Sold Date: January 15, 2019
Start Date: January 10, 2019
Final Price: $385.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 6
Seller Feedback: 3
Buyer Feedback: 5976

!!!!!! ... A MUST HAVE FOR OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN FANS ... !!!!!!

"Physical" - Olivia Newton-John (CENSORED VERSION - SOUTH AFRICAN PRESSING)

IT IS UNKNOWN HOW MANY COPIES ARE IN EXISTENCE - POSSIBLY ONLY A FEW - IF NOT JUST THIS ONE !! This one is the SABC airplay copy (South African Broadcasting Corporation)

This song was banned in South Africa back in 1981, as the Government of the day felt that the second verse was to risqué for the ears of the public! The verse was cut out of the song and a new version pressed which was used for Radio airplay by the national broadcaster (SABC - South African Broadcasting Corporation). The lyrics of the 2nd verse are :

"I took you to an intimate restaurant
Then to a suggestive movie
There's nothing left to talk about
Unless it's horizontally".

The new version used for airplay went straight from the 1st Verse into the Chorus, unlike the commercially available version where the Chorus comes after the 2nd verse. As a result the TIME ON THE LABEL OF 3:42 IS INCORRECT. THE TRACK ACTUALLY PLAYS THROUGH AT 3:20

The B-Side is 'The Dolphin Song'. It has been crossed across the surface of the record and label with a yellow crayon - which although able to play through with no skipping or jumping - prevented the Radio DJ from playing the incorrect side of the single in error.

IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER THIS PARTICULAR PRESSING WAS ACTUALLY RELEASED OR IF IT WAS JUST PRODUCED FOR RADIO AIRPLAY.

The record itself has the words 'New Version' written in blue crayon across the label of 'Physical' by the South African Broadcasting Corporation's Record Library. This was to prevent the Radio DJ's playing the uncensored version on-air.

Cat # : 71.161
Label : RCA
Year : 1957
Pressing : South African

GRADING :

Record : VG (Record plays through with no skipping or jumping but does have some surface noise/ mild crackle but this does not overshadow the general 'sound of song'. The B-side (The Dolphin) has been crossed across the surface of the record and label with a yellow crayon - which although able to play through with no skipping or jumping - prevented the Radio DJ from playing the incorrect side of the single in error). There is a date sticker on the B-side reading 1982-06-29 - the date the record was entered into the SABC Record Library.

THE SHEER RARITY OF THIS PRESSING OVERSHADOWS ANY DEFECTS WHICH MAY BE PRESENT

Sleeve : Generic EMI Company Sleeve

SOME INFO ON 'PHYSICAL'

"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 of 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 Steve "Toto" Lukather.

The single, slightly edgier than she had been known for in the past (such as her songs from "Grease" and her 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."

Music video

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 Video" on VH1.