“I met some young girls my own age and we started singing together called The Sol 4 and we sang in jazz clubs.” Olivia is about 14 at this time. However, it is not as a guitarist, but as a singer, that she gets her next break. “My mum gave me my first guitar when I was about 14,” recalls Olivia Newton-John. “My sister sent my photograph in,” reports Olivia. Olivia Newton-John wins a local contest as a look-alike for Hayley Mills, a popular British teen actress of the time. Show business comes calling, albeit in an unusual fashion. “My education was in Australia and I always felt I was Australian, even though my passport was British,” says Olivia Newton-John. She goes on to University High School in Melbourne. Olivia attends Christchurch Grammar School in South Yarra where she meets Daryl Braithwaite, future vocalist of Australian pop group Sherbet. While on the subject of extended family, Olivia Newton-John’s niece is Caroline Goldsmith who, as Tottie Goldsmith, becomes a member of Australian female vocal group The Chantoozies from 1986 to 1990. Olivia’s half-siblings are Toby and Sarah. He has two children with his second wife, Valerie Cunningham. “It affected my concentration at school.” Brin Newton-John later remarries. “I think I got a little distracted by that,” Olivia admits. In 1959 Olivia Newton-John’s parents divorce. He was a Welshman, of course, and they can all sing.” My father had a wonderful bass baritone voice. “I always sang as a child,” Olivia confirms, “and I always seemed to know the melody and lyrics of every song on the radio…Singing was kind of a family tradition. “When I was a young girl,” recalls Olivia Newton-John, “I was so crazy about animals that I wanted to do something associated with them, and I thought about being a vet.” The little girl is also interested in music. Brin Newton-John initiates the move to take up a new position as Professor of German and Master at Ormond College at the University of Melbourne in the Australian State of Victoria. In 1954 the Newton-John family moves to Australia. Her elder brother, Hugh, becomes a doctor while her big sister, Rona, goes on to a career as an actress. She adds, “My grandfather played wonderful piano.” Olivia Newton-John is the youngest of three children. He was a very close friend of Einstein,” points out Olivia. “My grandfather on my mother’s side was Max Born and he won the Nobel Prize for quantum physics in 1952, I believe. Born in Germany, she and her family left that country before World War Two to avoid the Nazi regime. Her mother is Irene Helene Newton-John (nee Born). “My father was a headmaster in England,” Olivia says. Brin Newton-John has a more academic life by the time his daughter is born. Born in Wales, he is a former officer of MI5, the British spy agency. Her father is Brinley (‘Brin’) Newton-John. Olivia Newton-John is born 26 September 1948 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. The results are the best moments of her career. Yet, almost simultaneously, outside of ‘Grease’, Olivia Newton-John reinvents herself as a more edgy and sexy performer. For years, she has been viewed as being just as sweet as her character, Sandy. The importance of this moment is how it resonates with Olivia Newton-John’s public image as a singer. Danny is played by John Travolta and Sandy is played by Olivia Newton-John. This is a scene from the movie ‘Grease’ (1978). She is now a vixen in tight spandex pants and a leather jacket. Sandy Olssen, the sweet girl he has been chasing, has undergone a stunning metamorphosis. “Where, where did my innocence go? / I, I was a young girl, you know” – ’A Little More Love’ (John Farrar)
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