Countdown (TV series)
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- For other meanings of the term countdown, see Countdown (disambiguation).
| Music of Australia | |
|---|---|
| Indigenous Australian | English, Irish and Scottish |
| Pub | Other immigrants |
| Timeline and samples | |
| Genres | Australian classical music>Classical - Hip hop - Jazz - Country- Rock (Indie · Hardcore punk) |
| Organisations | Australian Recording Industry Association>ARIA |
| Awards | Australian Music Centre · ARIA Music Awards · The Deadlys |
| Charts | ARIA Charts, Triple J Hottest 100>JJJ Hottest 100 |
| Festivals | List of Australian music festivals>List: Big Day Out · Livid · Homebake · Falls · Stompem Ground Tamworth (Country) · Womadelaide |
| Media | Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association>CAAMA, Countdown, Rage, Triple J, ABC |
| National anthem | "Advance Australia Fair" |
Countdown gained a huge audience and soon exerted a strong influence on radio programmers, because it was broadcast nationwide on Australia's government-owned broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Countdown was the most popular music program in Australian TV history, and it had a marked effect on radio because of its loyal national audience -- and the amount of Australian content it featured. It also gained double exposure throughout the country by screening a new episode each Sunday evening, and then repeating it the following Saturday evening. It followed this format for most of the time it was on air.
The program's talent co-ordinator Ian "Molly" Meldrum began appearing on-air in 1975, presenting the Humdrum music news segment and conducting interviews. He soon became the face of Countdown. He appeared regularly on-air until 1986.
Cultural influence
Teen-oriented pop music still enjoyed strong popularity during the 1970s, although much of it was sourced from overseas, and the proportion of Australian acts in the charts had hit an all-time low by 1973. That trend began to change around 1975, and many credit that largely to the advent of Countdown. Much of the show's influence derived from its timeslot (Sundays at 6pm) and the fact that each week's show was repeated the following Saturday at 5pm; the series also undoubtedly benefitted hugely from the long-delayed introduction of colour television in Australia, which was introduced four months after Countdown premiered. Because of this, Countdown was also one of the first Australian TV series to be made entirely in colour, although, regrettably, most of the master videotapes from first twelve months of the series were later erased and recycled during an ill-advised "economy drive" at the ABC.Although not widely recognised, Countdown also had a strong international influence, because it was one of the first TV shows in the world to promote the regular use of the music video as a major part of its programming. Because of its receptivity to these music videos (which were in fact something of a necessity because of the comparative rarity of tours by overseas acts) Countdown proved to be instrumental in the worldwide success of a number of important overseas acts of the period. Madonna achieved her first hit single in April 1983 when "Holiday" was screened Countdown. Subsequently "Burning Up" reached the top twenty following repeated showings of the video clip on the show; this second song was not a hit in other countries. Other international artists including Blondie, ABBA, John Mellencamp, Meat Loaf, Boz Scaggs and Cyndi Lauper achieved their first hits in Australia, thanks to their video clips being aired on Countdown, and this in turn led to their records being picked up and becoming hits in America and/or Europe.
Many international acts who would otherwise have gone largely unheard on Australian commercial radio, gained important exposure in Australia on Countdown through their music videos; the list includes many UK "New Wave" acts like XTC, The Beat, Elvis Costello, The Specials, Lene Lovich, Joe Jackson and The Cure and US acts such as The Ramones and The Cars.
Countdown was, above all, crucial to the success of many leading Australian acts like AC/DC, John Paul Young, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Dragon, Marcia Hines, Split Enz, The Angels, INXS, Mondo Rock, Men At Work, Icehouse, Little River Band, Renee Geyer and Jon English.
The program dominated Australian popular music well into the 1980s, although some critics felt that in later years it tended to concentrate on pop-oriented major-label acts and that it failed to reflect much of the exciting independent scene of the time.
See also
External link
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