There’s a limited idea that Olivia Newton-John’s career, whether in cinema or pop, ran solely from “virginal girl-next-door” to “spandex-clad vixen”, as one rather snotty obituary put it. While that transformation may apply to her most famous role as Sandy in the musical Grease, it does a disservice to how ably – and convincingly – the chameleonic British-Australian musician shape-shifted between genres and rode the changing moods of pop to become one of the biggest hit-makers of her era and an enduring cult icon.
Newton-John broke out at the beginning of the 1970s as a country-pop singer, with single If Not For You, a Bob Dylan cover, becoming an unexpected hit in North America. She cemented her reputation in the genre with the assertive, Grammy-winning Let Me Be There, her first US Top 10 hit, the ballad I Honestly Love You and the plaintive Please Mr Please, which reached No 3 in the US pop charts, No 5 in its country charts and No 1 in easy listening. By 1974, she had been named female vocalist of the year by the Country Music Association, and not without controversy – Newton-John beat Nashville royalty such as Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton to the prize, which prompted an industry protest.
