Olivia Newton John RIP

It's been a really bad few days for the loss of favourite singers and performers.

First Bernard Cribbins died, then Judith Durham, and now within a few hours we lose Olivia Newton-John and  The Pogues' bass player Darryl Hunt dies age 72.

Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge on 26 September 1948. Her Welsh father had been an MI5 agent during World War II and had been attached to the Enigma code-breaking project at Bletchley Park.

Her mother was the daughter of the German Nobel laureate, Max Born, and had fled with her family when the Nazis came to power in 193.

In 1954 her father took up a post as a professor of German at the University of Melbourne and the family moved to Australia.

As a child Newton-John had developed a fascination with animals and harboured ambitions to be a vet but she found science a struggle at school and abandoned the idea.

Instead, she turned to music. 

She began her career as a singer of country-style pop-music, but her breakthrough performance, and a complete image makeover, came with her performance as Sandy in the 1978 film "Grease." For anyone who hasn't seen the film, the character Sandy starts off as a demure young lady in  twinsets and calf-length skirts, but then transforms into an electrifying sex bomb in black skin-tight trousers.

Released in 1978 and set 20 years earlier, Grease was an immediate hit, taking $160m at the box office and becoming an international phenomenon. It was the highest grossing musical movie of the 20th Century, and gave Newton-John three hit singles, You're The One That I Want, Hopelessly Devoted to You and Summer Nights as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.


After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Newton-John reinvented herself again. She spent more of her time as an advocate of humanitarian and health issues. She had already established herself as a campaigner for animal welfare, cancelling a tour of Japan in 1978 as a protest against the slaughter of dolphins caught in tuna nets.

She was a supporter of cancer charities, something that led to the opening of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre in Melbourne.

She continued to record although many of her subsequent albums were only released in Australia where she performed at the opening of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

In 2019 her legendary tight black trousers and leather jacket from Grease were auctioned for $405,000. 

In line with her wishes, the proceeds were donated to Australian cancer research.

Her efforts in the field of fundraising for cancer research were recognised by the Queen, who honoured her with a damehood in the 2020 New Year's Honours list.

In a statement posted to her social media channels, Newton-John's husband John Easterling said she had died on Monday, hailing her "a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years, sharing her journey with breast cancer".

He added

"Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer."


Rest in Peace

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