RetroTragic, I’ve only just read these posts after being off this forum for a while. I just wanted to say “fantastic work”, and I’m so thrilled someone loves the detail as much as I do. Also, I can now say, my early Countdown knowledge is so much better!

Cheers mate!

Thank you, vinylLOVER. It has been such a pleasure, and absolute fun, to search for this information and post them here for us all to help fill in the gaps. I thought it was important to supply the evidence from the newspapers at the time, so we are virtually certain of who hosted what. I've hit a stumbling block though, as I have exhausted all current online google searches for newspapers. My next step might have to be a visit to a large city library that contains newspapers on microfiche, and sit through endless copies of newspaper TV guides - absolute bliss for me ... ha ha.

Of course, if anyone else has access to such a library, and wants to help fill in gaps, that would be just so fantastic. Together, we will get there - every episode to air on ABC from 1974 to 1987.

Here's one for the Top 80 shows they played over summer holidays 1977/1978. I didn't realise they played them on Tuesday nights.

Another one, this one the final of the Top 80 specials ...

80 songs in 55 minutes?

The Top 80's from early 1976 started on January 6th (Tuesday night) and ran for 5 weeks. So I guess they played 20 songs per show.

Oh yeah, maths is not my strongest. :blush: With each song going for three or four minutes (about standard), that makes sense.