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Olivia Newton-John was worried about letting people hear her body talk.
The singer, who won countless hearts as Sandy in “Grease” and charmed many more as music’s wholesome girl next door, was hesitant to be bad. But with a little encouragement from one of her closest confidantes, she channeled the animal in her with the song “Physical.”
John Mason, who represented the late singer for 50 years, has written a new memoir, “Crazy Lucky.” It explores what it takes to defend the famous during career-defining moments. He still represents Newton-John’s estate and her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi. Mason previously worked with Roy Orbison, Reba McEntire, Shakira and Quincy Jones, among others.
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Mason wrote in his book that when Newton-John first read the lyrics, she exclaimed, “John, I simply cannot do it. I can’t sing the lyrics… Please!”
But for Mason, the song was “edgy” – and exactly what the star needed to reinvent herself.
“Olivia Newton-John always had what she called a ‘goody-two-shoes’ persona,” Mason told Fox News Digital.
“She always had a young, girlish energy. When she did ‘Grease,’ the surprise to me was that she came out and did ‘You’re the One That I Want’ in that black tight outfit. Randal Kleiser, the director, certainly helped Olivia to get out of the image of Sandy… And then she became the ‘Bad Sandy.’ But in her mind… She was still the same girl who had recorded ‘I Honestly Love You.’”
According to Mason’s book, “Physical” was first presented to Tina Turner. She turned it down because the lyrics were “a bit too sexy.” It was Turner who suggested giving the song to Newton-John because “who would expect Olivia Newton-John to sing those words?”
But Newton-John wasn’t having it.
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“John, the lyrics have me singing ‘There’s nothin’ left to talk about unless it’s horizontally!’” Mason recalled the star telling him. “’I’m worried the fans won’t embrace it.”
“No, I can’t do that. That is just contrary to my image,” she told him.
But Mason heard a different tune.
“She asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘It’s worth it,’” Mason told Fox News Digital. “’Your manager thinks that it will enhance your image. Go for it.’ And she did.”
Newton-John was said to be so worried about recording “Physical” that her manager, Roger Davies, assured her that if anything happened, “You can blame me.”
Newton-John slipped into her leotards and leg warmers for the bouncy single. It was a smash hit.
“’Physical’ became the biggest number one, not only that Olivia ever had, but that anybody ever had at that time,” said Mason.
“Physical” debuted on Sept. 28, 1981, two months after MTV was launched. It was the most iconic solo hit of Newton-John’s decades-long career and one of the most defining smashes of the 1980s, Billboard.com reported. It also allowed Newton-John to embrace a sexier image on her terms.
“The [music] video is hilarious to this day,” said Mason. “I want to give credit to Roger Davies for getting Olivia to open up and let that happen. But as always, with Olivia as an actress or a singer, she pulled off what she wanted to do in a spectacular way.”
Mason wrote in his book that radio stations banned the song for being too racy. It went on to sell even more copies.
“I would say the concept for the video, as opposed to the record, was really, really exciting for her,” he said.
“She had the best personality. She was such a funny person, and when you watch the ‘Physical’ video today, you can see that she just had fun. When the record came out, the lyrics were a little what she would call ‘spicy.’ But they made it into something fun.
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“‘Physical’ was about running on the treadmill and getting in shape, as much as it was about the innuendo of the song. [But] I think the words, ‘unless it’s horizontally,’ are definitely an implication of something other than getting on the treadmill.”
“She had fun with it,” Mason continued. “It was a blast. And [every] time I saw Olivia perform ‘Physical’ after the record was released, she always treated it like fun. To her, it was just a great uplifting experience, and one that spoke to people in a way about being fit, as well as being sexy.”
Newton-John’s aerobics-friendly promotional clip won a Grammy for best video.
Newton-John later admitted that she blushed as she sang, “There’s nothing left to talk about/Unless it’s horizontally” before calling out, “Let’s get animal! Animal!”
“I recorded it and then suddenly thought, ‘Goodness, maybe I’ve gone too far!’” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. “I called Roger and said, ‘We’ve got to pull this song!’ He said, ‘It’s too late. It’s already gone to the radio, and it’s running up the charts.’ I was horrified!”
Back in 2021, Newton-John spoke to Fox News Digital about how “Physical” reinvented her image. At the time, she said the song was originally intended for Rod Stewart before it was offered to Turner.
“I heard the song, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a great song,’” she recalled at the time. “I didn’t really realize what it was about. I didn’t think until I’d finished it and then freaked out. [I thought then] ‘I think I’ve gone too far, I think I’ve gone too far.’ But it worked for me, so I’m very happy that I took the chance.”
Newton-John admitted the lyrics were a bit “raunchy” but “I don’t think I was really aware of how raunchy it was when I was recording it until afterward, and that’s when I freaked out.”
“I felt a little embarrassed to be banned,” the “Grease” star admitted. “But looking back now, I go, ‘That was great.’ It got attention. And also compared to what I’m listening to on the radio now, it’s more like a lullaby.”
Newton-John died in 2022 following a long journey with breast cancer. She was 73.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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