"Ball of Confusion"

In 1980, Olivia Newton-John hosted her own TV special, and she invited three female pop and rock stars to sing an all-female production number with her:  Toni Tennille, Karen Carpenter, and Tina Turner.  What was significant about that performance is that it led to Tina catching the eye of Olivia’s manager Roger Davies.  At that point in her career, Tina was playing cabaret dates in Las Vegas.  But she told Roger, “I want to get out of here and play rock venues.”

Kudos to Roger for realizing that Tina had not just the promise, but also the determination and drive to succeed.  Together they made a great team…as Tina explained in a Sydney Morning Herald interview in 2021.

“When I’m totally involved in something, I can’t see it from the outside.  But Roger looks at the show [or] at the running order of an album and makes a lot of good suggestions and changes.”

When Tina was still a cabaret act in 1980, Roger stepped in and took a close look at what she was doing to figure out why he couldn’t get her booked in any rock venues in the U. S.  His advice to Tina at the time was pretty extensive:  get a new band, get rid of the dancers, find new material to sing, and change her wardrobe.

Does that sound drastic?

It was Roger’s guidance that led Tina to record with the British synth duo that was best known for creating music as Heaven 17.  The song that the three of them put together was crucial…because it opened the doors that would eventually lead to a whole new career for her..