Rock and Roll Is King" was a sizeable hit in UK and the U.S.) and a lukewarm media response.

By 1983 Bevan was expressing a desire to join Black Sabbath permanently, Lynne and Tandy were recording tracks for the Electric Dreams soundtrack under Jeff Lynne's name, and, with Groucutt's departure, ELO was assumed to be finished. However, Lynne was contractually obligated to make one more ELO album.

Lynne, Bevan and Tandy returned to the studio in 1985 as a three-piece (with Christian Schneider playing saxophone on some tracks) to record ELO's final album of the 20th century, Balance of Power, released early in 1986. Though the single "Calling America" placed in the Top 30 in the United Kingdom (#28) and Top 20 in the States, subsequent singles failed to chart. The album was absent of actual strings, replaced once again by synthesisers, played by Tandy. The album also shed the customary ELO logo that had appeared on every album since 1976.

Lynne, with the 7-piece line-up that supported Time (with the exception of bassist Groucutt being replaced by Martin Smith), played a small number of live ELO performances in 1986, including shows in England and Germany along with US appearances on American Bandstand, Solid Gold, then at Disneyland that summer. The Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 was a charity concert organised by Bevan in ELO's hometown of Birmingham on 15 March 1986. A hint of Lynne's future was seen when George Harrison appeared onstage during the encore at Heartbeat, joining in the all-star jam of "Johnny B. Goode". ELO's last performance of the century occurred on 13 July 1986 in Stuttgart, Germany.

ELO essentially disbanded after that final show in Stuttgart in 1986, but there was no announcement made of it for the next two years, during which George Harrison's Lynne-produced album Cloud Nine and the pair's follow-up (with Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty) Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 were released. Bevan approached Lynne to make another ELO album in 1988. Lynne was not interested and went on to announce that ELO was no more.

ELO Part II

Bevan (under an agreement with Lynne who co-owned the ELO name with him) continued on in 1988 as ELO Part II, initially with no other former ELO members except Clark. ELO Part II released their debut album Electric Light Orchestra Part Two in 1990. Mik Kaminski, Kelly Groucutt and Hugh McDowell joined the band for the first tour in 1991. McDowell left after that tour. Bevan, Groucutt, Kaminski and Clark recorded a second album, Moment of Truth, in 1994 and toured extensively until 1999. Bevan retired from the line-up in 1999 and sold his share of the ELO name to Jeff Lynne in 2000. The remaining members continue to tour and record, renamed as The Orchestra.

Reformation in 2000

Jeff Lynne's comeback with ELO began in 2000 with the release of a retrospective box set, Flashback, containing three CDs of remastered tracks and a handful of out-takes and unfinished works, most notably a new version of ELO's only UK number one hit "Xanadu".

In 2001 Zoom, ELO's first album since 1986, was released. Though billed and marketed as an ELO album, the only returning member other than Jeff Lynne was Richard Tandy, who performed on one track. Zoom took on a more organic sound, with less emphasis on strings and electronic effects. Guest musicians included former Beatles Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Upon completion of the album Lynne reformed the band with completely new members including his then-girlfriend Rosie Vela (who had released her own album "Zazu", in 1986) and announced that ELO would tour again. Former ELO member Richard Tandy rejoined the band a short time afterwards for two television live performances: VH1 Storytellers and a PBS concert shot at CBS Television City, later titled Zoom Tour Live, that was released on DVD. The planned tour was cancelled. Lynne, a close friend of George Harrison, was also terribly affected by Harrison's illness and later death in November 2001. The ELO tour was not rescheduled.

Harvest Records and Epic/Legacy released ELO's back catalogue from 2001–07. Included amongst the remastered album tracks were unreleased songs and out-takes, including 2 new singles "Surrender" which registered on the lower end of the UK Singles Chart at #81, some 30 years after it was written in 1976. Another unreleased recording, "Latitude 88 North," was released as the third bonus track on the 2007 remastered version of their 1977 album Out of the Blue. The song was written in 1977, but existed only as a demo recording of the chorus. Jeff Lynne returned to the song and finished it in preparation for the remastered version of "Out of the Blue".

To date, ELO have not been nominated for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (the band have been eligible since 1996). Tony Sclafani is a regular MSNBC contributor and would nominate ELO to the Rock Hall, if asked.

Current releases

Although there has been no news on any forthcoming new ELO projects, ELO's core studio albums have now all been remastered and expanded with bonus tracks, leaving only The Night the Light Went On (in Long Beach), ELO's Greatest Hits, Xanadu, Zoom and ELO's Greatest Hits Live AKA Zoom Tour Live to be done. Latest in the Epic/Legacy series were Out of the Blue and Balance of Power which were released in February 2007. A lost demo from 1977 was finished and released in the United Kingdom as a download single on 6 February 2007, titled "Latitude 88 North".

All the original ELO albums were released in mini replica sleeves in Japan. Among the many features was the original Jet Records label on the disc and original inner sleeves and lyrics.

As a companion to the new remasters, another ELO compilation hit the German, then UK shops in October 2007, and was also released in the US 5 February 2008. It's the follow-up to and is called .

An eco-friendly repackage of The Essential Electric Light Orchestra called Playlist: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra was released on 2 September 2008.

On 9 August 2010, Eagle Rock Entertainment released Live – The Early Years in the UK as a DVD compilation that includes Fusion – Live In London (1976) along with never before released live performances at Brunel University (1973) and on a German TV show Rockpalast (1974). The US had a slightly edited release on 24 August 2010.

Band name and logo

The group's name is an intended pun based not only on electric light (as in a light bulb as seen on early album covers) but also using "electric" rock instruments combined with a "light orchestra" (orchestras with only a few cellos and violins that were popular in Britain during the 1960s).

The official band logo (left), designed in 1976 by artist Kosh, was first seen on their 1976 album A New World Record and is based on a 1946 Wurlitzer jukebox model 4008 speaker. The 4008 speaker was itself based upon the upper cabinet of the Wurlitzer model 1015 jukebox. The band's previous logo (right) was similar to the General Electric logo.

The new logo appeared on most of the band's album covers in various forms. For instance, on 1977's Out of the Blue, the logo was turned into a huge flying saucer space station, an enduring image now synonymous with the band. On the follow up album Discovery, the logo became a small glowing artefact on top of a treasure chest. Bev Bevan usually displayed the logo on his drum kit.

Personnel

Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, drums, cello, producer, songwriter, composer, arranger (1970–1983, 1985–1986, 2000–01)

Roy Wood – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, cello, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, drums, recorder, producer, songwriter, arranger (1970–1972)

Bev Bevan – drums, percussion, vocals (1970–1983, 1985–1986)

Richard Tandy – keyboards, synthesizers, bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals, arranger (1972–1983, 1985–1986, 2000–01)

Louis Clark – orchestra arranger, conductor (1974–1980, 1983)

Kelly Groucutt – bass guitar, vocals (1975–1983)

Mik Kaminski – violin (1973–1979, 1981–1983, 1986)

Hugh McDowell – cello (1972, 1973–1979)

Melvyn Gale – cello (1975–1979)

Mike Edwards – cello (1972–1974)

Mike de Albuquerque – bass guitar, vocals (1972–1974)

Wilfred Gibson – violin (1972–1973)

Colin Walker – cello (1972–1973)

Bill Hunt – keyboards, French horn, hunting horn (1970–1972)

Steve Woolam – violin (1970–1971)

Discography

The Electric Light Orchestra (1971)

ELO 2 (1973)

On the Third Day (1973)

Eldorado, A Symphony (1974)

Face the Music (1975)

A New World Record (1976)

Out of the Blue (1977)

Discovery (1979)

Xanadu (1980)

Time (1981)

Secret Messages (1983)

Balance of Power (1986)

Zoom (2001)

References

External links

Electric Light Orchestra Home – The Official Electric Light Orchestra Site.

Face the Music – Official ELO and related artists information site.

Electric Light Orchestra Legacy Recordings Site – ELO's page at their record label.

Jeff Lynne Song Database

Discovery – welcome to the show ELO & Jeff Lynne information page

Category:Electric Light Orchestra Category:Musical groups established in 1970 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2000 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Category:1970s music groups Category:1980s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Supergroups Category:Music from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:Harvest Records artists

Background	solo_singer
Born	September 26, 1948Cambridge, England
Instrument	Vocal, Piano
Genre	Pop, country
Occupation	Singer, actress, songwriter, entrepreneur
Years active	1963–present
Associated acts	Cliff Richard, John Travolta, Andy Gibb, Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, ELO, John Farrar, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Anni-Frid Lyngstad among others.
Url	olivianewton-john.com

Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. Her music has been successful in multiple formats including pop, country and adult contemporary. She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grease, which became one of the most successful films and movie soundtracks in Hollywood history.

Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. Since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.

Newton-John has been married twice. She currently lives with her second husband, John Easterling, in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida. She is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi.

Beginnings

Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to a Welsh father, Brinley ("Bryn") Newton-John, and a Jewish-German mother, Irene Born, the eldest child of the Nobel prize-winning atomic physicist Max Born. Newton-John's family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1954 where her father worked as a professor of German and as Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne.

At 14, Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl band, Sol Four, with three classmates often performing in a coffee shop owned by her brother-in-law. She became a regular on local Australian radio and television shows including HSV-7's The Happy Show where she performed as "Lovely Livvy." She also appeared on the Go Show where she met future duet partner, Pat Carroll, and future music producer John Farrar. (Carroll and Farrar would later marry.) She entered and won a talent contest on the television program, Sing, Sing, Sing, hosted by 1960s Australian icon Johnny O'Keefe performing the songs "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Newton-John was initially reluctant to use the prize she had won, a trip to England, but travelled there nearly a year later after her mother encouraged her to broaden her horizons. After Carroll's visa expired forcing her to return to Australia, Newton-John remained in England to pursue solo work until 1975. She became engaged to, but never married, The Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch.

Newton-John was recruited for the group Toomorrow formed by American producer Don Kirshner who was also the music consultant for the earliest recordings of The Monkees. In 1970, the group starred in a "science fiction musical" film and recorded an accompanying soundtrack both named after the group. The project bombed and the group disbanded.

Early success

Newton-John released her first solo album, If Not For You (No. 158 Pop), in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan and previously recorded by Beatle George Harrison for his 1970 album, All Things Must Pass, was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 AC). Her follow-up single, "Banks of the Ohio," was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia. She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. She made frequent appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show, It's Cliff Richard, and starred with him in the telefilm, The Case.

In 1974, Newton-John represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song, Long Live Love. The song was chosen for Newton-John by the British public out of six possible entries. (Newton-John later admitted that she disliked the song.) Newton-John placed fourth at the contest held in Brighton behind ABBA's winning Waterloo. All six Eurovision contest song candidates were recorded by Newton-John and included on her Long Live Love album, her first for the EMI Records label.

In the United States, Newton-John's career floundered after If Not For You. Subsequent singles including "Banks of the Ohio" (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC) and remakes of George Harrison's "What Is Life" (No. 34 AC) and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (No. 119 Pop) made minimal chart impact until the release of "Let Me Be There" in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7), and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female and Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week) and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts.

Newton-John's country success sparked a debate among purists who believed a foreigner singing country-flavored pop music did not belong in country music. This outrage led to the formation of the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers (ACE). Newton-John was eventually supported by the country music community. Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded "Ode To Olivia" and Newton-John recorded her 1976 album, Don't Stop Believin', in Nashville. and "Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). The soundtrack spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John: the platinum No. 1 "You're The One That I Want" (with John Travolta), the gold No. 3 "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and the gold No. 5 "Summer Nights" (with John Travolta and the film's cast). The former two songs were written and composed by Newton-John's long-time music producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film. ("Summer Nights" was written for the original play by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.) Newton-John became the second female (after Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles – "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights" – in the Billboard Top 5 simultaneously. Newton-John's performance earned her a People's Choice award for Favorite Motion Picture Actress. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted To You" at the 1979 Academy Awards.

The film's popularity has endured through the years. It was re-released for its 20th anniversary in 1998 and ranked as the second highest grossing film behind Titanic in its opening weekend. It was most recently re-released in July 2010 as a sing-along version in select American theatres. The soundtrack still sells strongly enough to often appear on Billboard's Top Soundtracks chart.

New image

Newton-John's transformation in Grease from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2" emboldened Newton-John to do the same with her music career. In November 1978, she released her next studio album Totally Hot, which became her first solo Top 10 (No. 7) album since Have You Never Been Mellow. Dressed on the cover all in leather, the album's singles "A Little More Love" (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), "Deeper Than The Night" (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC), and the title track (No. 52 Pop) all demonstrated a more aggressive and more uptempo sound for Newton-John. Although the album clearly de-emphasized country, it still reached No. 4 on the Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, "Dancin' 'Round And 'Round," of the "Totally Hot" single to Country radio, where it peaked at No. 29 (as well as No. 82 Pop and No. 25 AC), becoming her last charted solo Country airplay single to date.

Newton-John began 1980 by releasing I Can't Help It (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with Andy Gibb from his After Dark album, and by starring in her third television special, Hollywood Nights. Later that year, she appeared in her first film since Grease, starring in the musical Xanadu with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. Although the movie was a critical failure, its soundtrack (No. 4 Pop) was certified double platinum boasting five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Newton-John charted with Magic (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), Suddenly with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC), and the title song with the Electric Light Orchestra (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC). The Electric Light Orchestra also charted with "I'm Alive" (No. 16 Pop, No. 48 AC) and "All Over The World" (No. 13 Pop, No. 46 AC). Magic was Newton-John's biggest Pop hit to that point (four weeks at No. 1) (A successful national tour of the show followed.)

In 1981, Newton-John released her most successful studio album, the double platinum Physical. The title track, written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, spent ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, matching the record of most weeks at No. 1 held by Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life. The single was certified platinum and it ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade. (In 2008, Billboard ranked the song No. 6 among all songs that charted in the 50-year history of the Hot 100.) "Physical" even earned Newton-John her only placement ever on the R&B; Singles (No. 28) and Albums (No. 32) chart. The Physical album spawned two more singles, Make a Move on Me (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and Landslide (No. 52 Pop).

The provocative lyrics of the title track prompted two Utah radio stations to ban the single from their playlists. (In 2010, Billboard magazine ranked this as the most popular single ever about sex.) To counter its overtly suggestive tone, Newton-John filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an aerobics anthem and made headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym. Newton-John became a pioneer in the nascent music video industry by recording a video album for Physical featuring videos of all the album's tracks and three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime time special, Let's Get Physical, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack (No. 26 Pop) featuring Twist Of Fate (No. 5 Pop), The couple had met four years earlier while filming Xanadu. Their daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, was born in January 1986. (They divorced in 1995.) Newton-John's music career cooled again with the release of her next studio album, the gold Soul Kiss (No. 29 Pop), in 1985. The album's only charted single was the title track (No. 20 Pop, No. 20 AC). The album's second single, Toughen Up, failed to even chart. The video album for Soul Kiss featured videos of only five (two concept, three performance) of the album's ten tracks. Newton-John limited her publicity for the album due to her pregnancy.

Motherhood and advocacy

After a nearly three-year hiatus to raise Chloe, Newton-John resumed her recording career with the 1988 album, The Rumour. The album was promoted by an HBO special, Olivia Down Under, and its first single, the title track, was written and produced by Elton John. Both the single (No. 62 Pop, No. 33 AC) and the album (No. 67 Pop) fizzled as the nearly 40 year-old Newton-John seemed "old" when compared with the teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany ruling the Pop charts at that time. (Ironically, this album was praised by critics as more mature with Newton-John addressing topics such as AIDS, the environment and single parent households.) The second single, the Sandy Linzer/Irwin Levine–penned Can't We Talk It Over In Bed, did not chart. (Grayson Hugh, the song's arranger, subsequently released his version of the song as Talk It Over in 1989 and it became a Top 20 Pop hit.) A year later, Newton-John recorded her self-described "self-indulgent" album, Warm and Tender. Inspired by her daughter, who appeared on the album cover, the album featured lullabies and love songs for parents and their children. Newton-John recovered and since became a tireless advocate for breast cancer research and other health issues. She is a product spokesperson for the Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product. She is also partial owner of the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay, Australia advertised as "the ideal place to renew, refresh, and restore your mind, body and soul."

Newton-John's advocacy for health issues was presaged by her prior involvement with many humanitarian causes. Newton-John cancelled a 1978 concert tour of Japan to protest the slaughter of dolphins caught in tuna fishing nets. (She subsequently rescheduled the tour when the Japanese government assured her the matter was being addressed.) She was a performer on the 1979 Music for UNICEF Concert for the United Nations' International Year of the Child televised worldwide. During the concert, artists performed songs for which they donated their royalties, some in perpetuity, to benefit the cause. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme. In 1991, she became the National Spokesperson for the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund/CHEC (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition) following the death of four year old Colette Chuda, a family friend, from cancer. (Chuda was featured along with Newton-John and daughter Chloe on the cover of Newton-John's Warm and Tender album.)

Newton-John's cancer diagnosis also affected the type of music she recorded. In 1994, she released Gaia: One Woman's Journey which chronicled her ordeal. This was the first album on which Newton-John wrote and composed all of the songs encouraging her to become more active as a songwriter thereafter. In 2005, she released Stronger Than Before, sold exclusively in the United States by Hallmark. Proceeds from the album's sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song Phenomenal Woman based on the poem by Maya Angelou that featured guest vocals from Diahann Carroll, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Delta Goodrem, Amy Holland, Patti LaBelle, and Mindy Smith - all survivors of or affected by cancer. The following year, Newton-John released a healing CD, Grace And Gratitude. The album was sold exclusively by Walgreens also benefitting various charities including Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. The CD was the "heart" of their "Body – Heart – Spirit" Wellness Collection which also featured a re-branded Liv-Kit and breast-health dietary supplements.

In 2008, Newton-John raised funds to help build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia. She led a three-week, 228 km. walk along the Great Wall of China during April joined by various celebrities and cancer survivors throughout her trek. The walk symbolized the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery. Newton-John released a companion CD, A Celebration In Song, the following month in Australia and later worldwide featuring new and previously recorded duets by "Olivia Newton-John & Friends." Her "Friends" included Jann Arden, Jimmy Barnes, John Farrar, Barry Gibb, Delta Goodrem, Sun Ho, Richard Marx, Cliff Richard, Melinda Schneider, Amy Sky and Keith Urban. In October, Newton-John helped launch the www.liv.com website and teamed with fitness franchise Curves to distribute one million Liv-Aid breast self-examination aids for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Newton-John collaborated with producer David Foster to record Hope Is Always Here for the November 2009 television special, Kaleidoscope. The song was written and composed for the show's performance by another breast cancer survivor, figure skater Dorothy Hamill. The song was released as a digital single after the show aired.

Newton-John's spirituality also extended to the release of several Christmas albums. In 2000, she teamed with Vince Gill and the London Symphony Orchestra for 'Tis The Season sold exclusively through Hallmark. The following year, she released The Christmas Collection which compiled seasonal music previously recorded for her Hallmark Christmas album, her appearance on Kenny Loggins's 1999 TNN Christmas special and her contributions to the Mother And Child and Spirit Of Christmas multi-artist collections. In 2007, she re-teamed with her Grace And Gratitude producer, Amy Sky, for Christmas Wish (No. 187 Pop) which was sold exclusively by Target in its first year of release.

Later career

Newton-John continued to record and perform pop-oriented music as well. In 1998, she returned to Nashville to record Back With A Heart (No. 59 Pop).

Newton-John's television work included starring in two Christmas movies, A Mom For Christmas (1990) and A Christmas Romance (1994) – both Top 10 Nielsen hits. Her daughter, Chloe, starred as one of her children in both A Christmas Romance and in the 2001 Showtime film The Wilde Girls. Newton-John guest-starred as herself in the sitcoms Ned and Stacey, Murphy Brown, and Bette, and made two appearances as herself on Glee. For her first Glee appearance, Newton-John re-created her "Physical" video with series regular Jane Lynch. The performance was released as a digital single, returning Newton-John to the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 89) for the first time since her 1998 re-release of I Honestly Love You. In Australia, Newton-John hosted the animal and nature series Wild Life and guest starred as Joanna on two episodes of the Australian series The Man From Snowy River.

Newton-John met gaffer/cameraman Patrick McDermott a year after her 1995 divorce from Matt Lattanzi. The couple dated on and off for nine years. McDermott disappeared following a 2005 fishing trip off the California coast. Various theories abounded regarding his disappearance ranging from his death by accident or foul play to McDermott staging his disappearance to avoid child support payments to his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar. Newton-John, who was in Australia at her Gaia Retreat & Spa at the time of his disappearance, was never a suspect in McDermott's disappearance and has refused to comment on any speculation. A US Coast Guard investigation released in 2008 "suggest[ed] McDermott was lost at sea," although some have claimed contact with McDermott since his disappearance. Newton-John returned to the tabloid headlines again in 2007 when it was revealed that her daughter Chloe was recovering from anorexia.

Newton-John released another concert DVD, Olivia Newton-John and the Sydney Symphony: Live at the Sydney Opera House, and a companion CD, Olivia's Live Hits, in January 2008. An edited version of the DVD premiered on PBS station, WLIW (Garden City, New York), in October 2007 and subsequently aired nationally during the network's fund-raising pledge drives. This was Newton-John's third live album after the 1981 Japanese release, Love Performance, and her 2000 Australian release, One Woman's Live Journey.

In June 2008, Newton-John secretly wed John ("Amazon John") Easterling, founder and president of natural remedy firm, Amazon Herb Company. The couple had first met 15 years earlier, but they only became romantically involved in 2007. (Like Newton-John, this was Easterling's second marriage.) The couple married alone in a private Incan spiritual ceremony in Cuzco, Peru on June 21 followed nine days later by a legal ceremony on the Jupiter Island beachfront in Florida. There were no guests at either service since the couple preferred to marry simply and privately. Only Newton-John's daughter, Chloe, was aware of the nuptials. The couple did not announce their marriage until a July 4th barbecue at Newton-John's Malibu, California home, where guests were surprised with the news. The wedding was confirmed thereafter by HELLO! Magazine which published exclusive pictures of both weddings. In June 2009, the Easterlings purchased a new $4.1 million home in Jupiter Inlet, and Newton-John sold her home in Malibu, California.

Current endeavors

Newton-John still occasionally tours. Most of her recent public performances have been at charitable functions or to promote products such as Zamu, produced by Amazon Herb, a company founded by John Easterling. Her tour schedule can be found at http://olivianewton-john.com/tour.html.

Newton-John joined Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst as co-host of the health and well-being series Healing Quest, currently airing on PBS.

Newton-John re-recorded some tracks from her 2006 Grace And Gratitude album and re-released the album as Grace And Gratitude Renewed in September 2010 on the Green Hill music label. The Renewed CD includes a new track, "Help Me To Heal", which was not featured on the original album. Her 2001 The Christmas Collection was also re-released in October 2010 with different artwork. Green Hill will re-release Newton-John's 2008 CD, A Celebration In Song, with different artwork on January 25. The Renewed CD charted in Billboard as follows:

* Christian Albums (No. 36)

* Christian & Gospel Albums (No. 54)

* New Age (No. 2)

Newton-John starred in the film , released in Canada. Newton-John portrays Hope Gordon, the mother of a home-schooled hockey prodigy. The film opened the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2010, and it features a duet by Newton-John with her co-star, Marc Jordan.

Newton-John is featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docu-drama, 1 a Minute, released October 2010. The documentary was made by actress Namrata Singh Gujral, and it features breast cancer survivors Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Namrata Singh Gujral, Mumtaz and Jaclyn Smith. The film also features brothers Daniel and William Baldwin, Morgan Brittany, Deepak Chopra, Priya Dutt, Barbara Mori and Lisa Ray.

Bluewater Productions released a comic book featuring Newton-John in October 2010 to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Ten of Newton-John's albums were re-released separately and combined as a box set in October 2010 by Universal Music Japan. The albums include Long Live Love, Have You Never Been Mellow, Clearly Love, Come On Over, Don't Stop Believin', Making A Good Thing Better, Totally Hot, Physical, Soul Kiss, and The Rumour. Each studio album featured two additional bonus tracks not included on the original releases of each album. On the same day, Universal Music Japan also released a "40/40" compilation that included 40 of Newton-John's hits as voted for by her Japanese fans as well as a previously unreleased bonus track, "Come on Home". Newton-John promoted these re-releases with a five-date tour of Japan.

Discography and videography

;Studio albums

If Not For You (1971)

Olivia (1972)

Let Me Be There/Music Makes My Day (1973)

Long Live Love (1974)

If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974)

Have You Never Been Mellow (1975)

Clearly Love (1975)

Come On Over (1976)

Don't Stop Believin' (1976)

Making a Good Thing Better (1977)

Totally Hot (1978)

Physical (1981)

Soul Kiss (1985)

The Rumour (1988)

Warm and Tender (1989)

Gaia (1994)

Back With a Heart (1998)

'Tis the Season (2000)

The Christmas Collection (Olivia Newton-John album) (2001)

(2) (2002)

(2004)

Stronger Than Before (2005)

Grace and Gratitude (2006)

Christmas Wish (2007)

A Celebration in Song (2008)

Grace And Gratitude Renewed (2010)

;Main compilation albums

Greatest Hits (1977)

Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982)

(1992)

;Live albums

Love Performance (1981)

Highlights from The Main Event (1998)

One Woman's Live Journey (2000)

Olivia's Live Hits (2008)

;Soundtracks

Toomorrow (1970)

(1978)

Xanadu (1980)

Two of a Kind (1983)

Sordid Lives (2000)

(2008)

;DVDs

Olivia Physical (1982)

Olivia in Concert (1983)

Twist of Fate (1983)

Soul Kiss (1985)

Olivia Down Under (1988)

Live at the Sydney Opera House (2008)

Video Gold 1 (2005)

Video Gold 2 (2005)

Filmography

Tours

If Not For You Tour (1972)

Cliff Richard Japan tour w/Pat Carroll (1972)

Clearly Love Tour (1975)

Love Performance Tour (1976)

Totally Hot World Tour (1978)

Physical World Tour (1982)

The Main Event Tour (1998)

Greatest Hits Tour (1999)

One Woman's Live Journey Tour (1999)

Millennium Tour (2000)

30 Musical Years Tour (2001)

Heartstrings World Tour (2002)

Japan 2006 Tour (2006)

Live at the Sydney Opera House Tour (2006)

Grace and Gratitude Tour (2006)

Body Heart & Spirit Tour (2007)

Verona-Canadian 2007 Tour (2007)

United States 2009 Tour (2009)

Awards and honours

{| class=wikitable |- style="background:#ccc;" !Year !Category !Genre !Recording !Result |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Grammy Awards |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1973 |Best Female Country Vocal Performance |Country |"Let Me Be There" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1974 |Record of the Year |General |"I Honestly Love You" | |- align=left |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"I Honestly Love You" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1975 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Have You Never Been Mellow" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1978 |Album of the Year |General |"Grease" (Soundtrack) | |- align=left |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Hopelessly Devoted to You" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1980 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Magic" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1981 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Physical" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1982 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Heart Attack" | |- align=left |Video of the Year |General |Olivia Physical | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1983 |Best Long Form Music Video |General |Olivia in Concert | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1984 |Best Short Form Music Video |General |Twist of Fate | |}

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

List of songs by Australian artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)

List of songs by British artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

References

Bibliography

Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Olivia Newton-John." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 380–1.

The Story of the Shadows by Mike Read. 1983. Elm Tree books. ISBN 0-241-10861-6.

Rock 'n' Roll, I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life – A Life In The Shadows by Bruce Welch ISBN 0-670-82705-3 (Penguin Books).

External links

Olivia Newton-John

Gaia Retreat

Great Walk To Beijing

ON-J Cancer Centre Appeal

Breast Health

Newton-John, Olivia (1948-) National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for Olivia Newton-John

Category:1948 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Living people Category:Actors from Melbourne Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian country singers Category:Australian dance musicians Category:Australian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian people of German descent Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian television actors Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:British Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:English country singers Category:English dance musicians Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English female singers Category:English film actors Category:English immigrants to Australia Category:English pop singers Category:English people of German descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English television actors Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1974 Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Australia Category:Officers of the Order of Australia Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cambridge Category:Singers from Melbourne