Countdown Episodes * 70s & 80s Australian Music Programs * Music Video * Molly Trading * Collecting * Archival Information * Record/CD releases and more .........
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COUNTDOWN IS BACK THIS JANUARY, 2019 ... ON rage !!!!! Stay tuned below with regular Countdown full archival information for each Countdown episode rage shall be airing every Saturday throughout January ...
I loved how random Rage was in the early days. In Adelaide there was a local show also called Night Shift hosted by David Day and there was Simulrock hosted by Andrew Peters that were on Friday and Saturday nights. Not sure if they were still going by the time Rage and MTV started though. BTW the first guest programmer was Andrew Denton in January 1990. The first one I remember seeing was Maynard F# Crabbes in March 1990.
I was vaguely aware in the late 80's that Rage had artist specials sometimes on Saturday nights, but at that stage I was only really interested in the top 50.
I've got a snippet of a rage ad for a forthcoming Madonna special, around the time of 'Express Yourself', on tape still. The add actually shows segments of her videos with some running text along the bottom of the screen. It would have aired during the top 50, probably between numbers 6 and 5.
The first Saturday night artist special I watched though was the Kylie Minogue/Jason Donovan/Dannii Minogue special in late November 1991. I was only aware of it because the TV guide (probably TV week) listed it next to Saturday night's program. I even bought a special $4 VHS tape in K-Mart that afternoon to record it, ha ha.
I then caught most of the Pet Shop Boys special a few weeks later.
The first guest programmer segment I recorded I think was Kylie Minogue guest programming in 1992, though I had taped over it by the next week.
It wasn't really until mid 1999, when I was over both the top 50 AND most of the new releases, that I switched my focus to Saturday night's programming, to catch retro videos.
Yes,very cool. Those were the days.
Watching Rage and listening to 3RRR in the late 80s/early 90s introduced me to so many great "alternative" bands that I otherwise would not have known about.
3RRR... I didn't realise you were a Melbourne girl originally. I was a RRR subscriber for a while in the 90's. It seemed to be run by uni students out at Fitzroy somewhere - my brother was involved with a science show that they had.
Nah Bob, not a Melbourne girl originally, but I lived down there for a while in the late 80s/early 90s.
RRR was THe best radio station back then with so many unique hosts playing some brilliant local underground music.
My two faves were probably Cat's 'Mousetrap' on a Sunday arvo, featuring lots of obscure and alternative Aus, N/Z and international bands and Bohdan, an out of control pommy ex punk rocker with a really deep voice, on Friday nights, who played a selection of heavier stuff from bands such as The Cosmic Psychos and The Hard-ons.
Yes, think it was run by current and ex Uni students who often bought in their own private record collections to play.THey weren't paid.
Like you, a couple of my friends were subscribers and also volunteers who helped out behind the scenes at the station on the weekends.
3PBS was also another great station - used to listen to a show on there called 'Counting Sheep' with a Kiwi host, featuring a whole range of obscure NZ bands, late on Sunday nights.
Christina
Another great early Rage playlist,Guru.
I probably watched that one - Rage used to play a lot of great "underground" NZ bands/artists back then, especially those on the Flying Nun label like the Bats, Snapper,The Chills, Straitjacket fits, Bailterspace, The JPS Experience, Look Blue Go Purple, The Clean etc.
Still have a soft spot for the Dunedin sound today, especially The Bats.
The Lime Spider's Weirdo Libido and Echo and The Bunnyman's The Cutter were amongst the very first clips shown on Rage if I remember rightly.
Guru Bob
[I probably appreciate that music much more now than in the day. I would just watch all the obscure clips but never seemed to remember the band/song names. It wasn't until 1994 when I saw the Countdown repeats that I first though of recording that sort of thing but by then that particular sound had moved on and Rage had stopped playing them.
The early Rage days are still my very favourite period.
Maybe its just me but it seemed to have an atmosphere of vitality and excitement back then that is somewhat lacking today...
I was vaguely aware in the late 80's that Rage had artist specials sometimes on Saturday nights, but at that stage I was only really interested in the top 50.
Those late 80s/early 90s specials were brilliant, esp the ones featuring female singers like Sinead O'Connor, Blondie, The Pretenders etc.
I think Guest Programming was introduced around 1990.
Kylie Minogue GP in 1992? Wow, that would have been at the height of her backlash in Australia. I'm surprised for an alternative music show like rage, they got her on to program.
One of my uncles had taped Bill Collins' Golden Years Of Hollywood screening of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford from ATV-10 Melbourne which was featured in this 1988 TV Week program line-up in the same year and I didn't saw it until 1995 when it still on one of VHS video tapes that he taped and kept until he send this and other VHS video tapes which have old movies from Melbourne television channels to my family which it is me, my sister, my mum and my dad.
Maybe Rod Stewart's song, Baby Jane should be on the soundtrack of this Bette Davis and Joan Crawford movie.
playlist Sunday 24/7/1994 (The Sugarcubes/Bjork special, followed by [mostly] female artists), from the start of the program:
THE SUGARCUBES Cold Sweat THE SUGARCUBES Deus THE SUGARCUBES Birthday THE SUGARCUBES Regina THE SUGARCUBES Planet THE SUGARCUBES Hit THE SUGARCUBES Walkabout 808 STATE featuring BJORK Ooops BJORK Human Behaviour BJORK Venus As a Boy BJORK Play Dead BJORK Big Time Sensuality BJORK Violently Happy SOUL II SOUL Get a Life NENEH CHERRY Buffalo Stance MASSIVE ATTACK Unfinished Sympathy SHARA NELSON Uptight DEEE-LITE Groove Is In the Heart MADONNA Deeper and Deeper JANET JACKSON Throb HOLE Miss World LUSH Hypocrite SONIC YOUTH Bull In the Heather SISTERS UNDERGROUND In the Neighbourhood QUEEN LATIFAH Fly Girl GALLIANO Long Time Gone CURTIS MAYFIELD & THE REPERCUSSIONS Let's Do It ME'SHELL NDEGE'OCELLO If That's Your Boyfriend SALT 'N' PEPA Let's Talk About Sex MONIE LOVE It's a Shame (My Sister) M PEOPLE Moving On Up CARLEEN ANDERSON Nervous Breakdown THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES Back To Love YOUSSOU N'DOUR & NENEH CHERRY 7 Seconds CHRISTINE ANU with PAUL KELLY Last Train 3 THE HARD WAY Many Rivers UTE Situations Vacant CURVE Fait Accompli DEBORAH HARRY Strike Me Pink JENNY MORRIS Only We Can Hear (remix) SILVERFISH D@mn Fine Woman THE BREEDERS Cannonball TOM TOM CLUB Don't Say No THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH Everybody's Talking CONCRETE BLONDE Happy Birthday CLOUDS Cloud Factory MAGIC DIRT Readhead HOLOCENE Flying THE FALLING JOYS Fiesta CLEOPATRA WONG Thank You MAROODY BARAMBA Lullaby SINGLE GUN THEORY From a Million Miles MELANIE OXLEY & CLARIS ABRAHAMS Breathe MOTHER EARTH Jessie TRACY CHAPMAN Bang Bang Bang
(now the top 50... my tape cuts out soon)
MADONNA I'll Remember ROACHFORD Only To Be With You JAMES Laid CJ LEWIS Sweets For My Sweet THE SCREAMING JETS Helping Hand BJORN AGAIN Flashdance... What a Feeling JANET JACKSON Any Time, Any Place D:REAM Things Can Only Get Better 2 UNLIMITED The Real Thing GIN BLOSSOMS Hey Jealousy METALLICA One ELECTRIC HIPPIES Greedy People JOHN MELLENCAMP with ME'SHELL NDEGE'OCELLO Wild Night ACE OF BASE The Sign DOOP Doop THE SMASHING PUMPKINS Disarm THE SHARP Alone Like Me ACE OF BASE Don't Turn Around CLUBHOUSE featuring CARL Light My Fire PRINCE The Most Beautiful Girl In the World BLUR Girls and Boys MARCELLA DETROIT I Believe MELODIE MC I Wanna Dance D:REAM U R the Best Thing JX Son of a Gun ELTON JOHN Can You Feel the Love Tonight THE POOR More Wine Waiter Please LIGHTER SHADE OF BROWN Hey DJ EAST 17 Around the World TAKE THAT Pray 3 THE HARD WAY Hip Hop Holiday TAG TEAM Whoomp! (There It Is) THE PRETENDERS I'll Stand By You COLLECTIVE SOUL Shine FRENTE! Lonely FRENTE! Bizarre Love Triangle JAM & SPOON featuring PLAVKA Right In the Night (Fall In Love With Music) KULCHA Don't Be Shy SOUTHEND with NIK FISH The Winner Is... MARIAH CAREY Anytime You Need a Friend DES'REE You Gotta Be KULCHA Shaka Jam SOUNDGARDEN Black Hole Sun ETERNAL Stay ALL 4 ONE I Swear REEL 2 REAL featuring THE MAD STUNTMAN I Like To Move It CRASH TEST DUMMIES Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm BIG MOUNTAIN Baby, I Love Your Way CRYSTAL WATERS 100% Pure Love ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Absolutely Fabulous WET WET WET Love Is All Around