scary music flashbacks

With all my recent blogging on Oz Idol, I was delighted to find these two old Countdown music clips. Countdown was once the most popular music show in Australia. It was the first to feature live performances (well, barring those lip-sync rumours) and focus primarily on Australian music. Countdown changed the Australian music industry by giving new Aussie bands excellent public exposure. And truly, if you hadn't watched Countdown on Sunday night, there was just no point being at school on Monday, because you'd have nothing to talk about.

But tonight I love Countdown because it was aired just around the time when Marcia Hines and Mark Holden ~ two of the Australian Idol judges ~ were in the charts. So here for your viewing pleasure are Marcia Hines singing 'You' and Mark Holden singing 'Hey My Love'. (You'll need to register if you want to see the whole of that second clip, but it's free and all.) Please note the signature carnation on his lapel. He also used to hand out carnations to the girls in the audience. No, really, he did.

Other now scary bands whose posters covered the walls of my pre-teen bedroom include: the Bay City Rollers. Woody (rythym guitar), who later made a short but awesome comeback (pre-visual visual, for those who understand that reference) as the lead singer of Dr and the Medics, was my favourite. (Yes, I wore his tartan...each band member had their own.)

Sherbet. (Not their best song.)Though she loathed most of our music, my mother had a huge crush on Darryl Braithwaite, Sherbet's lead singer. She was overjoyed when he went on as a solo artist after the band broke up.

Dragon. (Still like this song.) Marc Hunter, the lead singer, took a very different musical direction after Dragon, later releasing a bluesy jazz album.

Australian bands from the Countdown era that I have no trouble admitting I still like include Cold Chisel (they had so many good songs), Skyhooks (they look weird (they WERE weird) but their songs were awesome), INXS (quintessential), and Mental As Anything (this song contains my favourite bass line ever! Oh how I wish I had gotten to see this band live just once.)

Oh my golly gosh, I am now watching Countdown clip after Countdown clip, and I still know every word. I swear, I could memorise the complete works of Shakespeare, if it was just set to catchy enough music.