Olivia Newton-John videography explained

Artist:Olivia Newton-John video
Music Videos:62
Option:3
Option Name:Concert tour videos
1Option:4
1Option Name:Video collections
2Option:2
2Option Name:Video compilations
3Option:1
3Option Name:TV special videos
4Option:3
4Option Name:Promotional videos

The videography of British-Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John consists of sixty-two music videos, three concert tour videos, four music video collections, two music video compilations, one TV special video and three promotional videos for television programs.

Newton-John first music video was for "Follow Me", a promotional single from her 1975 album Have You Never Been Mellow. She released another four music videos (including two from live performances) before Grease. The singles from Grease had excerpts from the film as music videos, with heavy rotation in television. After Grease, Newton-John image changed from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2", and she released the successful album Totally Hot, with four new music videos (including one live on tour). It's Olivia first pop studio album, before that, her career was basically focused on country music.

Although initially Olivia did not want to release it, in 1981 "Physical" came out with a music video for the song. The single was a commercial phenomenon, staying for ten weeks on the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The music video was very controversial and was banned by several broadcasters (MTV originally cut the ending).[1] The following year Newton-John released the ABC television special Let's Get Physical, with the music video for "Physical" and new music videos for the Physical album and the Grease and Xanadu soundtracks. The special was a success and received a home video release with two new music videos added ("Love Make Me Strong" and "Falling"), as Olivia Physical. The video won a Grammy Award for Video of the Year and became an iconic piece of the popular culture.[2] In 1983, another music video collection was released, Twist of Fate. The music videos are from Two of a Kind soundtrack ("Take a Chance" is a duet with John Travolta, who appeared in the music video), starring Newton-John. The music video for "Twist of Fate" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. The Soul Kiss video was released in 1985 and features five music videos for the songs of the album of the same name.

The last music video collection released by Newton-John, to date, is the musical-style Olivia Down Under. The video premiered in 1988 on HBO and in 1989 on home video, and features various songs from the album The Rumour, plus some unreleased songs. In the video, Olivia travels through Australia, celebrates the country bicentenary and shows more of the Australian culture. In 1998, Newton-John made a comeback to country music with the album Back with a Heart and recorded two music videos: one for the lead single, a re-recording of her 1975 hit "I Honestly Love You", and another for the song "Precious Love", to promote the album on Country Music Television. In 2011, the music video for "Magic" (Peach & Murphy remix) featured the biggest cast ever for an Australian music video, with over 300 people.

Beyond the official releases, there are also several licensed home video releases by small distributors, with unreleased Newton-John material such as concerts, music videos and television specials. Examples of these releases are the DVDs 20th Century Masters: The Best of ONJ,[3] A Million Lights Are Dancing: The Heartstrings Tour,[4] Simply Olivia[5] and Live in Japan 1976.[6]

Music videos

1970s

YearMusic videoDirector(s)Notes
1975"Follow Me"
1976"Don't Stop Believin'"
"Every Face Tells a Story"Filmed at Newton-John's house in Malibu, California.
"Sam"A live performance from The Midnight Special.
1977"Making a Good Thing Better"A live performance.
1978"You're the One That I Want" (with John Travolta)Randal Kleiser[7] The music videos for "You're the One That I Want", "Summer Nights" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" are excerpts from the film Grease.
"Summer Nights" (with John Travolta)
"Hopelessly Devoted to You"
"A Little More Love"Alan Metter[8] The music videos for "A Little More Love" and "Deeper Than the Night" were filmed at the same locations.
"Deeper Than the Night"
"A Little More Love" (Live Version)A live performance from the Totally Hot World Tour.
1979"Totally Hot"Alan MetterFilmed at Century City, Los Angeles. Includes footage from ABC Entertainment Center and Century Plaza Towers.

1980s

YearMusic videoDirector(s)Notes
1980"Xanadu"Robert Greenwald[9] Excerpt from the film Xanadu.
1981"Physical"Brian Grant[10] [11] Filmed for the Olivia Physical video collection.
1982"Landslide"
"Magic"
"Carried Away"
"A Little More Love" (1982 version)
"Recovery"
"The Promise (The Dolphin Song)"
"Love Make Me Strong"
"Stranger's Touch"
"Make a Move on Me"
"Falling"
"Silvery Rain"
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1982 version)
1982"Heart Attack"
"Tied Up"
1983"Twist of Fate"Filmed for the Twist of Fate video collection.
"Take a Chance" (with John Travolta)David Mallet
"Livin' in Desperate Times"Brian Grant
"Shaking You"
1985"Soul Kiss"David Mallet[12] Filmed for the Soul Kiss video collection.
"Toughen Up"
"Emotional Tangle"
"Culture Shock"
"The Right Moment"
1986"The Best of Me" (David Foster with Olivia Newton-John)Filmed at David Foster's house.
1988"The Rumour"Brian Grant[13]
"Can't We Talk It Over in Bed"
"Tutta la vita"Filmed for the Olivia Down Under video collection.
"Click Go the Shears"
"Walk Through Fire"
"Old Fashioned Man"
"Let's Talk About Tomorrow"
"Winter Angel"
"Get Out"
"Big and Strong"
"Love and Let Live"
"It's Always Australia for Me"
1989"Reach Out for Me"

1990s

YearMusic videoDirector(s)Notes
1992"I Need Love"The video features snippets from the music videos for "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed" and "Love and Let Live".
1994"No Matter What You Do"Filmed at Newton-John's house at Byron Bay, Australia.
1995"Had to Be" (Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John)
1997"Falling" (Raybon Brothers and Olivia Newton-John)
1998"One Heart at a Time" (with Various Artists)
"I Honestly Love You" (1998 version)Filmed at Los Angeles. Includes footage from Newton-John's house in Malibu.
"Precious Love"Made for Country Music Television.

2010s

YearMusic videoDirector(s)Notes
2011"Magic" (Peach & Murphy remix)Dan Murphy[14] The music videos for "Magic" (Peach & Murphy remix) and "Mickey" (Chew Fu Fix) do not feature Newton-John's participation.
2012"Mickey" (Chew Fu Fix)
"Weightless"Fan-made with clips from the movie A Few Best Men.
"I Think You Might Like It" (with John Travolta)Rav Holly, Corey Molina[15]
2015"You Have to Believe" (with daughter Chloe Lattanzi)Olivia's daughter Chloe released a re-working of "Magic". Olivia sings and appears in the video on the chorus.
2016"Live On" (with Amy Sky & Beth Nielsen Chapman)Robert Lynden

Promotional music videos

YearMusic videoDirector(s)Notes
1982"Physical" (Alternative version)Promotional music video filmed for Brazilian weekly television Fantástico during the Physical promotion in the country.
1992"I Need Love" (Alternative version)Promotional music video filmed in the Netherlands during the Back to Basics promotion in the country. The video features an edited version for the song.
2010"Physical" (Glee cast featuring Olivia Newton-John)Elodie Keene[16] The music video is a part of "Bad Reputation" episode from the TV series Glee. It's a remake from the original video, featuring Newton-John and Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch).

Video albums

Concert tour videos

YearTitleProduction detailsNotes
1983Olivia in Concert
1999The Main Event
  • Contains The Main Event Tour as shot live in Melbourne, Australia, 1998 in support of her seventeenth album Back with a Heart. An Australia-only release.[19]
2008Live at the Sydney Opera House
  • Released: January 2008
  • Label: EMI
  • Format: CD, DVD
  • Contains the 2006 World Tour as shot live in Sydney, Australia, 2008.[20]
  • Charted at No. 17 on Billboard Music Video Chart.
2015Two Strong Hearts Live
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: Sony
  • Format: DVD

Music video collections

YearTitleProduction detailsNotes
1982Olivia Physical
  • Released: 1982
  • Label: MCA Home Video
  • Format: VHS, Laserdisc
  • Includes the music videos of "Landslide", "Magic", "Physical", "Carried Away", "A Little More Love" (1982 version), "Recovery", "The Promise (The Dolphin Song)", "Love Makes Me Strong", "Stranger's Touch", "Make a Move on Me", "Falling", "Sivery Rain" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1982 version).[21]
  • Charted at No. 11 on Billboard Top VHS Sales and at No. 18 on Billboard Top Video Rentals.
1983Twist of Fate
  • Released: 1983
  • Label: MCA Home Video
  • Format: VHS, Laserdisc
  • Includes the music videos of "Twist of Fate", "Take a Chance", "Livin' in Desperate Times" and "Shaking You".[22]
  • Charted at No. 9 on Billboard Top VHS Sales and at No. 14 on Billboard Top Videodisks. Was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of 100,000 units in the United States.
1985Soul Kiss
  • Released: 1985
  • Label: MCA Home Video
  • Format: VHS, Laserdisc
  • Includes the music videos of "Toughen Up", "Emotional Tangle", "Culture Shock", "Soul Kiss" and "The Right Moment".[23]
1989Olivia Down Under
  • Includes the music videos of "Tuta la vita", "Click Go the Shears", "Walk Through Fire", "Old Fashioned Man", "Let's Talk About Tomorrow", "Winter Angel", "Get Out", "Big and Strong", "Love and Let Live", "It's Always Australia for Me" and "The Rumour".[24]

Music video compilations

YearTitleProduction detailsNotes
2005Video Gold I
  • Promotional music videos from 1978 to 1983. Includes "Deeper Than the Night" "A Little More Love", "Totally Hot", "Landslide", "Magic", "Physical", "Carried Away", "A Little More Love" (1982 version), "Recovery", "The Promise (The Dolphin Song)", "Love Makes Me Strong", "Stranger's Touch", "Make a Move on Me", "Falling", "Silvery Rain", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1982 version), "Let Me Be There" (Olivia in Concert), "Please Mr. Please" (Olivia in Concert) and "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" (Olivia in Concert).
  • Charted at No. 17 on Billboard Comprehensive Music Videos and at No. 17 on Billboard Top Music Videos.
Video Gold II
  • Released: August 2005
  • Label: Geffen Home Video
  • Format: DVD
  • Promotional music videos from 1983 to 1998. Includes "Twist of Fate", "Take a Chance", "Livin' in Desperate Times", "Shaking You", "Heart Attack", "Tied Up", "Soul Kiss", "Culture Shock", "Emotional Tangle", "Toughen Up", "The Right Moment", "The Rumour", "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed", "Reach Out for Me", "I Need Love", "I Honestly Love You" (1998 version), "Sam" (Olivia in Concert), "Suddenly" (Olivia in Concert), "You're the One That I Want" (Olivia in Concert) and "Xanadu" (Olivia in Concert).[25]
  • Charted at No. 21 on Billboard Comprehensive Music Videos and at No. 21 on Billboard Top Music Videos.
Video Gold I & II
  • Region 2 DVD release, containing the music videos from both I and II editions.[26]
  • Charted at No. 11 on Australian ARIA Charts and certified Gold [27]

TV special videos

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Olivia Newton-John tried to stop 'Physical' music video from being released in 1981. 20 April 2010. New York Daily News. 26 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Spinner – Olivia Newton-John Almost Didn't Release 'Physical' Because of Its Sexy Tone. spinner.com. 26 May 2023.
  3. Web site: 20th Century Masters - The Best of Olivia Newton-John: The DVD Collection. 30 March 2004. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  4. Web site: Olivia Newton John - A Million Lights Are Dancing. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  5. Web site: Olivia Newton-John Simply Olivia. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  6. Web site: Live in Japan 1976. sunmarino.com.br.
  7. Web site: Grease. 16 June 1978. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.
  8. Web site: Olivia Newton-John - Video Gold 1. 30 August 2005. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  9. Web site: Xanadu. 8 August 1980. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.
  10. Web site: Olivia Newton-John: Physical. 8 February 1982. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.
  11. Web site: Twist of Fate Olivia Newton-John Music Video. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  12. Web site: Soul Kiss videogram by Olivia Newton-John. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  13. Web site: Olivia Down Under. 30 July 1988. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.
  14. Web site: Samesame.com.au. 38.samesame.com.au. 26 May 2023.
  15. Web site: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John - I Think You Might Like It (Closed-Captioned). 26 May 2023. YouTube.
  16. Web site: Bad Reputation. 4 May 2010. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.
  17. Web site: Olivia in Concert 1982 VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  18. Book: Google Books – Billboard 23 fev. 1985. 23 February 1985.
  19. Web site: Main Event VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  20. Web site: Olivia Newton-John: Live at the Sydney Opera House. 15 January 2008. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  21. Web site: Physical VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  22. Web site: Twist Of Fate VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  23. Web site: Soul Kiss VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  24. Web site: Down Under VHS. Onlyolivia.com. 26 May 2023.
  25. Web site: Olivia Newton-John - Video Gold 2. 30 August 2005. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  26. Web site: Olivia Newton-John: Video Gold 1 And 2. 8 January 2008. 26 May 2023. Amazon.
  27. Web site: Trove - Archived webpage. Trove. 26 May 2023.
  28. Web site: Olivia. 17 May 1978. 26 May 2023. IMDb.com.