Xanadu

The word Xanadu showed up in the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Xanadu is the fictional name of the land where Khubla Khan ordered the dome to be built. The word came to mean a paradise. In the movie Citizen Kane, Xanadu was the name of Charles Foster Kane's house.

This was written for the movie musical of the same name. Newton-John starred in the film with Gene Kelly. The movie was a bomb, but the soundtrack, which contained all songs by Newton-John and The Electric Light Orchestra, was a hit. The first single, "Magic," went to #1 in America. In the trailer for the film, Olivia-Newton John is billed as "the girl you loved in Grease." This song plays over the end of the trailer. Quite a bit is made of the singing and dancing and starring cast, not much is mentioned about the plot.

Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne wrote this song, which turned off many of the group's hardcore fans who felt they were veering too far into disco territory. The foray into disco was very successful and produced ELO's most popular work, but it got away from their core orchestral sound. They got diminishing returns on their next four albums, and in 1986, the band went on hiatus.