Hong Kong-bound Olivia Newton-John talks Grease, the power of change, and curing cancer

Behind Olivia Newton-John’s big, white smile is a warm and sunny personality. Even down the phone from Los Angeles you get a sense of her generous spirit. Her easy laugh and the occasional pause after a question hint at someone who has lived, loved, lost and learned. But through it all she hasn’t stopped making music.

The Australian singer, best known for playing Sandy in the 1970s classic Grease, will be in Hong Kong for one show on May 12. She was last here four years ago, so will the show be any different?

“I can’t really remember what I did in 2012,” she says.

Laughing, she corrects herself and says she’s got a few new medleys to throw in the mix, but basically it will be a night of music through her career – one spanning 50 years.

Born in Britain, she moved to Melbourne with her family when she was five. By the age of 15 she had formed an all-girl group, Sol Four, and she went on to win a talent competition that earned her a trip to London. In 1966, she took that trip and began playing gigs and recording in London.

Just as her career was taking off in Britain – she was a regular on Cliff Richard’s weekly TV show – she learned that she was making it big on the country charts in the US with her 1974 song I Honestly Love You.