Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Music on Film & TV
    Music on Film & TV TV Shows - 1970s TV Shows - 1980s Variety 3 Mins Read

    Sound Unlimited/Sounds

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 7 5 – 1 9 8 7 (Australia)

    On 1 March 1975, colour TV officially arrived in Australia and Donnie Sutherland launched the pop TV show which was to change Saturday mornings around the country.

    Pre-Donnie, Saturday morning was for part-time jobs, sport and sleeping in. With Donnie, suddenly 9:00 am – 12:00 noon became the time to get hip.

    Barry White‘s Love Unlimited Orchestra theme – all sweeping violins and seventies guitar – signalled that Sound Unlimited (later, Sounds) was on the air and Australia was waking up to the best of pop and rock.

    Like its contemporary Countdown, Sounds not only introduced a generation of Australians to rock & roll but (a decade before MTV hit the US airwaves) it ushered in the era of video music.

    The show began life as Graham Webb’s Saturday Morning Show with ex-Blind Date presenter and former pirate radio DJ Graham Webb, who was the real pioneer of rock video in Australia.

    sound_unlimited

    Frustrated at trying to find material to screen, he would commission a young Russell Mulcahy – then working as a newsroom editor – to film sequences to accompany the hits of the day.

    The results were the first real video clips to be consistently given TV airplay.

    Record companies soon caught on to the promotional possibilities and a new industry emerged. Webb soon gave up hosting for production, entrusting the job to ex-Sydney DJ and former jockey, Donnie Sutherland. A star and a hit were born.

    The figures on Sounds success are quite staggering. At its peak, it was shown on over 100 TV stations nationally and regularly reached 85% of the viewing audience. For three hours a week, 52 weeks a year until December 1987, Sounds had most Australians between 13 and 35 watching rock & roll.

    It was an unprecedented achievement, held together by Sutherland’s impish grin and infectious spirit and a freedom unthinkable in today’s tightly controlled programming.

    With three hours a week to fill in, Sounds had the time to run lengthy interviews, specials and non-mainstream clips. Guests could vary from Slim Dusty to Siouxsie Sioux. It became a magazine for young people and a reference point for all aspects of youth culture.

    Unable to compete with Countdown‘s insistence on the right to premiere clips, Sounds instead concentrated on presenting an unparalleled breadth of artists.

    In 1984, the show received international recognition with a bronze award for best TV music show in the world at the prestigious New York Film and TV Festival.

    This was significant praise for the Australian industry and worthy recognition for the show which interviewed over 5000 people during its life, pioneered satellite and location shows and provided an essential outlet for local talent.

    When Sounds failed to renew Sutherland’s contract in December 1987, it was at the whim of Channel 7’s new owner, Christopher Skase. It was still rating as highly as it ever had and no other show has ever effectively replaced it.

    Sutherland continued to draw crowds as a DJ, while Christopher Skase couldn’t set foot in the country in his final years.

    Video


    Related Posts

    • Start Living
      Start Living
      1 9 6 7 (Australia) 29 x 30 minute episodes This Sunday evening series for young people from Australia's ABC starred…
    • Rock Arena
      Rock Arena
      1 9 8 2 - 1 9 8 8 (Australia) This on-again-off-again Aussie live music show, produced in Perth and broadcast…
    • Rock Around The World
      Rock Around The World
      1 9 8 1 - 1 9 8 4 (Australia) This offering from Australia's SBS television introduced Australian music viewers to…
    • Johnny O'Keefe
      Johnny O'Keefe
      Johnny O'Keefe produced more Top 40 hits than any other Australian recording artist. He had a total of 29 hits…
    • Rage
      Rage
      1 9 8 7 - Current (Australia) This popular all-night Australian music video programme has broadcast all through Friday nights and…
    • Early Bird Show, The
      Early Bird Show, The
      1 9 7 7 - 1 9 8 0 (Australia) 1 9 8 5 - 1 9 8 9 (Australia) Originally…
    • Moodists, The
      Moodists, The
      Emerging from the provincial South Australian town of Mount Gambier in the late seventies, The Moodists were at odds with…
    • Celebrity Tattletales
      Celebrity Tattletales
      1 9 8 0 (Australia) 42 x 30 minute episodes When his long-running guest stint on Blankety Blanks ended, cigar-smoking comedian…

    Australia
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleStanley Baxter (Big Picture) Show, The
    Next Article Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Tiffany Jones (1973)
      The character of model Tiffany Jones originally appeared as a […]
    • Gorillaz
      Rather than succumb to the usual solo-project indulgences, Blur […]
    • How!
      1 9 6 6 – 1 9 8 1 (UK) 252 x 30 minute episodes This […]
    • Annie Hall (1977)
      Woody Allen sub-titled Annie Hall “A Nervous […]
    • Visage
      Poster boys for the New Romantic movement until Spandau […]
    • Over My Dead Body
      1 9 9 0 – 1 9 9 1 (USA) 12 x 60 minute episodes Maxwell […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😢
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    4 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    6 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    7 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    4 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.