We all know the late and great Olivia Newton-John, but did you know that she started out in a duo with her best mate, who married the producer that made the hits, which made ONJ famous?

What a story! And Deborah Caddy is going to tell us all about it this weekend as part of Cabaret Fringe in Glamour & Song: The Songs of Pat Carroll and Olivia Newton John.

An accomplished singer in her own right, Deborah Caddy has created a show that celebrates friendship, love, music and some of the greatest songs of our lifetime.

“This is the story of life-long friends and early singing partners, Pat and Olivia. Olivia shot to stardom with the producing and song-writing efforts of Pat’s husband, John Farrar. Glamour & Song delves into Pat’s life story – all set to the music John wrote for Olivia. I like to think it is an ode to friendship and a joyous celebration of the music of Olivia Newton-John,” Deborah says.

And while the trio’s creative setup looks a lot like a bizarre love triangle from the outside, Deborah assures us it’s a wholesome tale of two pals and a producer, and a stack of great tunes.

“I had wanted to write and Olivia Newton-John show for about ten years and I couldn’t find the right story-line,” she says. “When I took my old draft out after two years of nothingness, I did some extra research and found the potential triangle between Pat, Olivia and John.

John and Pat fell in love and got married, but it was Olivia who got the fame and success Pat was striving for, all due to John’s song-writing and producing. He wrote some of her biggest hits, like ‘Have You Never Been Mellow?’, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’, and he produced her most well-loved song ‘I Honestly Love You’. I just kept wondering how Pat felt about all that. I chose not to go down the path of jealousy and pathos, because all of my research showed that Pat remained a steadfast and loving friend to Olivia throughout her life, and that became my focus: loving friendship.”

This is the second iteration of the show, which Deborah re-worked after the passing of Olivia last year.

“I sing nearly 20 of Olivia’s songs, either in part, or fully, and with one exception, all of the songs in the show are produced or written by John Farrar,” she says.

“I did my first performance of the show in June last year, and then in August Olivia died. Needless to say, I made some alterations and now end the show on a different note. It is a show for people who love Olivia Newton-John’s music. I love the music in this show, and I love being able to honour Olivia Newton-John, and John Farrar, and to shine a light on Pat Carroll. Watching the youtube videos of a young Pat and Olivia was a real eye-opener. Olivia was gorgeous and had a fabulous voice, but Pat had a certain spark and also sang like an angel.”

Glamour & Song: The Songs of Pat Carroll and Olivia Newton John is playing at Nexus Arts on Sunday May 28 at 4pm. You can grab your tickets HERE