1981 Olivia Newton-John – Physical

Physical is the ninth full length studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Olivia Newton-John, released on 13 October 1981 by MCA Records. The album was produced and partly written by her long-time producer John Farrar. Recorded and mixed at David J. Holman’s studio in Hollywood, California. Physical continues the pop style in which Newton-John moved towards after Grease and her new-imaged album Totally Hot, becoming one of her most controversial and sexual records, and her most successful studio album to date. Musically, the album features songs with a considerable use of synthesizers. Physical explores lyrical themes such as love & relationships, sex, kinesthetics and environmental protection. Upon on its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of them considering it as Newton-John’s best work. The album reached top ten in several countries across the world — including the United States, Japan and her native Australia, becoming one of the most successful albums of the early 1980s. It is also one of the best selling albums ever by an Australian solo artist, selling more than ten million copies worldwide.

The album’s title track, which was released as a lead single, was a commercial phenomenon, staying ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the biggest setting at the time which was tied up with Debby Boone’s 1977 hit single “You Light Up My Life”. The song and its music video were very polemical, being banned or edited from several radio stations and music televisions such as MTV, due to its sexual and LGBT-themed content. The single was followed by “Make a Move on Me”, another top ten worldwide hit, and “Landslide”, which failed to enter into the majority of musical charts, but its music video caught the public’s attention, specifically to the featured participation of Matt Lattanzi on the video, Newton-John’s then-boyfriend and lately became her then-husband at that time in which she had also dedicated the album to him. A video compilation was made entitled Olivia Physical, featuring her music videos of all of the songs from the album. The material was a commercial and critical success, and earned her a Grammy Award for Video of the Year.

The album was promoted on Newton-John’s fifth concert tour in 1982, the Physical Tour, in which she only visited North America and filmed for the television, also recorded for its home video released entitled Olivia in Concert. The Physical era marked the height of Newton-John’s solo career, who was considered for several media vehicles such as Billboard and Cashbox as one of the most successful female artists of the early 1980s.