Countdown: The show that shaped the 70s

In the 70’s and 80’s, the USA had MTV, England had Top of the Pops, but Australia had Countdown.  The show featured an amalgam of film clips, live music and interviews with Australian and overseas acts, all with a live studio audience. We religiously rushed home by 6.00 pm on Sundays to watch the show while our parents made themselves scarce.  The conversation on Monday morning was, “Did you see who was on Countdown last night?”  Host, Ian "Molly" Meldrum, a shambolic interviewer, but a true believer in what he was doing, knew so much about music that bands WANTED him to interview them.   Countdown definitely played a part in the building of Aussie bands like The Angels, AC/DC, Split Enz, Sherbet, Skyhooks, and helped build the profile of such mega-stars as Rod Stewart, Elton John, Duran Duran. It was even a key element in the huge success of Abba!  References:  Countdown (TV program), Cold Chisel, Molly Meldrum, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Midnight Oil, AC/DC, Angels, Bo Diddley, Station to Station, David Bowie, Alice’s Restaurant, spoken word tracks ___________________________________________________ Spoken word playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1sbhq1phWR4PEl6n7pt3AP?si=P6OQxIThT5-tmrTuoQSv1Q  We compare 1974 's Top 10 singles to the Top 10 in April 2021 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6hYJY4QfUpy09oOaeCt67E?si=5202bd6b9a9742d8 HumDrum with Iggy Pophttps://youtu.be/DncmE8UV_dwwith Prince Charleshttps://youtu.be/a78mzQZPDAQ__________________________________________________________________We’d love to know what you think of the podcast, what you’d like to hear us talk about, ask questions, or even let us know if we got something wrong!!Contact us:https://www.facebook.com/Mick-and-the-Phatman-Talking-Music-104246385065739https://www.instagram.com/mick_and_the_phatman/[email protected] us a message, so we know what you're thinking!