Old Australian pop show 'Countdown'

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by redfloatboat, Dec 1, 2017.

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  1. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Kate was co host on a 1978 Countdown - same show as Leif Garrett. At the end she performed Hammer Horror.



    Iggy Pop!
     
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  2. Kingsley Fats

    Kingsley Fats Forum Resident

    99% pop crap
     
  3. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    There's enough cutting edge stuff for about an hour of television for every year the show ran. Occasionally something completely off the wall was shown and I'd forget about JPY and TMG appearing week after week

     
  4. Kingsley Fats

    Kingsley Fats Forum Resident

    Is that 1 hour in total or 1 hour for each year ? I'd go with the 1 hour total.
     
  5. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    I've been surprised how easily they fill the hour. If you look at the charts after each show there's a squillion things they left out. They're rewriting history but the rewrite is better than what actually happened.
     
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  6. Kingsley Fats

    Kingsley Fats Forum Resident

    Nah. It's just much cheaper to polish up an old turd, boost up the marketing & resell it to the gullible masses than it is to produce something new.

    The ABC produced Countdown for the mass pop market. Comparing it to GTK is a real case of chalk & cheese. Cheese a good description for the stuff on countdown. (Loose Change included)
     
  7. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    GTK (Get To Know) was more aligned with my taste, but almost literally the whole of Australia used to watch Countdown. I have never seen a Ry Cooder film clip anywhere except on GTK.
     
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  8. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    Skyhooks, Sherbet and Split Enz were all GTK bands. Even JPY had a pre- Countdown hit.



    Dig the mellotron
     
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  9. Mai Tem Baht

    Mai Tem Baht Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phuket
    "He was influential on the international scene too"

    I'm surprised to hear that. I never heard of him.
     
  10. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    The serious Molly :)
     
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  11. Brian Doherty

    Brian Doherty Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA
    Weird...I had never heard of this show until a week ago when one of the few english language channels in a se asian hotel room were showing an hourlong retrospective on it from the mid-80s. I had no idea what a big deal the sort of "overly synthesized Brit/colonial white folk with saxophones trying to do Big Sound Soul music" was there and then, more than a handful of acts mining that vein which kind of was wiped from the earth entirely by I'd say 1988 or so.
     
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  12. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    I was too young for GTK, but just the right age for Sounds and Nightmoves. I've loved watching the GTK footage on Rage and Youtube.
     
  13. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    He was very self effacing, modest and just loved Popular music so much. Looking back on it, it doesn't surprise me why International acts warmed to him like they did. Just a beautiful man.
     
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  14. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Thanks for sharing that. I read the excellent ABBA biography Bright Lights/Dark Shadows and I had no idea just what a phenomenon ABBA was in Australia.

    And yeah, Molly comes across as a serious music person in that interview, as opposed to how he was on the show with Kate.
     
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  15. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    Molly was not a critic. He was a fan of every act and a very big fan of some acts. He either really liked them or loved them like a puppy. International acts like Madonna, MJ, McCartney, U2, Dire Straits, Elton, Rod Stewart, Sting/Police, Cyndi Lauper, Wham, Duran Duran etc are some that come to mind. His live interview with Prince Charles is famous.... how's your mum? If you were good to Molly...Molly looked after you and your sales also seemed pretty good. Great for local acts too.
     
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  16. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Some GTK segments are fun but I'm more of a Flashez guy. Hoping we get some more clips this retro season! Countdown was for pop music which I loved. Rock Arena is the flip side where you got lots of alternative acts you wouldn't see on Countdown such as The The or The Smiths.
     
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  17. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    Flashez. Was the that the one with Ray Burgess?
     
  18. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    They were massive down here Chris. Most of the performers that caused true hysteria actually hosted or made their way into the Countdown studios but I don't think Abba appeared in person on the show. Kiss were the next massive phenomena in Australia a few years later but I don't think they did a live to air performance either.
     
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  19. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Molly nearly died when he fell off a ladder on to a solid floor a few years back. Sadly, he now has what appears to be difficulties with his neck (fused vertebrae maybe) and some changes to his speech. However, he seems to have lost the ums and aahs that were such a lovable part of his speech patterns. Countdown (and especially Molly) made Australians proud of Australian music.
    Regarding Abba, there was a small imported records shop called Goesunder in Melbourne, whose young German proprietor said he had made the mistake of not taking up the offer to distribute Abba records in Australia. RCA took it up instead and the rest is history, along with Goesunder.
     
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  20. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    OMG, this has started me off down memory lane regarding defunct music shops in Melbourne:
    Discurio
    Toad Hall
    Archie 'N' Jugheads
    Euphoria
    Clements
    such a great time of my life!
     
  21. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    I don't really suffer from any elitism when I look back at the Pop music shows I used to love as a kid and that helped drive a love of music. The non commercial side of the street whether it was New Wave, Post Punk or Noise Rock was all still just one side of the same coin to me. It's funny to see the evolution of bands like The Models and Hunters And Collectors etc. who started out with 'supposed' edgy, non commercial influences, but they all end up making hit records after a while. The 'we don't do Countdown' stance of Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil is hilarious when you look back on it. It's all Triple MMM fodder these days anyway. RRR were essentially the same bunch of Private School wankers as well. The Scientist's on Countdown :laugh: Did Dave 'King Of Pop' Graney get a gig on there too :laugh: The Johnny's :D. ahh The St Kilda Cowboy Junkie scene..what a larf.
     
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  22. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes may have appeared on Countdown at one stage. My sister dated the keyboard player - he wasn't my cup of tea at all - many, many years ago.
     
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  23. AFOS

    AFOS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brisbane,Australia
    Yeah and most of the full episodes were wiped - however there are hundreds of the segments that appeared in the show still in the archives. Rage has shown about 20 so far.

    Strange that ABBA never hosted Countdown. And yes Kiss were huge in 1980 - remember collecting the bubble gum cards!
     
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  24. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    That's the same guy who knocked back exclusive distribution of Tubular Bells.
     
  25. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    Robin?? He was in Plays With Marionettes with Hugo Race.
     
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