Voice of Real Australia: Thanks for the memories Olivia Newton-John

ANYONE who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s - or anyone who grew up any time since really - will know the immense impact of Grease on popular culture.

The coming-of-age 1978 US musical, romantic comedy film was ground-breaking.

Grease was successful both critically and commercially, becoming the highest-grossing musical film at the time.

We saw it at the drive-in movies, later in the theatre and later still on the television with our kids.

The soundtrack was on high rotation in our head.

For years. For decades. Even now. Especially now.

Starring John Travolta and and our own homegrown heroine, British-born but very-much-Australian-claimed singer Olivia Newton-John, Aussies felt part of the narrative.

We were seen and heard as that Australian transfer student.

We also rocked black (see picture, above) even if we weren't very convincing as a social smoker. (Just butt out, hey!)

We had made it.

We were young and carefree and got the guy in the end.

The loss of Newton-John, aged 73 was a big blow, coming so soon after another pioneering woman in Judith Durham on Friday.

There has been an emotional outpouring from people around the world from all walks of life.

For many, Newton-John was their link to their formative years in high school through Grease and Xanadu and songs the likes of Let's Get Physical.

Even today the Grease soundtrack remains one of the world's best-selling albums of recorded music.

It features two major hit duets with Travolta and Newton-John: You're The One That I Want - which ranks as one of the best-selling singles of all time - and Summer Nights.

Coincidentally, Newton-John was offered the lead role of Sandy in Grease after meeting producer Allan Carr at a dinner party at the home of the late and great Australian-US singer, Helen Reddy.

Newton-John was 28 at the time of filming - to play a high school senior student - and had insisted on a screen test with Travolta.

The rest is history.

The new Sandy Dee came to be!

In the original musical version of Grease, Olivia Newton-John's character Sandy Olsson was named Sandy Dumbrowski hence the song Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.

They decided to change her name and background to fit Newton-John's after they cast her to star in the movie; so they changed her last name to a more Australian sounding one.

Beyond her famous role in Grease, Newton-John was a songwriter, entrepreneur, activist and mother. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, she had surgery and treatment. She opened the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in 2012 and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute two years later.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Travolta wrote: My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!

And that is a fitting tribute and beautiful ending.

Thanks for the memories ONJ.

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