ABBA pays tribute to Olivia Newton-John: “Her music and personality will always be remembered”

ABBA have paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John, who died yesterday (August 8) aged 73.

The Australian singer and Grease actress died peacefully at her ranch in Southern California, her husband John Easterling confirmed in a statement.

“Olivia has been a symbol of victory and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” the message read.

Today (August 9), ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (aka Frida) paid their respects to Newton-John in a post on the Swedish group’s official social media pages.

The pair crossed paths with the late star in 1974, when she and ABBA competed in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton.

Newton-John, who represented the UK, came fourth with her song “Long Live Love”. ABBA were announced as the winner of the night with their hit “Waterloo”.

Along with a photo of ABBA and Newton-John together on stage, Frida wrote: “What do you feel, what do you say when the most beautiful, kind and caring woman leaves us to travel to another place.

“It was heartbreaking to learn about Olivia’s brave fight against an invincible enemy. She never gave up or complained about her situation, but she told us her story so that we would understand and want to help others who were affected.”

She added: “I’m grateful to have met someone like you, Olivia, and you will always be in my heart.”

Fältskog said he was “deeply saddened to learn of Olivia’s death”, writing: “We have left a good person – and there are many of us who mourn her now… Be with us always.” They will remain in the memory.”

Additionally, a video clip of Newton-John’s 1974 performance has been posted on the official Eurovision Twitter page: “Long live Olivia [emoji de corazón]”, they captioned the snippet. You can see both uploads above.

Following Newton-John’s death, his Grease co-star John Travolta (played by Danny Zuko) shared an emotional tribute message: “Olivia, my love, you made our lives so much better. The impact you had was incredible. I love you very much,” he began to say.

“We’ll see each other on the road and we’ll be together again. I’m the first moment I saw you and forever! For Danny, Sean!”

Olivia Newton-John is probably best known for her role as Sandy Olsson in the 1978 classic, in which she sang songs like “Summer Nights” and “You’re The One That I Want.”

The singer has also won four Grammys during her music career. His other great songs include “Physical”, “Let Me Be There”, “If You Love Me” and a version of Bob Dylan’s “If Not For You”.