Okay folks, here is the run down for rage goes retro 5 for this Saturday night on ABC1 at 11:30 pm. With FULL info on the 3 Countdown episodes and the 2 Rock Arena episodes from my archives.

COUNTDOWN
1985 Date: 25/8/1985 Show no: 476 Summary:
THIS SHOW IS HOSTED BY VINCE SORRENTI, JAMES REYNE, MARTHA DAVIS AND MOLLY. THE LINKS WERE PRE-RECORDED IN THE STREETS OF MELBOURNE.
VIDEO CLIPS:
SPANIARDS 'ANGEL'
AUSTRALIAN CRAWL 'IF THIS IS LOVE'
KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'CURRENT STAND'
RENEE GEYER 'EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK'
MENTAL AS ANYTHING 'DATE WITH DESTINY'
ARETHA FRANKLIN 'FREEWAY OF LOVE'
ALEX BROWN '(COME ON) SHOUT'
MOTLEY CRUE 'SMOKING IN THE BOY'S ROOM'
MOTELS 'SHAME'
TIME BANDITS 'ENDLESS ROAD'
LAURA BRANIGAN 'SPANISH EDDIE'
CHARTBUSTERS (EXCERPTS): UNCANNY X-MEN 'STILL WAITING' V CAPRI 'HAUNTING ME' KOO DE TAH 'TOO YOUNG FOR PROMISES' WEIRD AL YANKOVIC 'LIKE A SURGEON' HUMDRUM (EXCERPTS): CULTURE CLUB 'THE MEDAL SONG' FAMILY 'SCREAMS OF PASSION'
TOP TEN: PHIL COLLINS '(BILLY) DON'T LOSE MY NUMBER' HAROLD FALTERMEYER 'AXEL F' MENTAL AS ANYTHING 'LIVE IT UP' BILLY JOEL YOU'RE ONLY HUMAN' MADONNA 'ANGEL/INTO THE GROOVE' DREAM ACADEMY 'LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN' MADONNA 'CRAZY FOR YOU' EURYTHMICS 'THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL' MODELS 'OUT OF MIND, OUT OF SIGHT' TINA TURNER 'WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO'

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ROCK ARENA
December 27 1986
THIS IS A SPECIAL SUMMER EDITION OF ROCK ARENA WHICH STUDIES MODERN POPULAR MUSIC IN THE U S S R THE PROGRAM DISCUSSES THE CURRENT STATUS OF MUSIC WITHIN THE U S S R AND HOW THE SOVIET UNION HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY DEPRIVED OF WESTERN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC BECAUSE ROCK IS ASSOCIATED WITH BOURGEOIS IDEOLOGY AND THEREFORE REGARDED AS DECADENT. WITH THE GROWTH OF ROCK BANDS TO ALMOST 1,000 THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN FORCED TO OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE SOME BUT ONLY THOSE WHICH CONTAIN NO POLITICIAL OR SOCIAL CRITICISM. SEVERAL RUSSIAN ROCK STARS AND ROCK BANDS ARE INTERVIEWED AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OFFICIAL AND NON-OFFICIAL BANDS IS ILLUSTRATED, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF PUBLICITY,WHERE NON-OFFICIAL BANDS RELY ENTIRELY ON THE BLACK MARCKET AND WORD OF MOUTH. THERE IS ALOT OF FOOTAGE AROUND MOSCOW, ESPECIALLY THE KREMLIN(54.55).

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COUNTDOWN
May 10, 1987.

STUDIO PERFORMANCES:
JUMP INCORPORATED – TURN IT ON
CATTLETRUCK – LEAVE ME
BIG PIG – BOY WONDER
NOISEWORKS – TAKE ME BACK
WA WA NEE – ONE AND ONE

VIDEO CLIPS:
JANET JACKSON – LET’S WAIT AWHILE
LEVEL 42 – RUNNING IN THE FAMILY
FREDDIE MURCURY – THE GREAT PRETENDER
DANCE LIKE A MOTHER – YOU AIN’T SO TOUGH
MAN 2 MAN – MALE STRIPPER (COUNTDOWN DANCERS)
PAUL LEKAKIS – BOOM BOOM
CARMEL – SALLY
PRETENDERS – HYMN TO HER
WHITNEY HOUSTON – I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY

PLUS SHORT CLIP OF BOY GEORGE THANKING JIS FANS

INTERVIEWS WITH THE PRETENDERS & JASON DONOVAN

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COUNTDOWN SPECIAL
Date: 26/06/1984
Show no: 217
Summary: COUNTDOWN SPECIAL; WHO'S A TART? THIS IS A COUNTDOWN SPECIAL FEATURING BOY GEORGE AND CULTURE CLUB WITH THEIR HITS. MOLLY IV BOY GEORGE,HELEN TERRY RE BOY GEORGE, MARILYN, RECORDING WITH BOY
GEORGE AND MARILYN RE BOY GEORGE. THE IV WITH BOY GEORGE GOES FOR THE MAJOR PART OF THE PROGRAM RE
SUCCESS, AMOUNT OF WORK, OUTFIT, WEARING MAKE UP, HIS VOICE, SINGING TECHNIQUES, IMAGE, HANDLING PRESS RELEASES, HIS FAMILY, MICHAEL JACKSON, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HAVING SUCCESS IN THE UK AND USA, MUSIC CAREER, FAVORITE SINGERS, BAND CULTURE CLUB, HELEN TERRY, MAKING VIDEO CLIPS, HAVING PRIVACY, COPING WITH BEING FAMOUS, MARILYN, THE ROYAL FAMILY, PRINCESS ANNE CALLING HIM A TART, TOURING IN AUSTRALIA AND LIVE PERFORMANCE.

VIDEOCLIPS:
'DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME'
'TIME' (EXCERPT)
'I'LL TUMBLE FOR YA' (EXCERPT)
'CHURCH OF THE POISON MIND' (EXCERPT)
'KARMA CHAMELEON' (EXCERPT)
'IT'S A MIRACLE' (EXCERPT)
'VICTIMS' (EXCERPT)
'MISS ME BLIND' (EXCERPT)

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CULTURE CLUB I Just Wanna Be Loved (Virgin)
CULTURE CLUB Cold Shoulder (Virgin)
CULTURE CLUB Your Kisses Are Charity (Virgin)
3:30am
BOY GEORGE Sold (Virgin)
BOY GEORGE Everything I Own (Virgin)
BOY GEORGE No Clause 28 (Virgin)

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ROCK ARENA
September 13 1986
THIS WEEKS SHOW FEATURES A SPECIAL PERFORM ANCE FROM KIDS IN THE KITCHEN RECORDED IN NEW YORK(30.41).

SUZANNE DOWLING INTRODUCES NEW RELEASES FROM IT'S IMMATERIAL AND RUPERT HINE.;ARTISTS:;THINKMAN 'THE FORMULA'(0.20);IT'S IMMATERIAL 'HUZZA HUZZA'(5.26);IT'S IMMATERIAL 'A GIGANTIC RAFT'(8.51);IT'S IMMATERIAL 'CHALLO'(12.24);QUANTUM JUMP 'LONE RANGER'(16.08);RUPERT HINE 'SURFACE TENSION'(19.04);RUPERT HINE 'MISPLACED LOVE'(22.36);RUPERT HINE 'SET UP'(26.12)

;KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID'(31.21);KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'CURRENT STAND'(34.58);KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'BITTER DESIRE'(38.54);KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'MY LIFE'(42.26);KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'CHANGE IN MOOD'(47.18);KIDS IN THE KITCHEN 'NOT THE WAY'(52.12)

The first Rock Arena from December 27th 1986 is awful, seriously not a good episode. Who need politics and an episode on the USSR. Goodness NO .... On the up side, the Rock Arena with Kids In The Kitchen live from THE CAT CLUB, rage have never played before. I do have the full performance on VHS but not the Full Rock Arena itself. The 2 Countdown episodes from 1986 and 1987 have never been played on rage and the Countdown Special 'Who's A Tart' on Boy George hasn't ever been played either on rage, which i also have on VHS! ... Glad that the SOLD video is being played by Boy George. Overall, an okay end to rage goes retro but not outstanding ...

What a Way to see out Retro Month for 2016 with Three Countdowns and Two Rock Arenas, Both from 1986.

I think this has been a great retro month overall. If you don't count the 3 episodes that most of us have in time coded form, we still got 13 or so "new" shows for the collection, which is nothing to be sneezed at. I am not on facebook, but trust that everyone who is can pass on thanks to the ABC rage team for their efforts to ensure they don't replay anything they've shown on rage in the past. They seem to even encourage us to "get our recorders ready", knowing that we are keeping & treasuring these shows! The Boy George show will be OK to watch, but not something I would keep, my fave songs of his are God thank you woman & particularly Miss Me Blind. Of course I would have liked a few Countdown Revolutions thrown in as well, but I am probably in the minority of people thinking along those lines. I think I like CD Rev. due to the great music of '89/'90 & the fact that I was in year 9 & 10 over those two years & as far as school was concerned, year 9 & 10 were the best by far!

Yeah that first Rock Arena is rubbish. Does it even contain any music? Why bother. Plenty of other good eps they could have played.

I would have preferred a KITK clip compendium in the second rather than a live show, I don't think I ever saw that episode.

I agree - this has been one of the best retro months ever, if not the best. rage has played many if not most of the episodes various people have requested (they played 5 of my 6 requests) which I think is almost unprecedented. Huge points for that. And even though some complain at the clips played inbetween, there have been quite a few rare vault clips played which I have wanted for a long time. If I was on facebook I would be giving them congrats and my heart-felt thankyous!

It has been a good retro month and believe me, I have given rage PLENTY of praise.

They played 4 of 5 of my Countdown episode requests and my one Rock Arena request.

I just think this USSR Rock Arena and 90s grunge videos are a waste on 1 hour and a half. I don;t think a Rock Arena on Politics is needed and I don't think the likes of Smells Like Teen Spirit is needed.

But overall, a better retro month than last year. They did well

Yeah, not a bad season. Saturday morning clips have been dreadful, except for some rare videos from our departed musicians. This October, I'm going gung ho and requesting The Factory episode with Bros and Transvision Vamp and Countdown 25/9/83 episode hosted by Pat Wilson and 30/10/83 hosted by Lynda Nutter. Even though I have both on timecode, I would love clean copies. Maybe these 2 episodes might work for next Australia Day if they continue the theme of Australian hosts?

So, I take it 'Who's A Tart?' was originally shown on Tuesday night? Is it still considered a Countdown episode and starts off like one?

Oh, I agree. The last few years, rage seem to be boxed into this 'themed' idea for their selection of retro videos on Saturday morning - the theme being artists who appear on, or have videos played on, the retro shows aired the following night. I really wish that they wouldn't do this, or, if they must, they'd take the time to dig out some rarer videos rather than airing e.g. 'Six Months In a Leaky Boat' for the umpteenth time. The two Koo De Tah clips they aired this morning were shown together on Saturday morning last January, and that's the third time (not counting ABC3 repeats) they've aired 'Think of Me' since unearthing it for Aus music month in 2014. It just seems so lazy for them to air the same videos they aired but a year ago.

It was much better in 2010-2011 when they just showed random (mostly not aired on rage in a long time) retro music videos on the Saturday morning hour. No theme, no other tie-in to what's featuring on Saturday night's episode, just a great selection of retro videos with almost no repeats of commonly-seen-on-rage-anyway videos.

I think the key is persisting. So not just asking for it in October, but right up until the end of the year. I don't think they've shown any The Factory stuff during retro month since 2012, other than the David Bowie snippet this year.

I asked for a Factory episode from 1989 (when they were only 2 hours long) to be aired, and asked for it in 2014 too, but to no avail yet. I really thought there might have been some Factory or Countdown Revolution (not favourites here, I know, but I find it annoying there's no late 80s/early 90s representation in retro month) shown this year, given that there were 5 weeks. But no, instead we get things like this Rock Arena USSR show, that 70s live show with the guy on the unicycle, and that 1989 live Oz music special with Midnight Oil/Yothu Yindi etc.

How many unrepeated Countdowns are there left after this retro month, does anyone know? Isn't there a huge slab of 1986 episodes that are yet to air? If retro month continues to be a thing for years/deacades to come, I'm guessing at some point there will be a massive slab of 1986 episodes shown

A pretty good night but I agree the 1986 rock arena sounds dreadful. Overall it's been a good year - although I'd have liked to see some Hitscene and Antenna episodes. Also some Flashez clips - will be requesting some for next January.

Re. Split Enz - they could have shown the vid for "Next Exit" Is that a rare clip?

Nathan, there are still about 83 Countdown's left to play. Still quite a few 1980 episodes to play as well as 1983, 1985 and 1986

I must say, I am happy rage don't play much early 90s in rage goes retro month, ughhhh


I loved the 70s special with the guy on the cycle, lots of archival goodness. Would rather that than USSR crap!

83 doesn't sound like many left - they could knock that off in 4 years if they really wanted to.

Yes, 83 episodes isn't mega a lot but still quite a bit seeing rage only play about 17 Countdown ep's a year. I guess 5 years worth for January ...

I wonder what they'll do once they've aired them all.

JTV will count as 'retro' by then probably. How awful it will be if they start showing that, Recovery and 10:30 Slot (if they don't repeat Countdowns).

They could repeat shows as there are probably a lot of fans who only recently started watching. Include some of the hundreds of unaired Flashez inserts and whatever else and I'll keep watching.

rage played that clip on 30 August 2014. I've uploaded it to YouTube

Strange that it was a charting single and wasn't included on Spellbound.

And it's didn't on Split Enz DVD too.