"Xanadu" is the title song from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the 1980 film '' Xanadu''. Written by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the ''Xanadu'' soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. "Xanadu" reached number one in several countries and was the band's only UK number-one single, when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

. It also peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

"Xanadu" was written by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)'s

for the

of the musical film of the same name. It was sung by lead actress

as the character, Kira with instrumentation and vocals from ELO (including Lynne). "Xanadu", was released as a single by ELO and Newton-John in June 1980, which peaked at number one in several European countries,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''′s reviewer described the song as a "sizzling track", writing, "Essentially it's Olivia taking Jeff Lynne's usual spot as lead singer of ELO. The combination is a winning one."

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals *

– guitars, keyboards, backing vocals *

Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...

– drums, percussion *

Richard Tandy Richard Tandy (born 26 March 1948) is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an importan ...

– keyboards *

Kelly Groucutt Kelly Groucutt (born Michael William Groucutt; 8 September 1945 – 19 February 2009) was an English musician, best known as the bassist and occasional vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982. Early care ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

– synthesizers *

Louis Clark Louis Clark (27 February 1947 – 13 February 2021) was an English music arranger and keyboard player. He trained at Leeds College of Music. He is best known for his work with Electric Light Orchestra and '' Hooked on Classics''. Clark started ...

– strings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Olivia featuring Paula version

In late 1995, two Australian dance performers released versions of the song. Sydney singer Olivia Featuring Paula (on the MDS label) released a dance version first, followed by Kirsty K. (on Central Station Records). Both versions charted on the ARIA Singles and Dance Charts in the first half of 1996.

Charts

Kirsty K. version

Charts

New Electric Light Orchestra version

In 2000, ELO's

re-recorded the song, with his own vocals, for the

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' Flashback'' and the '' All Over the World'' compilation. Though it was billed as an ELO selection, the song was recorded by Lynne with

Marc Mann Marc Mann is an American keyboardist, guitarist, programmer, arranger and conductor. He has a Master's Degree in Music from UCLA. Mann is known for his work with Oingo Boingo, Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra. Mann is credited as perf ...

on keyboards, but with no input from his former bandmates

, and

Sharleen Spiteri version

In 2009, Scottish singer-songwriter

Sharleen Spiteri Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer and guitarist, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas. She has a contralto vocal range. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 million records. ...

recorded the song for a second studio album titled '' The Movie Songbook'' which was released on 1 March 2010 worldwide. Xanadu was released as the lead single from the album in February 2010.

Charts

References

External links

In-depth Song Analysis
at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com) * * {{Authority control Film theme songs 1980 singles 1996 singles Olivia Newton-John songs Electric Light Orchestra songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs from Xanadu (film) UK Singles Chart number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Dannii Minogue songs Sharleen Spiteri songs Flamingokvintetten songs Wizex songs Ingmar Nordströms songs 1980 songs MCA Records singles Jet Records singles Mercury Records singles Universal Music Group singles