I was checking out a website devoted to lost 1970's Countdowns where I stumbled on some information where it was discovered a couple of 80's eps were also dumped.

The list of 'missing'80's eps from the ABC archives are:

18 May 1980
19 October 1980
27 September 1981
29 June 1986
3 August 1986

I was rather shocked that 2 1986 eps are missing - I was optimistically hoping that the junking of eps didn't reach that far..but it would appear it did.

So we can add the 2 September 1984 Thriller dance contest to that list as well sadly. Although obviously someone has it otherwise sections of it wouldn't have appeared on Youtube.

Hopefully I'm not breaking any website etiquette by reproducing this info - if I am I apologise - the guy who runs his site seems very enthusiastic and charming - even this site gets a mention on it.

Fingers crossed no more 80's eps are found to be lost...that'd be a very real worry indeed.

Hi Patrick!
I'm rather gutted about ALL the 80's episodes you listed as being dumped and that is a surprise about dumped episodes going up to 1986.I thought the dumping stopped at the early '80's.No two ways about it-all the dumping the ABC's done of Countdown episodes has been cruel and unforgivable.

Back in February I posted a message here "I have no information on episodes 240 (May 18 1980), 241 (May 25 1980), 279 (April 5 1981), 367 (April 24 1983), 368 (May 1 1983), 432 (September 2 1984), 515 (June 29 1986) or 520 (August 3 1986). I wonder if they all still survive?"

I did list the run sheet for episode 527 - September 21 1986 as neither I or CJ had previously known any information on that one and I had just come across it. otherjohn then let us know that the ABC actually had several copies of that episode.

I guess the September 2 1984 Jacksons Victory Dance competition episode question has been answered when Rage played some YouTube footage - obviously that one is gone.

The October 19 1980 episode never got made as far as I am aware due to an industrial dispute. I believe the ABC replayed the End Of The Decade episode (Dec 16 1979) that week and that was officially episode 262. I think the same is true for episode 303 Sept 27 1981 as they showed a Wendy Stapleton hosted standby program of clips.

There were 2 further standby programs made in 1983 on Aug 22 starting with Molly in the ABC vaults and then pulling out episode 91 which then gets shown and on Dec 5 an episode of Molly's favourite bands and videos. I am not sure if either of these ever got aired. I have a copy of the Dec 5 show. From memory I think James Reyne also hosted a stanby episode but I can't be sure on that - probably just mistaken.

Episode 275 (Recorded 7/3/81, shown 8/3/81 and replayed 14/3/81) had no live acts due to a staging assistants strike on the scheduled day of production and as such became an insert show.

I don't have any knowledge of episodes 367 (April 24 1983 - week after Countdown awards) and 368 (May 1 1983) but as they are not listed as missing I presume that they have now found them - would love to know what is on them????

Since the May 25 1980 episode (241) and April 5 1981 (279) aren't listed among the missing either I presume that they have turned up as well. I have no knowledge of what is on those ones but good to know that they exist.

The 2 missing 1986 episodes probably exist but just have't been catalogued yet. I don't think they threw any out at that stage so they may have just mislaid them.

Would dearly love to see these 25th May 1980 and April 5th 1981 episodes!!
The early 80s Countdowns were among the best...

Guru, you are indeed an informative person!!

Well I did think it odd that the 1986 eps were listed as missing - as you said one would hope that they just haven't been catalogued yet as the alternative wouldn't be very nice.

From your listing it would appear more 80's eps are missing that I thought - but it certainly gets confusing due to the various strike actions affecting the ABC during that period though.

I'd like to know what's on those missing episodes too....very shameful what the ABC did, but I won't drone on about it as we've all been down that road before.

Here's hoping we don't find out more of these classics have bitten the dust......

I emailed Troy from the Lost Countdowns website (http://1970scountdown.atspace.com/) and asked him about the episodes that I had no information on and he gave the following answers:

241 (May 25 1980) [2 clips from that show are listed both are Mental As Anything “Come Around”]

279 (April 5 1981) [a lot of clips from that episode is listed on database so it must exist it though it has in the comments field “no tara entry” whatever that means]

367 (April 24 1983) [interviews with Bonnie Tyler, Skyhooks and Split Enz are listed from that show]

368 (May 1 1983) [a lot of clips are listed from that episode so it must exist]

432 (September 2 1984) [according to the database in the comments field it says "tape is missing"]

So I would think out of those episodes episode 279 and 368 should exist in their entirety either as the final edit or as unedited segment tapes. The rest of them I would deem as missing so I will add them to the list of missing 80s Countdowns.

I can't understand why the 2/9/84 ep is missing considering just about every other 84 episode is listed. It's terrible that it's apparently lost - indeed as are any of them.

I'd like something cleared up though - I've heard various stories that the wiping of shows either started in the late 70's, mid 80's or late 80's. Does anyone know for sure when this practice began and when it ceased?

I know that the ABC repeated some now 'lost' shows as late as 1983 and that many clips from them turned up in the 10th Anniversary special....so I would assume these tapes were wiped in the late 80's?? or was it an ongoing practice over time?

I curse the person who ordered their demise but hug the one that ordered it to be stopped!!

Speaking of the ABC wiping all those tapes is it true that there was also a similar purge over at Rage HQ in the mid 90s?
I have heard ppl mention this but find it incredible that they would do it again!

Dear guru,

I'm new here and not up to speed on reading all forum postings.

however I have a VHS copy of the entire September 2 1984 Jacksons Victory Dance competition episode which I'd tape at the time of broadcast . I'm responsible for parts posted on youtube too. I've the Flashdance contest and I'm seeking the Batdance show (I appear in it as a dance competitor you see)

Can anyone help me obtaining a copy of the Batdance show?...I did notice a few ppl on the RAGE forums are asking for ti to be broadcast too...is this likely?

cheers all

John

Can anyone help John out here with that CR show with the Batdance competition?. It would be very good to obtain the Jackons Victory Dance competition episode in full given the ABC seem to have mis-placed the master!!

Speaking of the ABC wiping all those tapes is it true that there was also a similar purge over at Rage HQ in the mid 90s?
I have heard ppl mention this but find it incredible that they would do it again!


Yes I have heard of that too...The TripleJ crowd that started running RAGE perhaps. I heard alot of 80s stuff, particularly 80s metal was purged.

Someone perhaps felt their taste should govern what was stored in the archives.

Troy used to run the mailing list on yahoogroups back in the early 00's.

There were many of us Countdown fans on that mailing list, and got quite popular one year of the RAGE re-runs.

Yes it's true that Rage library had several culls in the 90's (and even in the 80's too, from what I can gather).

I have a copy of the top 40 (from the top 50) year-end chart for 1988, and it's missing at least 10% of the videos even from that year! Stuff like Rick Astley's 'Whenever You Need Somebody' (which they obviously re-acquired for his recent guest programming), Glenn Medeiros's 'Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You', Tiffany's 'Could've Been', Eric Carmen's 'Hungry Eyes' - Rage instead aired one of their interludes with the arist/title superscript in their place.

Then I noticed that several 90's clips were missing in the 00's when they played an artist's videos after a guest programming segment. For example, when Tori Amos guest programmed in 1995, they only had 1 of the videos from her first 2 albums ('Cornflake Girl'). Someone I knew asked on the old Rage guestbook what about the other 4+ videos from those albums rage aired at least once when they were new releases - the moderator replied that those videos were no longer in the Rage library.

When Meat Loaf programmed a couple of years back, they didn't even have 'I'd Do Anything For Love' in the library! Yet they have since re-acquired it.

The latest clear-out that I'm aware of (there may have been later ones) occurred probably in 1997. Tracy Bonham's 'Mother Mother', which aired in the top 50 for 1996 in late 1996/early 1997, was cleared from the library, as I remember the moderator saying they'd just 'found' it when it aired during retro month 2010. Also, it had 'Independent' listed as the record label, which is another sign that they didn't have the original release info anymore.

They did a similar thing with Collette's 'Ring My Bell' (which was listed as being 'Independent' until I pointed out the record label to the moderator), and Icehouse's 'Electric Blue', which they just 'discovered' again in 2009!

I got to program an hour of Rage after winning the Separage competition in 2010, and some of the videos on my original playlist couldn't air (even though a few I had seen on Rage in the late 80s/early 90s) because they were no longer in the library (or at least are still lurking uncatalogued in the archives somewhere).

It's quite sad to think of all the music videos (including by Australian artists) that have been cleared out of the Rage library over the years, probably because they didn't suit the tastes of the Triple J-listening programmer at the time.

But at the same time, I find it incredibly difficult to predict what Rage does and doesn't have from this period. e.g. why would they have kept (or been able to locate) obscure stuff like Morgan-McVey's 'Looking Good Diving' from 1987 (which I didn't even know had an Australian release), but yet they didn't have Samantha Fox's 'Touch Me (I Want Your Body)' - a #1 hit from 1986 and even on one of the Countdown DVD's, until 2010?!

Hi John
I am not aware of anyone - outside of the ABC - owning a copy of the Batdance show but I am not all that knowledgeable as to what exists of Countdown Revolution.

If the ABC don't have that Sept 2 1984 tape of the Jacksons Victory Dance then I would imagine they would be happy to provide you with a copy of the Batdance episode in exchange for a copy of your off air recording. I am surprised that the ABC have not contacted you via YouTube to get a copy from you considering they showed a bit of it on Rage once.

I've never actually seen that Victory Dance footage on YouTube, do you have a link to your YouTube clip?

There is a chance of the Batdance episode being shown on Rage over the next few weeks as Rage do listen to comments, but I wouldn't say they were great.

Depending on what sort of footage is on the episode you might even be able to buy it. The footage of the dance competition itself would be ABC copyright, it would just depend if there are restrictions in regards to the soundtrack being used.