I remember when “Grease” came out in 1978. My older sister had the 45 of “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and would play it over and over ad nauseam. She liked the sweet Sandy, the good girl that Olivia Newton-John portrays for most of the film.

I, on other hand, had “You’re the One that I Want” and a poster of Newton-John in her bad Sandy outfit, all leather and teased hair. I always felt cheated that the movie ended without showing more of bad Sandy.

Mattel recently produced two Barbie dolls – the good Sandy and the bad Sandy – to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the movie. Newton-John has one of each.

“They turned out pretty cute, I think,” she said via telephone. “We went back and forth for ages to get the face right.”

Newton-John, 54, has had to juggle “good” and “bad” personas ever since “Grease.” It really came to a head when she did “Physical” in 1981, an homage to exercise that contained some not-so-subtle double entendres. In retrospect, it was pretty tame, but to fans used to the demure country-rock of “Let Me Be There,” it was sacrilege.

“I actually recorded it and freaked out a week later,” she said. “I called my manager and said, “This is too over-the-top for me. I can’t do it, it’s too bold.’ He said, “It’s too late, it’s gone to press.’ It was No. 1 for 10 weeks, and by then, I was glad.

“It turns out the things in my life I’m most nervous about have been the things that have done really well, because I’ve taken that one step over my safety region.”

The golden-haired Australian’s latest projects keep true to her yin and yang career. A new CD, “2,” takes a more traditional approach by uniting her with fellow Aussies a la Frank Sinatra’s “Duets.”

The disc was released in Australia to rave reviews last year, and will be issued with bonus tracks in the United States this year.

Then there’s the DVD release of “Sordid Lives,” an independent film in which Newton-John plays a foul-mouthed lesbian lounge singer. If her fans thought “Physical” was risque, they’re going to be in for quite a shock.

“The director was a friend of mine, and I had seen the play,” she said. “I said once, jokingly, “If you make this into a movie, I can play the singer.’ Six months later, he called me up and said, “Remember what you said about …?’ (Laughs). I had a blast. It was fun to do a departure like that. I bleached my hair, I put tattoos on – I had a great time.”

Newton-John isn’t worried about how her fans will react, despite the “Physical” backlash of 20 years ago. For one thing, society is much more accepting of such roles. For another, she doesn’t really care what others think anymore.

She’s had that attitude since her bout with breast cancer in the early ’90s. Now everything she does, from touring to launching her own Koala Blue wine, she does because she enjoys it.

That includes supporting charitable projects close to her heart. Newton-John is trying to raise $50 million for a cancer treatment center at Austin Hospital in Austin, Australia. (Online donations may be sent via www.oliviacancerappeal.org).

“It will be the only one of its kind, because they will do both treatments and operations,” Newton-John said. “It’s also going to have a sanctuary within the hospital grounds … where you can go meditate or pray, or talk to other people, or maybe have a cup of tea. Just something peaceful, a place where you can find some solace.”

Newton-John’s next project could be “Grease 3.” She and John Travolta have already agreed to do the film if the right script comes along. (None of the original cast members were in “Grease 2.”) So maybe we’ll see a return of the bad Sandy.

“We’ll see what happens,” she said. “We would be the parents, I imagine. I haven’t seen an outline of (the script) yet, but they are working on it, so I am told.”


Newton-John will only go only so far to cultivate that bad-girl image, though. Legend has it that Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles was persuaded by her producer to record “Eternal Flame” in the nude because Newton-John recorded her early hits in the buff.

Hoffs may have doffed her clothes, but Newton-John never did.

“I feel bad for her if that’s really true, because I never did that,” she said. “My producer went, “Oh, I should have thought of that one.’ (Laughs). What a rat, if he really told her that.”

—

(c) 2003, Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.).

Visit Bradenton Herald at http://www.bradenton.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

—–

ARCHIVE PHOTO on KRT Direct (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):

OLYMPICS+CEREMONY+61+SJ

AP-NY-06-20-03 0946EDT

Copy the Story Link