"Physical" is a 1981 song written by Steve Kipner and Terry
Shaddick and performed by Olivia Newton-John.
Recorded in early 1981, it first rose to number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 in America in November 1981 and stayed there
for 10 weeks, until near the end of January 1982. In terms of
chart placement, it was the most popular single of her career,
as well as her final number-one (to date). Billboard ranked it
as the number one pop single of 1982 (since the chart year for
1982 actually began in November 1981), and it was also the most
successful song on the Hot 100 during the entire decade of the
1980s. The famous guitar solo is performed by Toto's guitarist
Steve Lukather.
"Physical" was both preceded and followed in the #1 chart
position by recordings of the duo Hall & Oates. "Private
Eyes" yielded its top spot to "Physical" in November 1981, and
"Physical" yielded to "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" the
following January.
The single, slightly edgier than she had been known for in
the past (such as her songs from
Greaseand her country-pop ballad "I Honestly Love You"),
proved to be immensely popular both in America and in the
United Kingdom, despite the fact that the song was censored and
even banned by some radio stations, particularly Adult
Contemporary stations; in spite of Newton-John's status as the
reigning queen of soft-rock music at the time, "Physical"
peaked at only number twenty-nine on the AC chart (its
follow-up, the slightly softer-edged "Make a Move on Me," found
more acceptance at AC radio and went to number six AC as well
as number five pop.) The song was a big dance hit and spawned a
music video. The revamped acoustic version of the song was
released on the 2002 Olivia duet album
(2)as a bonus track.
The song ranks at #6 on
Billboard's All Time Top 100.[1]
After more than 28 years from its official release, the song
was ranked #1 on Billboard's
Top 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time.
The video featured a lusty Olivia, dressed in a tight
leotard, working out in a gym with several overweight men, who
eventually transform into attractive muscular young men. The
gym setting may have been partly an attempt to divert attention
from the overt sexual connotations of the term "physical". This
was further emphasised by the twist comedy ending of the video,
when the transformed men who are now oblivious to Newton-John's
advances are ultimately revealed to be gay (this was also a
source of controversy; MTV frequently cut the ending when it
aired the video, and the sometimes sensuous nature of the video
also led to it being banned outright by some broadcasters in
Canada and the United Kingdom). The video won a Grammy Award
for Video Of The Year in 1983. The song was banned in South
Africa for its suggestive lyrics.
Like her first number-one single, "Physical" sold over two
million copies, being certified platinum.
The video was featured on
Pop-Up Videoon VH1.
