Classic Countdown

[sherb]

Starting tonight at 6pm on the ABC - the day & timeslot that was compulsory viewing for many teenagers in Australia (although it originally screened on a Friday night).

Best of 1975 tonight, then 1976 next week and so on - for 13 weeks.

The show revitalised the Aussie music industry in the mid 70s. Fond memories for me.

 

[sherb]

This clip got a run on Sunday night.

Ah, those were the days.

 

[CURVE]

This is an evil show. I watched the 1975 episode and I've had the Marcia Hines song From The Inside in my head ever since. It's not a bad song, but I've been trying to drown it out with some of my favourites, but I start humming this one again and again.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

Am enjoying this immensely, great memories!

 

[Dogs 13]

Am enjoying this immensely, great memories!

What I'm enjoying the most is besides the familiar and oft played Sherbet, AC/DC, JPY, Marcia, etc stuff is the more obscure and one hit wonder acts. Also the reaction of the kids to something new and very different such as Kate Bush or Iggy.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

What I'm enjoying the most is besides the familiar and oft played Sherbet, AC/DC, JPY, Marcia, etc stuff is the more obscure and one hit wonder acts. Also the reaction of the kids to something new and very different such as Kate Bush or Iggy.

Yes, me too. There were some songs and acts I had all but forgotten about. Also some I underrated. I never liked Marcia Hines as a kid but, wow, she could sure belt out a tune! I also like the little 'fun facts' they are posting along with the clips and the retrospective comments at the end from the various artists. What a different world it was, we got ALL our information about these people and their music from shows like Countdown, the radio stations and a couple of magazines, now if we want to know something about someone, see pictures of them or hear there music we just google!

Edit: How crappy was Molly as an interviewer though? And the artists were not much better; rude and inarticulate for the most part.

Edit no. 2! Can't believe how many acts travelled all the way here just to mime to their songs on Coundown, bearing in mind it was a big trip from the US or Europe back in the 70s and 80s.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

One other interesting thing from the last episode was the interview with Mick Jagger when he says The Stones will probably be around for another couple of years. Who would of thought they'd still be around almost 40 years later! I'll admit I thought they were old and past it back in 1980! (Was never a big fan).

 

[roscreasl98]

One other interesting thing from the last episode was the interview with Mick Jagger when he says The Stones will probably be around for another couple of years. Who would of thought they'd still be around almost 40 years later! I'll admit I thought they were old and past it back in 1980! (Was never a big fan).

Ever seen them live?
Saw them in 2002, outstanding.....

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

Ever seen them live?
Saw them in 2002, outstanding.....

Yep, I'm sure they are great if you are a fan. I have no problem with them still being around just if you had told me that back in 1980 I would have said no way!

 

[worbod]

I like the way Countdown had people with various musical backgrounds on the show. We have seen in Classic Countdown people such as Dolly Parton, Billy Field and Peter Allen appearing on the show. I also loved the clip of Mike Brady singing Up There Cazaly with all the kids joining him on the chorus.
I can remember when Slim Dusty sang on Countdown because Duncan was the number one hit that week.

 

[Roobs321]

It has been a charming retrospective packaging of an existing product, worth owning on DVD.

 

[mr bagcroft]

Really enjoy this show. Particularly Adam Ant trying to sound like a serious musician when talking. And last night, Hasi Fantaysia or whatever their actual name is. What a load of dross. We forget there was absolute shite music in every decade!

 

[JackFlash]

Countdown finished way too early in 1987, Molly called their bluff and the ABC shut it down before it's time was up. A great tragedy, it was important. Countdown should've continued until at least 1995...Of course these were the days when we actually had a music industry, it's quite different today!
Molly butted heads with the ABC for years, they never liked him, they didn't like the show either and it's amazing it lasted so long. Despite his mumbling and bumbling Molly had a great passion for music, he was also tempestuous, cantankerous and a borderline fuse just waiting to blow. His rows with the ABC officialdom are legendary, most of the time he was right! MTV screwed things up in 1983 however and the ABC went the lazy route also. MTV revolutionised music by making the music video a commonly seen thing, Countdown had the advantage of a live audience and the pop stars of the day were the hosts, it bridged a huge gap between artist and fan. MTV was the beginning of what we call today formulated machine music where you have no personalities at all, no hosts and this was a killer as MTV spawned the era of the video first, the song second decade. Music Videos were being made pre MTV and Countdown was showing them, the difference back then, what with the lack of special effects technology and all, people had to resort to some pretty bizarre (but always entertaining) stuff to get the point of their music across to the camera. Music is the best form of social expression there is and MTV ate that up and spat it out all over us. We have a love-hate relationship with the music industry. While there are some artists out there even today doing their damnedest to continually put out genuinely good tunes, the flip side is that there are plenty of people in the industry who apparently just don't give a shit. Countdown was a casualty.

 

[Roobs321]

Countdown had already been around for a long time by then, finishing up is fair enough. There were a lot of music shows like rage and Video Hits starting up by then (as well as the ARIAs), and Molly was still on Hey Hey. In 2000 there were shortlived Countdown-esque prime-time shows with the Pepsi show and Molly on House of Hits(?). But Popstars was concurrent, and reality tv changed the landscape from then on.

The rage format and public broadcast has proved most resilient I guess.

 

[CURVE]

Once Classic Countdown is finished we need a Rock Arena retrospective. Always loved it more than Countdown, because it focused on the more serious or less commercial (or successful) artists of the period.

 

[JackFlash]

Once Classic Countdown is finished we need a Rock Arena retrospective. Always loved it more than Countdown, because it focused on the more serious or less commercial (or successful) artists of the period.

Rock Arena was great, but vastly different to Countdown. remember Countdown was on at prime time 6pm on a Sunday night, it was aimed at kids who would all be home at that time. Rock Arena was 10pm Tuesday night? Thereabouts anyway, it was good for showcasing the more eclectic bands from the UK in particular. They often played the Rockpalast concerts from Europe featuring Smiths, Cure, Siouxsie, Police, Simple Minds, Stranglers etc. Sounds Unlimited wasn't bad on a Saturday morning, but we're really going back to the late 70's early 80's, old Donny did some great interviews .

 

[CURVE]

Rock Arena was great, but vastly different to Countdown. remember Countdown was on at prime time 6pm on a Sunday night, it was aimed at kids who would all be home at that time. Rock Arena was 10pm Tuesday night? Thereabouts anyway, it was good for showcasing the more eclectic bands from the UK in particular. They often played the Rockpalast concerts from Europe featuring Smiths, Cure, Siouxsie, Police, Simple Minds, Stranglers etc. Sounds Unlimited wasn't bad on a Saturday morning, but we're really going back to the late 70's early 80's, old Donny did some great interviews .

Holy Crap. Even though I'm old enough to remember both shows, apparently I'm really only four years old and need to be reminded why I liked both shows.

 

[JackFlash]

Holy Crap. Even though I'm old enough to remember both shows, apparently I'm really only four years old and need to be reminded why I liked both shows.

Sorry, it wasn't meant to have a crack, we had a lot of choice back in the 80's, Countdown was your out and out pop show, cringe worthy yes, important yes. We had Night Moves, Rock Around The World, Rock Arena and Sounds all with informative hosts. Rage was late night film clips, great to watch after coming home pissed from a gig on a Saturday night. MTV was the killer, shocking videos performed by lazy artists who were phoning this shit in...expecting the video to do all the selling, never mind the quality of the song! The ABC saw this as a way out to save money producing the much more expensive Countdown!

 

[CURVE]

1984 was hosted by Eurogliders lead singer Grace Knight, one of the best voices in Australian music. Some really good guilty pleasures that I loved growing up such as What Is Love and Robert DeNiros Waiting (I was 12 and thought the Bananarama girls were cute). The break dancing comp near the start was pretty boring though.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

Anyone watch this right through until the end? I halfheartedly watched the second last ep and completely forgot about the last one but eventually caught up with it on iView. Pretty much mirrored my attitude to it back then I think, I was starting to lose interest in it by the time it ended anyway. The last ep (1987) I didn't know half the songs or the guy who was hosting it

 

[Power Raid]

how many great Australian bands got their first opportunity on Countdown and how many international bands were introduced to Australia via countdown!

what a great time for music

 

[CURVE]

Starting this Saturday night Rage goes retro and begins showing a few episodes of Countdown. The first episode is hosted by Mi-Sex frontman Steve Gilpin. I was a big Mi-Sex fan as a kid.