The Rumour (album)

The Rumour is an album released by Olivia Newton-John in August 1988. The title track was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, features backing vocals and piano by John. The album featured the singles "The Rumour", "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed" (later covered by Grayson Hugh) and the Australian-only promo-single "It's Always Australia for Me", which was released for the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. This was also her first album not produced by long-time producer, John Farrar.

The Rumour
Studio album by Olivia Newton-John
Released	August 1988
Genre	Pop
Label	Mercury
Producer	Elton John, James Newton Howard, Davitt Sigerson, Hank Medress, Sandy Linzer, Randy Goodrum
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Soul Kiss (1985) The Rumour (1988) Warm and Tender (1989)
Singles from The Rumour
"The Rumour" Released: April 1988 "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed" Released: 1988

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Track listing

1. "The Rumour" (with Elton John) (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) – 3:55
2. "Love and Let Live" (Alan O'Day) – 3:25
3. "Can't We Talk It Over in Bed" (Irwin Levine, Sandy Linzer) – 3:53
4. "Let's Talk About Tomorrow" (John Capek, Amy Sky, Olivia Newton-John) – 3:18
5. "It's Not Heaven" (Randy Goodrum, Newton-John) – 3:58
6. "Get Out" (Goodrum, Newton-John) – 3:55
7. "Big and Strong" (Mark Heard) – 4:32
8. "Car Games" (Goodrum, Newton-John) – 4:45
9. "Walk Through Fire" (David Baerwald, David Ricketts) – 5:30
10. "Tutta La Vita" (Lucio Dalla; English lyrics: Davitt Sigerson) – 3:31

Notes

• The Australian version of the album contains the track "It's Always Australia for Me".
• The single version of "The Rumour" was backed with "Winter Angel", not available on LP.

Japan 2010 SHM-CD bonus tracks

11. "Winter Angel" (B-side of "The Rumour" single) – 3:40
12. "It's Always Australia for Me" (previously released on The Rumour 1988 Festival Records CD [Cat.# D53263]) – 3:19

Personnel

• Olivia Newton-John – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 4, 7–10)
• Elton John – digital piano (1), lead and backing vocals (1)
• James Newton Howard – additional keyboards (1), additional synthesizer (1), drum programming (1)
• John Philip Shenale – keyboards (2, 4–10), programming (2, 4, 5, 7-10)
• Bob Thiele Jr. – keyboards (2), programming (2)
• Charles Giordano – keyboards (3)
• John Sheard – keyboards (3)
• John Capek – keyboards (4), programming (4), synthesizer arrangements (4)
• Randy Goodrum – keyboards (5, 8), programming (5, 6, 8), arrangements (5)
• Mark Heard – keyboards (7), programming (7), guitar (7)
• Leon Ware – keyboards (8), programming (8), backing vocals (8)
• David Ricketts – keyboards (9), programming (9)
• Davey Johnstone – guitar (1)
• Dann Huff – guitar (2)
• Jerry Friedman – guitar (3)
• Michael Landau – guitar (4–8)
• Jimmy Rip – guitar (4, 6, 10)
• Jef Scott – guitar (9, 10), backing vocals (10)
• David Baerweld – guitar (9), bass (9)
• Neil Stubenhaus – bass (1)
• Davey Faragher – bass (2), backing vocals (2)
• Jason Scheff – bass (7, 8), backing vocals (7)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass (10)
• Carlos Vega – drum overdubs (1)
• Ed Greene – drums (2, 4-10)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (4, 5, 7-10)
• Kim Hutchcroft – baritone saxophone (1)
• Gary Herbig – tenor saxophone (1)
• Dan Higgins – tenor saxophone (1)
• Gerald Albright – saxophone (6)
• Lincoln Adler – saxophone (8)
• Lew McCreary – trombone (1)
• Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (1)
• Gary Grant – trumpet (1)
• Jerry Hey – trumpet (1)
• Chuck Findley – trumpet (6, 10)
• Tommy Morgan – harmonica (6)
• Billy Meyers – string arrangements (4, 7), keyboards (7), programming (7)
• Bruce Roberts – backing vocals (1)
• Janis Liebhart – backing vocals (2)
• Davitt Sigerson – backing vocals (2, 10)
• Amy Sky – backing vocals (4, 10)
• Tom Keane – backing vocals (7)
• Julia Waters-Tillman – backing vocals (9)
• Luther Waters – backing vocals (9)
• Maxine Waters Willard – backing vocals (9)
• Oren Waters – backing vocals (9)
• Ned Albright – backing vocals (10)
• Steven Soles – backing vocals (10)

Production

• Producers – Elton John and James Newton Howard (track 1); Davitt Sigerson (tracks 2 and 4–10); Sandy Linzer and Hank Medress (track 3); Randy Goodrum (co-producer on tracks 5 and 9).
• Production coordination – Shari Sutcliffe (track 1) and Steve Rosen (track 3).
• Engineers – Jack Joseph Puig, Ross Pallone and Bob Schaper (track 1); John Beverly Jones (tracks 2 and 4–10); Bill Schenman (track 3).
• Assistant recording – Mike Klouster, Michael Mason and Martin Schmeizie (track 1); Ted Blaisdell, Jim Dineen, Ken Felton and Mitch Zelezry (tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10); Randy Goodrum (tracks 5 and 9).
• Strings on tracks 4 and 8 recorded by Allen Sides
• Recorded at Kren Studio and The Grey Room (Hollywood, CA); Skyline Recording (Topanga, CA); Ocean Way Recording, Sunset Sound, Ground Control Studios, California Phase Studios and Studio 55 (Los Angeles, CA); Avatar (Malibu, CA); Right Track Recording and Skyline Studios (New York, NY).
• Mixing – Ross Pallone (track 1); Brian Malouf (tracks 2, 4 and 10); John Beverly Jones (tracks 5–9).
• Mixed at Studio 55 (Los Angeles, CA).
• Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Art direction and design – Jeff Adamoff and Michael Diehl
• Photography – Herb Ritts

Charts

Album Chart (1988) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[2] 30 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[3] 94 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 96 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[5] 31 US Billboard 200[6] 67

Single Chart (1988) Title Peak position Australian Singles Chart[7] "The Rumour" 35 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 62 US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[8] 17 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[8] 33 US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[8] 42 German Singles Chart[9] 36

Olivia Down Under video

Olivia Down Under
Video by Olivia Newton-John
Released	1989
Recorded	1988
Genre	Music video
Length	60 minutes
Label	PolyGram
Director	Brian Grant
Producer	Paul Raphael
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Soul Kiss (1985) Olivia Down Under (1989) The Main Event (1999)

Olivia Down Under is a compilation of music and clips from the album The Rumour released in 1989, featuring Newton-John performing songs from The Rumour against a backdrop of Australian scenery.

Contents

• "Tutta La Vita"
• "Click Go the Shears"
• "Walk Through Fire"
• "Old Fashioned Man"
• "Let's Talk About Tomorrow"
• "Winter Angel"
• "Get Out"
• "Big and Strong"
• "Love and Let Live"
• "Australia for Me"
• "The Rumour"

References

1. AllMusic review
2. "Australiancharts.com – Olivia Newton-John – The Rumour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
3. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8728". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Olivia Newton-John – The Rumour" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
5. Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. p. 349. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
6. "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
7. "Olivia Newton-John – The Rumour (single)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
8. Olivia Newton-John Chart History
9. "Olivia Newton-John – The Rumour". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 23 June 2020.