Olivia Newton-John – Christmas Time Down Under (1965)

The Unreleased Olivia Christmas Song Hiding In A Kids’ Movie

“Christmas Time Down Under” isn’t a single you can cue up on an Olivia Newton-John album. It’s a Christmas moment preserved inside a one-hour Australian children’s comedy musical, Funny Things Happen Down Under, produced in Melbourne in 1965. In the clip, a teenage Olivia steps into frame with that instantly recognizable warmth—before the world knew her name. It plays like a secret postcard from an alternate timeline where her first “hit” is a holiday tune.

Its chart story is simple: it never had one, because it was never commercially released. No 7-inch, no album tracklisting, no seasonal reissue. Instead, the song lived the old-fashioned way—by being remembered, taped, traded, and eventually resurfacing as a film clip fans couldn’t believe existed. In a weird way, that makes its “success” feel more personal than a peak position.

The film’s plot is pure kid-logic brilliance: a group of children must raise £200 before Christmas Day to save their beloved wool shed clubhouse. Their money-making schemes spiral into chaos when they stumble on a “mystery formula” that makes sheep’s wool change color, attracting foreign buyers and plenty of slapstick trouble. Olivia doesn’t carry the story, but she becomes its unexpected highlight—appearing throughout and then stepping forward to sing the one song people still talk about.

Visually, the clip has that bright, handmade feel of mid-60s family entertainment—cheerful staging, earnest energy, and a sense that everyone involved is doing their absolute best for a young audience. It was shot in Victoria, around Melbourne, with Pacific Films—an operation that’s now long gone. That context matters: this isn’t a polished “career move,” it’s a snapshot of an artist mid-formation.

Career-wise, it’s Olivia at the very beginning—years before stadium tours, Grammys, and global fame. That’s what makes the performance so striking: the voice is already there, and so is the calm charisma. You can almost see the future arrive early.

The legacy is niche but powerful: a genuinely rare Christmas song by a major star, effectively trapped inside its original film. It’s the kind of artifact collectors dream about—proof that pop history still has hidden rooms.

As an Olivia deep cut, this is a 9/10 curiosity with real heart: not because it’s perfect, but because it’s real. “Christmas Time Down Under” feels like Christmas captured on film stock—warm, slightly faded, and suddenly priceless once you realize it was never meant to survive.