Brits are hopelessly devoted to Olivia Newton-John, newly-published sales and streaming data reveals.
The English-born, Australia-raised pop singer and actor, landed three U.K. No. 1 singles during her lifetime, powered by films in which she starred.
“You’re The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” both soundtracks to the hit 1978 film Grease, in which co-starred with John Travolta, hit No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
Then, two years later, another U.K. No. 1 with “Xanadu” featuring Electric Light Orchestra, lifted from the kitsch 1980 film of the same name.
According to data published this week by the Official Charts Company, “You’re The One That I Want” remains one of the U.K.’s Top 5 best-selling singles of all time (excluding streams) with 2.08 million sales, while “Summer Nights” is at No. 28 on the all-time list, with 1.65 million sales.
On the U.K. all-time singles chart, which includes streaming data, “You’re The One That I Want” comes in at No. 73 with 2.49 million chart units, and “Summer Nights” is ranked No. 216 with 1.89 million units.
All told, ONJ landed 26 singles on the national chart, including 11 top 10s, with Grease favorite “Hopelessly Devoted To You” peaking at No. 2.
The Grease OST logged 11 weeks at No. 1, and Xanadu peaked at No. 2.
Born in Cambridge, England in 1948, Newton-John relocated to Melbourne, Australia at the age of six, where she would go on launch a career that saw her fly high as one of the world’s biggest stars in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
In 1974, she represented her country of birth at the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Long Live Love”. Newton-John came in fourth that year in Brighton, as Sweden’s entry ABBA won the prize – and launched their international career – with the song “Waterloo.”
Newton-John was made an OBE in 1979, and received a Damehood in 2020 for services to entertainment, charity and cancer research, which lives on through her ONJ Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.
The much-loved star of the stage, screen and studio died Monday (Aug. 8) after a long battle with cancer. She was 73.
