Retro is not just a trend in the current 20s but a cultural lifestyle with younger people left either reminiscing about the golden age of the 80s and 90s or wishing they had been around to experience it. From video games and VHS’ to synth sounds and fashion trends, it’s safe to say that vicennial period has framed the lifestyle we have today. In October, the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of the iconic record ‘Physical‘ by Olivia Newton-John and saw a remastered audio release and an evocative lyric video.
Olivia Newton-John truly needs no introduction but her rise to fame was not unlike other legends. Born in Cambridge, England but raised in Melbourne, Australia, Olivia always had a passion for music and performing. At a young age she formed an all-girl vocal group with her friends and called themselves Sol Four. As she got older, she began taking her talents more serious and her musical career brought her to the UK forming various duos and groups and then eventually focusing on her solo career. In 1973 Olivia released the full length album “Let Me Be There” in which the title track ended up going Gold, peaking in the US charts and even won her a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance. With her singing career booming, Olivia was ready to make the transition to the sexy pop singer we all know today. In 1978, she starred in the movie Grease as female lead Sandy alongside John Travolta. With the movie and the soundtrack becoming an international hit, ONJ became a household name. In September 1981, she released album ‘Physical‘ reinventing herself completely with the title track spending ten weeks at number 1 and becoming her most successful record.
‘Physical‘ was a pioneer record, allowing for a new wave of pop sex appeal and double entendres. Songwriters Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick wanted to go gear away from the typical love song and put a new spin on the fun you have under the sheets. Radio stations around the country were blasting this record on repeat and the few that refused because of its naughty nature, just promoted this single even more. Billboard magazine even named ‘Physical‘ as the #1 Sexiest Song of All Time. In the 80s, the aerobics craze was huge and MTV had just been born so the music video concept for the song revolving around exercising was a double hit. Not only was it fashion forward and trendy, sweaty people exercising was a great distraction for what the song was actually about. Enough so that they would air the music video over and over and won a Grammy for Video of The Year.
With 2021 upon us, this dance-pop anthem has celebrated its 40th anniversary and is still as iconic as ever. On October 22nd, a 2 CD plus DVD deluxe-edition of ‘Physical‘ was released with remastered audio and ample bonus material in celebration of its longevity. Alongside these, Olivia released a professionally animated lyric video for ‘Physical‘ which has opened the door to a whole new generation of ONJ fans. This video is beautifully nostalgic, bringing us all back to the 1980s with it’s futuristic aesthetics and cyberpunk color palette. This whole video lives in the encompassing theme of that popular digital dystopia. Using hyper-futuristic glow wave fonts illuminating blues and pinks on a smoky deep purple backdrop was very clever and extremely effective in transporting viewers back in time. The color palette is a more gentler approach to cynthwave but giving us enough of the glows that keeps the viewers in that space.
Considering the theme of the song and the original music video, it is clear that was a major inspiration to the visuals in this custom lyric video. Instead of live action aerobics instructors, the music video used fun and sexy animations of silhouetted women dancing and exercising to the song. Throughout the video these women are seen stretching, lifting weights and just grooving and are placed carefully around the lyrics so as not to distract too much from the words and fans can sing along. Inside the sexy silhouettes are animated colorful retro patterns and shapes that tie in effortlessly to this timepiece. In other scenes, they are transparent but outlined with a thick glowing neon stroke similar to what you might see in a popular 1980’s television commercial or program. Everything about this music video is sexy and playful which is exactly on brand for the single.
In my opinion, this animated lyric video was a better alternative for a new ‘Physical‘ video release for a few reasons. For one, during the pandemic it has been extremely difficult to travel and coordinate large groups of people together to film a new music video. Also, a new music video featuring Olivia Newton-John doing sexy aerobics would be super fun but I think it was important to keep the visuals of this hit in 1981 and not focus on trying to reinvent the original. This animated music video can exist for a new generation to learn the words and enjoy as a welcome addition to the existing video.
Check out the retro themed new lyric video for Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical‘ on YouTube Here: