Xanadu (Soundtrack)
Encyclopedia
Xanadu is the soundtrack
of the 1980 musical film
of the same name
, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John
and the Britsh group Electric Light Orchestra
.
The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO.
Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was a worldwide success and received positive reviews from music critics. The hit singles "Magic
" and "Xanadu", peaked at #1 in the United States
and United Kingdom
, respectively.
. The songs on side two were written and performed by the ELO. The title track which closed side two featured Newton-John as lead vocalist.
Newton-John side also featured the participations of Cliff Richard
, The Tubes
and Gene Kelly
.
Additional personnel
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the 1980 musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
of the same name
Xanadu (film)
Xanadu is a 1980 romantic musical fantasy film written by Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The title is a reference to the poem "Kubla Khan, or, A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which is quoted in the film. Xanadu is the name of the Chinese province...
, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
and the Britsh group Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
.
The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO.
Although the film was a critical and commercial disappointment, the soundtrack was a worldwide success and received positive reviews from music critics. The hit singles "Magic
Magic (Olivia Newton-John song)
"Magic" is a hit 1980 song performed by Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack to the film Xanadu. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for four weeks beginning on 2 August 1980...
" and "Xanadu", peaked at #1 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, respectively.
Background
The soundtrack featured songs on side one by the film's star, Olivia Newton-John, wirtten by her long-time producer, John FarrarJohn Farrar
John Farrar is a music producer, songwriter, music arranger, singer and guitarist who is best known for his work with Olivia Newton-John with whom he wrote and produced many hit songs....
. The songs on side two were written and performed by the ELO. The title track which closed side two featured Newton-John as lead vocalist.
Newton-John side also featured the participations of Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, The Tubes
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...
and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
.
Track listing
ELO personnel
- Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
- Lead vocals (except on "Xanadu"), backing vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards,synthesizers. - Bev BevanBev BevanBev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
- Drums, percussion, Tympani - Richard TandyRichard TandyRichard Tandy , is best known as the keyboard player in the rock band, Electric Light Orchestra...
- Pianos, synthesizers, all other keyboards - Kelly GroucuttKelly GroucuttKelly Groucutt , born Michael William Groucutt, was an English musician who was best known for being the bass player for the band Electric Light Orchestra , between 1974 and 1983. He was born in Coseley, West Midlands.-Early career:Groucutt began his musical career at 15 as Rikki Storm of Rikki...
- Bass guitar, backing vocals - Strings conducted by Louis ClarkLouis ClarkLouis Clark is a British musical arranger and keyboard player.He trained at Leeds College of Music. He was the conductor of the orchestra and choir hired to back Electric Light Orchestra's sound, introduced on their album Eldorado in 1974...
Additional personnel
- MackReinhold MackReinhold Mack is a German record producer and sound engineer, mostly known for his collaborations with rock bands Electric Light Orchestra and Queen. Most of this work took place at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich...
- engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Chart positions
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Charts | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
2 |
| Swedish Albums Charts | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
4 |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
NL Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
IRL Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
||
| "I'm Alive I'm Alive (Electric Light Orchestra song) "I'm Alive" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra, released as a single in May 1980. It is featured in a sequence near the beginning of the feature film Xanadu. The song also appears on the soundtrack album Xanadu.... " (performed by Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones... ) |
1980 | 27 | — | 7 | 38 | 16 | 10 | 32 | — | 20 | 17 |
| "Magic Magic (Olivia Newton-John song) "Magic" is a hit 1980 song performed by Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack to the film Xanadu. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for four weeks beginning on 2 August 1980... " (performed by Olivia Newton-John Olivia Newton-John Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA... ) |
4 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 36 | — | 4 | 12 | 32 | 1 | |
| "Xanadu" (performed by Newton-John and ELO) | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| "All Over the World All Over the World (song) "All Over the World" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra . It is featured in the 1980 feature film Xanadu in a sequence with the film's stars Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, and Michael Beck... " (performed by ELO) |
78 | — | 3 | 10 | 28 | 12 | — | — | 11 | 13 | |
| "Suddenly Suddenly (Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard song) "Suddenly" is the love theme from the film Xanadu, and is also on the soundtrack to the 1980 film of the same name. The song is performed as a duet between Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard. It was written by John Farrar who also produced the record. It was released on Jet Records and reached... " (performed by Newton-John and Cliff Richard Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide.... ) |
37 | — | 60 | — | — | 6 | 30 | — | 15 | 20 | |
| "Don't Walk Away Don't Walk Away (Electric Light Orchestra song) "Don't Walk Away" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra . It is featured in the 1980 feature film Xanadu in an animated sequence by Don Bluth.The song also appears on the soundtrack album Xanadu... " (performed by ELO) |
— | — | — | — | 52 | 7 | — | — | 21 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||