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Monday, March 30, 2015

John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John promise hits, duets and some Grease-y dancing for their tour



OLIVIA Newton-John could be the person that coaxes Sia back on stage.
Chart-topping pop recluse Sia has set out a mythical list of demands to tour again — one of which is singing with her hero Newton-John.
“I’d get on stage with her, it’d be a big thrill to sing with her for me too, so hopefully one day,” Newton-John said today.
Sia came to one of Newton-John’s Vegas concerts this month, happily posing for a photo.
“She’s an adorable lady,” Newton-John said. “I can relate, she’s afraid of performing live and I was like that for years. She’s very fortunate in this time, because of social media she doesn’t have to perform live if she doesn’t want to. But I think she’s getting very tempted to do it again, so we’ll see if she does.”
Newton-John is about to start a tour with Australia’s favourite singer, John Farnham.
“John’s my favourite singer too, so this is a treat for me,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a treat for me as well,” Farnham added.


Rehearsals for the Two Strong Hearts tour have included some lessons with a choreographer, reportedly for the duets from Newton-John’s iconic film Grease.

“It’s not choreography, because I’ve got two left feet, but there’s a little bit of movement going on,” Farnham said. “And it’s going to get very Grease-y.”
“John is going to surprise people,” Newton-John promised.
The pair will open and close the show together, as well performing a string their own hits, some by themselves, some, like Farnham’s Burn For You, are reworked as duets.
“Olivia hadn’t heard Burn for You before we started rehearsals for this tour and she said ‘That’s such a beautiful song’,” Farnham said. “Interestingly I’ve never sung that as a duet with a woman before. Looking deep into Olivia’s eyes I’ll have to pretend she’s (my wife) Jill. It’s about interpretation of the song, it is a beautiful song and I do love Olivia, so I don’t have a problem singing that.”

The pair met around 1970 in London (“we can’t quite remember exactly what year, but it seems like we’ve been in each others’ lives forever,” Farnham said) and have worked together with The Main Event (with Anthony Warlow) and at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Their song from that event, Dare to Dream, will be revived for the Two Strong Hearts tour.
“Those two events with John were not only hugely successful but personally very satisfying,” Newton-John said.
“People ask me all the time what my career highlight is and the Olympics always comes to mind first. Just those five minutes or whatever it was was huge. It was so amazing, representing Australia made me proud and to sing with John was amazing. How can you top that moment? So I was very quick to say yes to this tour. It’s going to be great fun. It already is. John makes me laugh, I don’t know how I’m going to hold it together on stage.”


Both Farnham and Newton-John’s children are about to follow their parents into music.

After a few years in the musical wilderness, Newton-John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi has re-recorded her mother’s classic hit Magic — with her mother.
“It’s now called You Have to Believe and it’s a dance remake of Magic with (house producer) Dave Aude,” Newton-John said.
“We’ve just done a video. I’m singing in the chorus, but I didn’t want to be featured too much. She’s gorgeous and young, I want it to be about her. It sounds fabulous, very modern. Chloe’s written a new verse, her voice sounds amazing.
“She’s starting again, rewriting songs, talking to producers. It’s very exciting. I’m sure being our children it’s difficult in some ways, they have to establish who they are and what they want to be and I think Chloe’s found that and it sounds like Rob has too.”
Farnham’s son Rob has finished recording an album with his band Rival Fire.
“The same with Livvy’s daughter, it can be difficult to work with the preconceptions,” Farnham said.
“But I’m really proud of his music. He’s getting some serious interest from some serious places, here and in the US. They’ve done a great job, they’ve written all the songs, they went to America to record them, it’s come up really well.
“It’s really good, it’s edgy. The title track of the album is called Riot and it’s fantastic. I’ve tried to stay out of the way. I’m sure they’re happy to pay their dues, they’ve seen us do it, they know it’s worth the trouble.”
“Maybe they’ll sing together one day,” Newton-John says. “Wouldn’t that be cool?”

While Madonna has complained about ageism stopping her new music getting heard on radio, Newton-John (66) and Farnham (65) are pragmatic.

“I don’t think about age too much,” Newton-John said. “I think it’s about music. Madonna still gets plenty of attention and airplay from what I can see.”
“With the artists that have a world wide career like Olivia, Sia and Madonna, they’re dealing with a huge population,” Farnham said.
“There’s what? 230 million people in America. You’re gonna get some airplay somewhere. I’m not known much outside of Australia, we don’t have that kind of a population therefore that airplay isn’t as forthcoming.
“I understand it, my record company Sony want another album from me. And I think to myself ‘Why? It’s not going to get any airplay’. Having said that, if I make the right album who knows? I don’t want to make another covers album, I don’t want to make a tribute album. If I make another album, sorry Sony, when I make another album it will be original songs. But it’s very difficult.
“I’m 67, or am I 66? No, I’m 65. It’s hard to find grown up songs for someone my age. I’m not going to make the album until I get the right material. We’ve got some serious contacts songwise around the world. If someone comes up with a red hot song they might not give it to some bloke in Australia who might get some airplay, they’re going to look for someone with access to 300 million people. I’m fairly down the ladder there. It’s about finding the right songs. Gathering the songs. It might take another three years.”



The Two Strong Hearts tour, performed with a 60 piece orchestra and Farnham’s band under the guidance of musical director Chong Lim is testing the singers’ famous voices.

“Olivia has a very very high range, I don’t have a very low range,” Farnham said. ``I could never reach the heights she goes to, there’s a few spots where I’m right down on the bottom of my range, it’s a little outside my comfort zone, but I’m digging it.”
“He sounds great,” Newton John adds. “And I’m singing rock and roll for God’s sake! We’re both being challenged but that’s what’s fun about it.”
While Newton-John said she would be up for writing with Sia (”that would be awesome, we’re meeting again soon in Tokyo so we’ll get to know each other better then”) don’t expect too much more coverage on social media of the pair.
“I have someone that does my social media for me,” Newton-John says. “I do post pics on Instagram, Chloe set that up for me, sometimes I’ll put up a picture of a sunset but I forget. Weeks go by ...”
Farnham is not bothered by Twitter or Facebook, his pages are run by his record company.
“I don’t know I’m that interesting,” he says. “Just moved the lawn! Who cares! And I haven’t got a bum as big as Kim Kardashian.”


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