0/5

Airdate: Countdown: Do Yourself a Favour

ABC is about to pay tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the iconic Countdown.

2014-10-24_2115Save the date, people.

We’re about to pay tribute to the iconic Countdown in a two-part special, next month (November 8th marks its 40th anniversary).

Hosted by Julia Zemiro, this looks set to feature interviews with Molly Meldrum, Boy George, Daryl Braithwaite, Red Symons, Brian Mannix, John Paul Young, Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, Leo Sayer, Kirk Pengilly, The Wiggles and, yes, Mark Holden.

Can’t wait for this one.

Ep 1 (1974 -1980)

Originally intended as an 8 x 30 min show, it went on to become a flagship ABC program with a presenter like no other. The producers certainly got more than they bargained for with Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum.

Meldrum’s enthusiasm shot through television sets all over the country in a way Australians had never seen before. The production values and Meldrum’s ability to spot a hit meant Countdown was quickly able to establish a stable of local stars. John Paul Young, Skyhooks, Sherbet, John Farnham, Marcia Hines and AC/DC were all regular artists who benefitted.

Molly could hear a hit at 20 paces. They occasionally made decisions having far-reaching consequences. Forcing ABBA to release Mamma Mia was a major breakthrough never forgotten and friendships were made with artists such as Rod Stewart, Elton John and KISS.

A new generation in the Australian suburbs was quietly discovering its sexuality. And via an unprecedented performance by Iggy Pop in 1979, some of them even discovered punk.

Part One 7:30pm Sunday November 16.

13 Responses

  1. I won’t be watching after seeing the interview with Molly on Sunday Night. I am sick of seeing the cocaine-fuelled antics of Iggy Pop on the 1979 Countdown episode. I’ve done a bit of research and found that almost every episode of Countdown from 1978 and 1979 was destroyed, and for some inexplicable reason the Iggy Pop episode was saved. That’s why that crap has been repeated so many times over the years. If the ABC can distribute a version of the special without the Iggy Pop clips then I’ll watch it.

  2. Please – can we not have the clip with Prince Charles again?

    And I for one would love a DVD of the unexpurgated interviews with international visitors that Molly has conducted – regardless of which television show they screened on.

  3. @ Hoin – Agree about Sounds.
    A great show from that era with so many great guests and music clips from the 70s.
    A bit like Molly,Donny always looked half p*ssed/stoned /asleep but he was a great character.
    .
    A real shame that 7 have never done any sort of a retrospective on it.
    It’s as though it never existed.

  4. An absolute classic but it was a show of its time.

    @Derek – people find out about and consume music differently these days. There aren’t enough nostalgic oldies or luddite young’uns to sustain a program like this any more.

    @DK – I’m sure it (almost) goes without saying that this will be on ABC1?

  5. Thank goodness Countdown was on the ABC. If it was on Seven the anniversary show would only screen in Melbourne (and I’m still trying to see the Homicide 50th anniversary). Talking about Seven and Countdown, Seven’s Sound Unlimited (later Sounds) started on the same day as Countdown (and finished one week after Countdown finished in 1987) yet Seven has never run an anniversary program or even shown clips of it in other programs over the years. It is almost as if Seven refuses to acknowledge that they ever screened the show.

  6. Shame they can’t come up with a new show instead of honouring one they made 40 years ago… when the abc actually made good program’s ?

    Now it’s run by HR, POMS, bean counters and ‘friends of friends of the ABC’.

  7. Fantastic !
    Can’t wait for this one.

    Countdown, (and Molly), always have always held special place in my heart.

    Hopefully Rage will also put together one of their great specials around the same time for the Countdown anniversary.

Leave a Reply