Olivia Newton-John Later career
 Newton-John began 1980 by releasing I Can't Help It (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with Andy Gibb from his After Dark album. Later that year, she appeared in her first film since Grease, starring in the musical Xanadu with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. While the movie was a critical failure, it was ultimately profitable and its soundtrack was certified double platinum. The soundtrack boasted five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including Newton-John's Magic (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), Suddenly with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title-song with ELO (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC). The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a well-reviewed Broadway show in 2007. Newton-John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her career the following year.
1981 saw the release of Newton-John's most successful studio album, the double platinum Physical. The title track, written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, spent ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, matching the then record of most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist held by Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life. The single was certified platinum and ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade. The album spawned two more singles, Make A Move On Me (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and Landslide (No. 52 Pop). To counter the overtly suggestive tone of the title track, Newton-John filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an aerobics anthem (and made headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym). Newton-John became a pioneer in the nascent music video industry by recording a video album for Physical featuring videos of all the album's tracks as well as three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime time special, Let's Get Physical, becoming a Top 10 Nielsen hit. The success of Physical led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2, which yielded two more Top 40 singles: Heart Attack (No. 3 Pop) and Tied Up (No. 38 Pop). The tour was filmed for her Olivia In Concert television special, which premiered on HBO in January 1983. The special was subsequently released to video, earning Newton-John another Grammy nomination.
Newton-John re-teamed with Travolta in 1983 for the critically and commercially unsuccessful Two of a Kind, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack featuring Twist Of Fate (No. 5 Pop), Livin' In Desperate Times (No. 31 Pop) and a new duet with Travolta, Take A Chance (No. 3 AC). Newton-John released another video package, the Grammy-nominated Twist Of Fate, featuring videos of her four songs on the Two of a Kind soundtrack and the two new singles from Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The same year, Newton-John and Pat Farrar founded Koala Blue. The store was originally for Australian imports, but segued into a chain of women's clothing boutiques. The chain was initially successful, but declared bankruptcy and closed in 1992. Newton-John and Farrar would later license the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines and confections.
Newton-John married long-time boyfriend Matt Lattanzi in December 1984. The couple had met four years earlier while filming Xanadu (They divorced in 1995.). Newton-John resumed recording in 1985 with the release of the gold Soul Kiss (No. 29 Pop). By this point, fans were tiring of Newton-John's raunchier image. The album's only charted single was the title track (No. 20 Pop, No. 20 AC). Newton-John's pregnancy with daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi (b. January 1986) limited her ability to publicize the album. The video album for Soul Kiss featured videos of only five of the album's ten tracks and the album's second single, Toughen Up, failed to even chart.
After a three year hiatus to raise Chloe, Newton-John returned with 1988's The Rumour. The album was promoted by an HBO special, Olivia Down Under, and its first single, the title track, was written and produced by Elton John. Both the single (No. 62 Pop, No. 33 AC) and album (No. 67 Pop) fizzled as the nearly 40 year-old Newton-John seemed old when compared to the teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany ruling the charts at that time. The second single, Can't We Talk It Over In Bed, did not chart. (The song was remade the following year by Grayson Hugh as Talk It Over becoming his only Top 20 hit.) A year later, Newton-John recorded her self-indulgent album, Warm and Tender, featuring lullabies and love songs for parents and their children. This album also did not revive her recording career struggling to only No. 124 Pop.
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