Superb Saturday

Xanadu may have been a flop at the box office when it was released in the late 70’s, but since then it has become a cult classic. Olivia Newton – John, at the height of her fame, was really divine as one of the nine muses, on the loose in the modern world, looking for love as she outwits her celestial father Zeus. And that soundtrack! It spun out so many hits that people practically forgot it was the score to a failed movie.

Suddenly, a duet between Ms. Newton – John and Cliff Richard, was one of those hits. It is a luscious love song that hit the charts in a big way. A Top 10 hit, the song became one of 1978’s biggest sellers. It sold out so fast that some record stores couldn’t keep up with the demand. More popular in the UK and Australia than it was here in the US, Suddenly quickly became a classic.

From Hollywood Nights, Olivia and Cliff delivered a gorgeous rendition of their hit to an adoring audience. Fans screamed for more when the song wound down. It’s a shame that these two songbirds never recorded another hit together, but Suddenly is theirs and theirs alone. It’s a bubble in time that still glistens like it did when it was new.