Family and friends pay tribute to Olivia Newton-John at ‘beautiful’ memorial service

Dannii Minogue was among the big names paying tribute to Australian icon Olivia Newton-John in Melbourne, and barely held back tears.

Olivia Newton-John’s family and friends delivered emotional tributes to the iconic Australian singer at a “beautiful” state memorial service in Melbourne on Sunday.

The service, held six months after Newton-John’s death, drew an avalanche of warm words from those who knew her.

“It is beautiful to see everybody coming out,” Delta Goodrem said outside the venue.

“I’m so happy to see everybody coming together on a day to celebrate someone who touched all our lives. I think that is really what it is.

“Seeing everybody just come together and being able to honour and celebrate Olivia is incredibly special.”

“Olivia is so important to me. She is literally the reason why I started performing, and I was lucky enough to tell her that the first time we met,” Dannii Minogue told Channel 9.

“It’s still ... I think the thought (of Newton-John’s death) is just settling. My hands are shaking. I’m all over the place.”

Delta Goodrem. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Dannii Minogue held back tears while speaking about Olivia. Picture: Nine

“The we all lost one of the greatest talents when Olivia lift us. I know it is especially painful for all the folks there in Australia as she is one of your own,” said Dolly Parton.

“I had the honour of singing with her several times. I considered her a great friend as well as a fellow entertainer.”

Pink described Newton-John as an “absolute angel”.

“She was one of the kindest, most present just light-filled beings walking around this Earth. She always had a smile on her face to give you,” she said.

“But she will be very missed and my heart is with her family. I know this is an awful time and I hope that they find some comfort in just how universally loved she was.”

Mariah Carey described herself as a “friend and fan” of Newton-John, and said she looked up to her while growing up. Grease was one of the first movies she ever saw.

“Then I got to meet her later when she came and we performed together. I looked up to her so much,” said Carey.

“She was just as nice as she was a star and talented.

“And her humanitarian work, I just want to say that and say that not everybody does that.”

Dolly Parton was among those paying tribute to Olivia Newton-John. Picture: YouTube.

Pink described Newton-John as an “absolute angel”. Picture: You Tube

Mariah Carey said she was a “friend and fan”.. Picture: YouTube

Goodrem, Minogue, Kate Ceberano, Molly Meldrum, Magda Szubanski, Human Nature’s Phil Burton and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews were among the big names in attendance.

Carey, Pink and Parton appeared via video link, along with other high profile stars such as Hugh Jackman, Keith Urban, Cliff Richards and Nicole Kidman.

Husband’s heartwrenching tribute

Newton-John’s husband, John Easterling, shared a rare insight into their marriage while leading the official tributes during the service.

The businessman described Newton-John as a “healer” and hailed her ability to perform as a “piece of magic”. His voice began to break as he spoke about their seemingly “supernatural” life together.

“Every day with Olivia was a bit of magic,” he said.

“She said to me, ‘John, when you are lucky enough to find your true soulmate and you share a heart, and one passes, the other has the obligation to live life for both.’

“We were talking about how lucky we were to have found each other and how in love we were. And how much happiness we were experiencing.”

Olivia Newton-John and husband John Easterling.

John Easterling said ‘every day with Olivia was a bit of magic,’ Picture: Asanka Ratnayake /Getty Images)

Easterling, who married Newton-John in 2008, also said he believed he felt the singer’s spirit in the days after her death.

“A couple of nights after Olivia passed, I was lying in bed and I felt her hand over my diaphragm lifting out, and I started breathing again,” he said.

“Every day we expressed our gratitude for this love that could be so deep, so real, so natural. “We never had to work on it. We were in all this great mystery, and just accepted the experience of our love is past, present and forever.”

He also spoke about Newton-John’s love of animals.

“True to form, Olivia rescued a newborn kitten who had been abandoned to the elements on the Great Wall of China. She carried that kitten for a couple of weeks in her waistband,” he said.

“What made her most happy was being at ranch and being with the horses and being with the chickens and dogs or the cats or sitting in the courtyard just listening to bird songs.”

Newton-John’s daughter: ‘I know she is here’

Newton-John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi described her mother’s sense of humour, love of nature, and her ability to “find the beauty in everything”.

The 37-year-old said she was shattered by her mum’s death, however she believed Newton-John was “standing beside me and within me”.

“I stand here before you so desperately wanting to feel strong and confident and speak eloquently. But the truth is, I feel like a little girl lost without her mother,” she said.

“I can hear her voice. ‘You are safe, my darling. Don’t be afraid. You are so much stronger than you think. Speak from your heart. That’s all you have to do.’”

Chloe Lattanzi shared some of her favourite memories of her mum. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake /Getty Images

Chloe Lattanzi with her mother. Picture: Instagram

Lattanzi shared her favourite memories of her mother with mourners, and described her as someone who “loved fully and completely”.

“My favourite thing to do was watch her watching the birds and the flowers. Smelling her roses and the joy it brought to her roses and the joy it brought to her face was a thing of beauty,” said Lattanzi.

“I loved making her tea and then making it five times again until I got it right. I loved our snuggles. I would crawl into bed with her late at night even until I was 20 years old. I loved the way that she smelled. Nothing felt safer.”

Delta pays tribute with smash medley

Ending the ceremony, Goodrem sang a medley of Newton-John’s best-known songs.

Her set began with an instrumental version of Physical, followed by Xanadu, You’re the One that I Want and Let Me Be There. She then sang one of Newton-John’s most iconic songs, the Grammy-nominated Grease hit Hopelessly Devoted To You before finishing with I Honestly Love You.

Originally published as Family and friends pay tribute to Olivia Newton-John at ‘beautiful’ memorial service