ON-J in her own words...

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ON-J in her own words...

Postby drakula63 » Sat May 13, 2017 7:51 pm

I suspect that THIS might well be worth listening to, especially since this (the first programme) will cover the Cliff/Shadows/MWF years...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pvvlj


Going back to her teenage years, Olivia remembers returning to England in 1966. "I had won a talent contest In Australia when I was 15 on a rock and roll show. And the prize was a trip to London. I was at school and my mother wanted me to go to RADA, that was her dream."Homesick, Olivia pined for her boyfriend back in Melbourne and her burgeoning career on Australian television.

She reflects on her first taste of success in swinging London, performing as a double act with her friend Pat Carroll. Life on the road was fun and they were backing singers for Sir Cliff Richard, Frank Ifield, The Seekers and The Shadows - but there were also some hilarious incidents:"One night we were booked into Raymond's Revue bar and so we went to sing there, us in our pink mini skirts with flowers all over them. And we got up on the stage and behind us was a woman swimming around topless in a fish tank. And we didn't really understand what was going on. We looked out into the audience and there was just a few tables with guys in raincoats. We did our show and Mr Raymond came up and paid us off, cash, and said thank you but this isn't going to work. And we were mortified because we didn't really get it, where we had been!"

After being picked out by Harry Saltzman to appear in a wacky sixties musical film 'Toomorrow', Olivia recalls scoring her first major hit with a cover of Bob Dylan's 'If Not For You' in 1971 and finding fame on The Cliff Richard Show. Co-produced by The Shadows' guitarist, Bruce Welch (her then fiance) and Australian musician John Farrar, she had a string of country-tinged hits with Banks of The Ohio, Take Me Home (Country Roads) and If You Love Me Let Me Know, plus classic ballads Sam and I Honestly Love You.

But she remembers the surprising backlash from Nashville purists when her records began to dominate the American Country charts, winning a string of music awards including the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1973. "There was a controversy when I won because I was an Australian, I recorded these songs in England, it was written by an Englishman. It was totally out of the box. And they weren't very happy because they had their own thing and I understand. But Dolly Parton stood up for me, Loretta Lynn did and Stella Parton wrote a really sweet song."


I suspect that the song she is referring to here is "If You Love Me Let Me Know" by John Rostill. I also suspect that she was perceived in the US as being Australian as she was born here in the UK about four or five miles from where I am sitting typing this!!!
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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby cockroach » Sun May 14, 2017 3:31 am

It's probably a bit better in Nashville these days, as there are a number of very successful and respected people who aren't American...Keith Urban (who is another Aussie) is one, and Tommy Emmanuel is another Aussie who was accepted there.

Ultimately, as in Olivia's case, if the music is good, and the artist is talented, and people appreciate that and make the music successful, it'll hopefully be successful regardless of where the artist or band originated..
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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby JimN » Sun May 14, 2017 3:47 am

In the late summer or autumn of 1966 (around the time of Olivia's 18th birthday), the Mew Musical Express "Alley Cat" column on its back page reported, in its inimitable bullet-point style, written without any verbs:

...Shadow Bruce Welch's new girlfriend Olivia Newton-John an absolute stunner...

That was your lot. I don't remember hearing any more about her for a year or two.
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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby alewis41 » Sun May 14, 2017 4:04 pm

Well spotted (again) Chris!

A few years ago I acquired some old negatives from a photographer in Australia, including a few of Bruce and Olivia at Essendon Airport in 1968. I sent copies to Bruce and had a nice note back from him...

Andrew
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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby Moderne » Sun May 14, 2017 10:50 pm

Thanks Chris, I'll listen out for that. Great photo, Andrew. Never seen Bruce looking that thin... Was this the 'cheese footballs' period?
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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby drakula63 » Tue May 16, 2017 8:51 am

I thought the programme was pretty good, although it's impossible to do justice to the subject of conversation in less than an hour. Cliff, Bruce and John & Pat Farrar were all interviewed and it was nice to hear Brian, Hank and John Rostill all getting name checks. And great to hear Apache, Lady of the Morning and Simplify Your Head getting an airing. Also quite a bit from Cliff's Live in Japan '72 album on which Pat and Olivia, John, Hank, Brian and Alans Tarney and Hawkshaw can be heard. What one comes away from it with is the acknowledgement that Cliff and the Shadows were instrumental (sorry) in launching Olivia's career and then helping her reach a much bigger audience. She has got a great voice and is one of the most beautiful and photogenic women I've ever seen, but sometimes this isn't enough. I was pleased to hear John Rostill and John Farrar being spoken of in such glowing terms by all those who commented on them. All in all, well worth hearing .


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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby alewis41 » Fri May 19, 2017 12:53 pm

Loved it. Thanks again Chris for highlighting the show. John Farrar doesn't do many interviews and it was great to hear him and Pat plus Bruce and Cliff. Those songs written by messrs Farrar, Rostill, Marvin and Welch still sound fantastic 40+ years later. Looking forward to part 2.

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Re: ON-J in her own words...

Postby drakula63 » Fri May 19, 2017 5:09 pm

Yeah. I must admit that I had forgotten that Bruce had written (or co-written with John Rostill) a U.S. Number 1 single - 'Please Mr Please'. A hell of an accomplishment as you would have had to sell a lot of records to get to Number 1 in those days!

Sorry to hear that Olivia is suffering a bit at the moment with sciatica and has had to postpone some gigs. She's actually due to perform at the Cambridge Folk Festival this year, in June I think, so fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.
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