Olivia Newton-John to sing with Daryl Braithwaite in Melbourne

Olivia Newton-John has several reasons to be counting down the days to her performances with the Melbourne Pops Orchestra at the Regent Theatre.

Singing her favourite songs during the A Summer Night concerts is one reason and the other is having Daryl Braithwaite as her special guest. The two used to be classmates at Christ Church Grammar School in South Yarra and sang in the choir together.

Daryl Braithwaite

Best known as the lead vocalist of Sherbet, Braithwaite has also sustained a successful solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including the No. 1 hits "You're My World" and "The Horses".

''He was a sweet boy then and he's a lovely man now,'' Newton-John said. ''I get to sing a lot of my songs through the ages. I'm really excited because he's a great singer.''

The way Braithwaite remembers it, they may have held hands for a second and he recalled the childhood crush in his Melbourne Life column last November.

Otherwise, Newton-John has a packed catalogue of songs to choose from: Hopelessly Devoted to You, I Honestly Love You, Have You Never Been Mellow?, Let It Shine, Xanadu, Magic and Physical.

The Grease star, who revived her movie career in the Australian A Few Best Men and features on the soundtrack, is happily married to John Easterling and after her fight with breast cancer in 1992, she's fighting fit.

One day in June will also be momentous for the singer because her long-awaited Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre will be opened by Austin Health.

''It will be a wonderful place of healing,'' she said.

Olivia Newton-John performs A Summer Night with the Melbourne Pops Orchestra at the Regent Theatre on Monday and Tuesday at 8pm.