No 'The Factory' this year, I guess I'll just keep watching the 8 May 88 episode yet again for another year! Week 4 makes up for it so not complaining.

I reckon this is probably the other Rock Arena:



8. ID: 188418 - ROCK ARENA - PROGRAM Email Sales about this item

Duration: 60.15

Location: MELBOURNE,VIC,AUSTRALIA

Summary: SUZANNE DOWLING PRESENTS ROCK ARENA WITH FEATURED GROUP 'HOODOO GURUS' RECORDED LIVE IN CONCERT IN 1984 SINGING 'LET'S ALL TURN ON','TOJO','ARTHUR','BE MY GURU'&'BITTERSWEET'.NEW AUSTRALIAN BAND THE SHINDIGGERS SING 'HANGING IT UP',OTHER VIDEO CLIPS ARE DREAM ACADEMY 'LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN',HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS 'POWER OF LOVE'&'WALKING ON A THIN LINE',THE BEAT 'HANDS OFF,SHE'S MINE',FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS 'JOHNNY COME HOME',DOOBIE BROTHERS 'TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS'&'WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES',MICHAEL MCDONALD 'NO LOOKIN BACK' AND FEARGAL SHARKEY 'LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER'&'LOVING YOU'

More details

Personalities: SUZANNE DOWLING,ABC HOST;HOODOO GURUS,ROCK GROUP;SHINDIGGERS,ROCK GROUP;DOOBIE BROTHERS,ROCK GROUP;MICHAEL MCDONALD,SINGER;HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS,ROCK GROUP;BEAT,ROCK GROUP;FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS,ROCK GROUP;DREAM ACADEMY,ROCK GROUP;FEARGAL SHARKEY,ROCK GROUP

Shotlist: NONE

Okay, thanks Nathan. I've been wondering what the other Rock Arena with Hoodoo Gurus would be. I'm not a fan on the Hoodoo Gurus, I only like them as Le Hoodoo Gurus and their first few singles were okay but generally they became absolutely awful for me.

Not a mega great Rock Arena but better than GTK and Hitscene, better than that awful 1989 Rock Arena on week two and better than Recovery!

I don't know THE SHINDIGGERS SING with 'HANGING IT UP'

Is the Gurus Rock Arena from 1984? Some of those other songs didnt come out until 1985

rage did list that the two Rock Arena's are from 1984.

You have to remember that in the 80s MANY bands would feature NEW tracks in their set to test them on audiences just as Alex Smith said on their 1984 Countdown played on Week 1 of 'rage goes retro' - 3 weeks ago.

They probably had many tracks kicking around which they put in their 'LIVE' set.

The Shindiggers were an alternative band, I think from Melbourne. They showed Hanging It Up on the 1985 Vault that they showed in June 2020. I doubt it is your style of music.

I don't know particular details on the Hoodoo Gurus Rock Arena but the following are options:
September 18 1984
A MUSIC VIDEO PROGRAM HOSTED BY SUZANNE DOWLING WHO BRIEFLY INTRODUCES EACH ARTIST;ARTISTS/TITLES:;00.16 BOX OF FROGS, BACK WHERE I STARTED;04.32 FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, LOVE HAS GOT A GUN;07.30 FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, WAR;11.04 ELO, ROCKARIA;14.16 JEFF LYNNE, VIDEO;17.35 LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM, GO INSANE;20.41 FLEETWOOD MAC, YOU MAKE LOVING FUN;24.56 HOODOO GURUS, LET'S ALL TURN ON;27.54 HOODOO GURUS, TOJO;31.09 HOODOO GURUS, ARTHUR;34.11 HOODOO GURUS, 1 WANT YOU;36.56 HOODOO GURUS, MY GIRL;40.12 HOODOO GURUS, THAT'S COOL;43.12 HOODOO GURUS, BY MY GURU;45.56 HOODOO GURUS, KAMIKAZE PILOT;49.25 RANK AND FILE, RANK AND FILE;54.18 RANK AND FILE, SOUND OF THE RAIN;58.03 NO NONSENSE, CHANGES MUST BE MADE

August 20 1985
SUZANNE DOWLING PRESENTS ROCK ARENA WITH FEATURED GROUP 'HOODOO GURUS' RECORDED LIVE IN CONCERT IN 1984 SINGING 'LET'S ALL TURN ON','TOJO','ARTHUR','BE MY GURU'&'BITTERSWEET'.NEW AUSTRALIAN BAND THE SHINDIGGERS SING 'HANGING IT UP',OTHER VIDEO CLIPS ARE DREAM ACADEMY 'LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN',HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS 'POWER OF LOVE'&'WALKING ON A THIN LINE',THE BEAT 'HANDS OFF,SHE'S MINE',FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS 'JOHNNY COME HOME',DOOBIE BROTHERS 'TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS'&'WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES',MICHAEL MCDONALD 'NO LOOKIN BACK' AND FEARGAL SHARKEY 'LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER'&'LOVING YOU'

February 22 1986
THIS WEEK'S SHOW FEATURES VIDEOS FROM VARIOUS ARTISTS SUCH AS THE CLASH, TALKING HEADS AND MELBOURNE BAND NOT DROWNING WAVING. EACH GROUP IS INTRODUCED BY SUZANNE DOWLING WHO GIVES A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GROUP AND THEIR LATEST WORK;ARTISTS:;BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE 'THE BOTTOM LINE'(0.19);THE CLASH 'LONDON CALLING'(5.25);THE CLASH 'ROCK THE CASBAH'(8.40);THE CLASH 'SHOULD I STAY'(12.17);NOT DROWNING WAVING 'THE SAME HEAT'(15.43);NONA HENDRYX 'KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL'(21.30);NONA HENDRYX 'ELECTRICITY'(25.45);NONA HENDRYX 'I SWEAT'(30.05);TALKING HEADS 'LADY DON'T MIND'(35.17);TALKING HEADS 'ROAD TO NOWHERE'(38.47);TALKING HEADS 'AND SHE WAS'(42.47);HOODOO GURUS 'I WANT YOU BACK'(47.18);HOODOO GURUS 'BITTERSWEET'(50.00);HOODOO GURUS 'LIKE WOW, WIPE OUT'(53.31)

My bets would be on the August 20 1985 episode with the live concert as mentioned by Nathan. I would prefer the 1984 episode for other material shown, including Melbourne Ska band No Nonsense who had a great single with Simple Needs in 1985 which they performed live on Countdown. Richard from No Nonsense also hosted Countdown a couple of times and was a regular on Hey Hey in 1984-85.

I really hope it's the February 22nd as I remember looking at the Rock Arena archives and loving all the Nona Hendryx videos listed in the show!

And at least the September 18th, 1984 episode has Frankie Goes To Hollywood, No Nonsense, ELO and Jeff Lyne. I don't know Rank And File ....

rage did mention a 1984 Episode so it may not be the one Nathan mentioned!

I really think it's this one as rage said two 1984 Rock Arena's! A much better one than the 1985 episode! ... BUT ... then again, the 1985 Episode also says Hoodoo Gurus recorded in 1984. But I am going for the 1984 Episode as it's actually from 1984 and Rock Arena state 'Suzanne Dowling will be back on your screens this Saturday night to take you back to the 1984 music scene with full episodes of Rock Arena featuring Hoodoo Gurus, The Dugites and more' ... Hmmmmmm ... I REALLY hope it will be the 1984 Episode and not the 1985 Episode. I am not a Hoodoo Gurus fan and the 1984 material besides the Hoodoo Gurus is actually rather good! ... So my bet is September 18, 1984 :-)


September 18 1984
A MUSIC VIDEO PROGRAM HOSTED BY SUZANNE DOWLING WHO BRIEFLY INTRODUCES EACH ARTIST;ARTISTS/TITLES:;00.16 BOX OF FROGS, BACK WHERE I STARTED;04.32 FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, LOVE HAS GOT A GUN;07.30 FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, WAR;11.04 ELO, ROCKARIA;14.16 JEFF LYNNE, VIDEO;17.35 LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM, GO INSANE;20.41 FLEETWOOD MAC, YOU MAKE LOVING FUN;24.56 HOODOO GURUS, LET'S ALL TURN ON;27.54 HOODOO GURUS, TOJO;31.09 HOODOO GURUS, ARTHUR;34.11 HOODOO GURUS, 1 WANT YOU;36.56 HOODOO GURUS, MY GIRL;40.12 HOODOO GURUS, THAT'S COOL;43.12 HOODOO GURUS, BY MY GURU;45.56 HOODOO GURUS, KAMIKAZE PILOT;49.25 RANK AND FILE, RANK AND FILE;54.18 RANK AND FILE, SOUND OF THE RAIN;58.03 NO NONSENSE, CHANGES MUST BE MADE

Fine Young Cannibals, Dream Academy, Huey Lewis all came out in 85

The 84 ep looks better

The 1984 episode looks WAAAAY better, I hope it's that 1984 episode and not the 1985 Episode ad the 1985 one looks rather ghastly.

Finally, an August 1986 episode of Countdown on Rage, Long Overdue.

Upside of not playing that many 1986 episodes is that they have to be played sometime. So coming up we'll likely have quite a few 1986 heavy Retro months.

Anyway looks like a great night and more Rock Arena's which is always a good thing. Well nearly always..

August 1986 was when i first started watching Countdown. I think this may be 'the episode'!!!!

Looks like everyone had a mullet in 1986!

One of my favorite things with Countdown is seeing the bands that never made it. Perfect Strangers were interesting and couldn't have been more influenced by Bowie. The start of the video even reminded me of the video for Heroes!

Perfect Strangers were so AMAZING! I so died over it last night *****

The video also reminded me of John Foxx at the end as well from the Dancing Like A Gun video.

And yes, very Bowie - Heroes video!