List of Australian music television shows

This is a list of Australian produced music television shows.

Early days of music television pre-dated video clips and often hosts and guests were featured miming audio recordings of hit songs (e.g. The Go!! Show), while some other early music series were variety-style series with emphasis on music. As acceptance of Australian music grew, local and visiting acts performed more often on a sound stage (e.g. Bandstand), and with the advent of music videos, shows gave way to slickly prepackaged film clips with a host compère mixing live local acts (e.g. Countdown). The most recent trend has been towards near and complete compère-free shows which show music videos exclusively (e.g. Rage and AMV).

Talent quests and competitions are shown in the second table below.

Music television

Title Period Network
/Channel		 Presenter(s) Notes
Accent on Strings 1956 TCN-9 ? Sydney only. Piano and string recitals. Series debuted during the first official day of programming on station TCN-9
Campfire Favourites 1956 TCN-9 Frank Ifield Sydney only
The Isador Goodman Show 1956-1957 HSV-7 Isador Goodman Consisted of Isador Goodman playing the piano in a 15-minute time-slot.
Billabong Band 1957 ABV-2 ? A live program which ran for a short series of four episodes. It featured Australian folk songs, but little else is known about the series. Broadcast in Melbourne. At least one of the episodes survives as a kinescope recording.
Blues, Studio One 1957 HSV-7 Joan Bilceaux and her Quintet. Joan Bilceaux was a jazz singer. This short-lived series aired live in a 15-minute time-slot. Replaced on the schedule with first Australian-produced sitcom Take That
Neptune Presents 1957 GTV-9 ? Melbourne only, this was a weekly 5-minute series featuring vocalists.
Rhythm Roundup 1957-1960 ATN-7 Roy Hampson Exact format is unknown. Hampson, a disc jockey, also hosted Record Roundup during the late-1950s.
Teenage Mailbag 1957-1959 HSV7 Ernie Sigley, Heather Horwood and Gaynor Bunning Melbourne; Cast sang requested songs
Hillbilly Requests 1957-1958 GTV-9 Tom Campbell Episodes starred the Victoria Banjo Club
The Hit Parade 1957–1959 ? HSV7 John Eden (3DB) Melbourne.
Juke Box Saturday Night 1957-1958 GTV-9 Bob Horsfall Replaced with The Astor Show in early 1958
Choice of the People 1957-1958 ATN-7 Milton Saunders The series presented songs requested by viewers.[1] Milton Saunders was a pianist and played the requests on the piano.[2]
Melody Time 1957-1959 ABV-2 Ormonde Douglas Professional musicians performed live
TV Disc Jockey 1957-1958 TCN9 John Godson Sydney only
Accent on Youth 1958 TCN-9 John Godson, quickly replaced with Brian Henderson (?) This was the follow-up to TV Disc Jockey. There is conflicting information as to when the series debuted and who was the host. The format consisted of teenagers dancing to records, while there was also guest vocalists. It later became Bandstand.
Ardath Hit Parade 1958-1959 ATN-7 Keith Walshe (1958), Jimmy Parkinson (1959) A different series to the Melbourne "Hit Parade", this series featured the top 10 hits of the week. There were guest singers and groups from time to time. It was a spin-off from the variety series Sydney Tonight.
The Astor Show 1958 GTV-9
Country Style 1958 ABC ? Aired in Sydney and Melbourne, this was a live variety series with emphasis on country and western music. Frank Ifield appeared and sang in several episodes.
Eunice Gardiner Presents 1958 TCN-9 Eunice Gardiner Sydney only. Eunice Gardiner played selections on the piano, and also interviewed personalities in the field of music. After several months it was replaced on the schedule with Music for You.
Melody with Milton 1958-1960 ATN-7 Milton Saunders Milton Saunders was a pianist. Daytime series in Sydney only.
Music for You 1958-1960 TCN-9 Isador Goodman Sydney only. Goodman was a pianist.
The Toppanos 1958-1959 ATN-7 Enzo and Peggy Toppano Live music and ad-libbed comedy
Valerie Cooney Sings 1958 ABN-2 Valerie Cooney and the Jack Allan Trio Replaced on the schedule by Vic Sabrino Sings
Vic Sabrino Sings 1958 ABN-2 Vic Sabrino Sabrino's real name was George Assang, and he was a singer. At the time, ABN-2 was not a 24-hour station (and usually signed-off each night between 10:30PM and 11:30PM), and Vic Sabrino Sings was used as the final program of the programming day for several weeks. Like many ABC series of the 1950s, it aired for a much shorter season than shows on commercial television.
Your Hit Parade ? ? Brisbane
Club Seven ? Seven Brisbane
In Time ? ? Adelaide
At Your Request 1958-1959 HSV-7 Charles Skase "Requested songs". Information on this series is scarce. Charles Skase was a baritone.
Bandstand 1958–1972 Nine Network Brian Henderson [3]
Cool Cats Show 1958-1960 HSV-7 Don Bennetts Aimed at teenagers. The Ted Vining Trio were regulars.
Australian All Star Jazz Band 1959 ABC ? Variety series with emphasis on jazz music. The band consisted of Terry Wilkinson, Freddie Logan, Ron Webber, Dave Rutledge and Don Burrows.
The Bert Newton Show 1959 - 1960 GTV 9 Bert Newton Became Hi-Fi Club in 1960. Artists lip-synced their songs.
The Jimmy Parkinson Show 1959-1960 ATN-7 Jimmy Parkinson A music series starring singer Jimmy Parkinson.
Johnny Gredula Sings 1959-1960 ATN-7 Johnny Gredula Johnny Gredula sang requested songs in this series.
Make Ours Music 1959-1961 ABC Included music performances and dancing. Produced by James Upshaw
Patrick O'Hagan Sings 1959 ATN-7 and GTV-9 Patrick O'Hagan Irish tenor sang songs in a 15-minute time-slot during daytime
Serenade 1959-1960 ATN 7 Ray Melton (1959-1960), Peggy Brooks (1960) A half-hour music series starring singer Ray Melton, but some episodes instead featured singer Peggy Brooks.
Sweet and Low 1959 ABV-2 Bob Walters Jazz music
Teen Time 1959 - 1961 ATN 7 Keith Walshe and Carol Finlayson Sydney only.[4] Teen Time started on ATN Channel 7, Sydney at about the same time as Bandstand on Channel 9 and was a mix of live performance and records. It was hosted by Keith Walshe and Carol Finlayson and had a live audience. It went to air initially for a half hour only Monday - Friday at 5.30 - 6pm. After several months the time was changed to 5.30 - 6.30, 2 nights a week - Tuesdays and Fridays. The Tuesday permanent band was headed by Dig Richards and on Fridays, Lucky Starr. Bob Malcolm appeared on a regular basis to teach rock and roll steps.
Six O'Clock Rock 1959–1962 ABC) Johnny O'Keefe,
& others		 [5]
Words and Music 1959-1960 ATN-7 Milton Saunders and Colin Croft Sydney only. Milton Saunders was a pianist.
Youth Show 1959-1960 ATN-7 Keith Walshe Sydney only. A music series, with a focus on teenage talent, particularly artists who had not yet reached stardom.
Bongo 1960 GTV-9 Russell Stubbings Melbourne only. The actual format is not known. It aired live and was aimed at teenagers.
The John Konrads Show 1960-1961 TCN-9, HSV-7 John Konrads A music series aimed at teenagers, with singers, dancers and musicians.
The Lorrae Desmond Show 1960–1964 ABC Lorrae Desmond,
& others		 Episodes consisted of music performances, and dance production numbers.
Tea for Two 1960 HSV-7 Jocelyn Terry A daytime music series featuring singer Guido Lorraine.
The Johnny O'Keefe Show
/ Sing, Sing, Sing		 1961–1962
1962-1965		 Seven Network Johnny O'Keefe [5]
The Bryan Davies Show 1962-1963 ABC Bryan Davies
Trad Jazz 1962-1963 Seven Network Graeme Bell Re-titled "Just Jazz" in 1963
Saturday Date 1963-1967 TCN-9 Jimmy Hannan, later Tony Murphy Aimed at teenagers.
Jazz Meets Folk 1964 ABC Alan Dean
Teen Scene 1964–1965 ABC Johnny Chester [6]
The Go!! Show 1964–1967 ATV-0 Alan Field, Ian Turpie, Johnny Young Melbourne only
Kommotion 1964–67 ATV-0 Ken Sparkes Monday to Friday at 5.30 pm.[7]
Club Seventeen 1965?–1969? TVW-7 Gary Carvolth, Johnny Young aka 7-Teen. Perth.[8][9][10]
It's All Happening 1966 Seven Network Billy Thorpe Sydney.[11][12]

[13]

It's A Gas 1966 ABC Bobby & Laurie Later renamed Dig We Must.[14]
Uptight 1967–1969 ATV-0 (O-Ten) Ross D. Wylie 8am to 12pm Saturday mornings.[15][16]
Where The Action Is 1967 TEN-10 Johnny O'Keefe Sydney.[5]
GTK (Get To Know) 1969–1975 ABC 10 minute show at 6:30pm weeknights/ [17]
Hitscene 1969–1972 ABC Dick Williams
Happening '70
(also '71, '72)		 1970–1972 ATV-0 (O-Ten) Ross D. Wylie [18]
Now Sound 1970 GTV-9 Ronnie Burns Age - Green Guide - 6 June 1970 - 30 Minutes, prior to Bandstand at 5:00PM
Sounds Unlimited
/ Sounds		 1974–1987 Seven Network Donnie Sutherland
Countdown 1974–1987 ABC Ian "Molly" Meldrum, various guest hosts Initially on Friday evenings, later Sunday evenings at 6pm with a repeat on following Saturday.[19][20]
Bandstand 76 (#2) 1976 Nine Network Daryl Somers
Target 1976 ABC Mark Holden Jane Fennell magazine type program which included music, week nights at 5:45
Funky Road 1976 ABC Stephen McLean Bernie Cannon Albie Thoms Started Feb 24 1976 as a rebadged GTK which moved to a weekday 10:30 slot 30min program
Flashez 1976-77 ABC Ray Burgess Mon-Fri 4:30pm magazine style incl music
Nightmoves 1977–1986 Seven,
and later Ten		 Lee Simon Ch 7 1977-83, Ch 10 1984-
Music Express 1975–1984 SteveCurtis [later joined by Steve Whitham] In Sth Aust ADS7 4-6pm Saturday's and on relay to SES 8,RTS5a and BKN7
Studio One 1980–1983 BTQ-7 7 Brisbane had this local program, because Sounds ex ATN-7 Sydney was screened on QTQ-9 Brisbane.
VideoDisc 1981–82 ABC 5 minute clip prior to 7pm news
Rock Arena 1982–1989 ABC Peter Holland (1982)?, Andrew Peters (1982–83), Glenn Shorrock (Jan-June 1984) Suzanne Dowling (July 1984 – 1989) Originally concerts as per Nightshift, 1st episode (Feb 1982) was a concert of The Kinks 1979. Later in 1982 started showing clips and by 1984 recorded live studio performances as well.
Wrok
 1982 Network Ten 5pm-5:30pm Mon-Fri
Countdown Friday
 1982 ABC Clip show with voiceover from John Peters, Approx 22 episodes July-Dec
Breezin 1981–1984 Bendigo BCV8 John Hurst and Glenn Ridge Friday nights around 10pm for 1 hour
Rock Around the World 1982–1985 SBS Basia Bonkowski Mon-Thurs 6-630pm, Friday 1 hour at approx 11pm
Take 5/Take V
 1983–1984 ABC 5 minute clip prior to 7pm news, replaced Videodisc
Countdown Flipside
 1983 ABC Request show hosted by John Peters Saturdays 5pm
Clipz 1983–1987 QTQ9 Brisbane Brisbane only
Music Video 1983–1987 Network Ten John Torv 1984-85,
Basia Bonkowski 1985-86		 One of the earliest all night music programs before Rage which consistently showed music clips along with interviews and reviews. Was cut in early 1987 when Video Hits started.
Saturday Juke Box 1983–1988? BTQ-7 Brisbane only, replaced Studio One
Trax 1984?–1989? Ch 7 -1986, Ch 10 1987-? Andrew Peters, SAFM DJ's Clip show in Sth Aust and WA only
Wavelength 1984 Nine Jono & Dano (Jonathan Coleman & Ian Dickson) clip show 5:30pm Mon-Fri
Continental Drift 1984 SBS Basia Bonkowski Saturday 6-6:30pm
Freeze Frame 1984 SBS Friday 6-630pm covered music, fashion and comedy
Antenna 1984–1985 ABC Sunday morning 10-10:30, music clips, lifestyle and reviews
Tracks 1984?–1988? TVT-6 Hobart / Tas TV Tony Fox Clip show in Tasmania only
Night Shift 1985 Ch7 Shown in Adelaide
Simulrock 1985 Andrew Peters Shown in Adelaide in conjunction with SAFM
Top 40 Video 1985 Adelaide, 3 hour show playing the Top 40 clips
Kulture Shock 1985 SBS Annette Shun Wah? later became The Noise, Nomad and Alchemy
The Noise 1986? SBS Annette Shun Wah? later became Noise TV
Nomad ~1987 SBS Annette Shun Wah?
Alchemy ~1987 SBS Annette Shun Wah?
SevenRock 1985?–1987? BTQ-7 Bill Riner, BBQ Bob Gallagher Late Friday evenings - Brisbane only, six week summer simulcast with FM104 which was so popular it lasted over 6 years
Beatbox 1985–1988 ABC TBC Saturday morning - replaced by The Factory
Rockit 1985 Ch 9 Lee Simon
Between The Teeth 1986?–1987? ABC
Video Hits 1987–2011 Network Ten Kelly Cavuoto (2004), Axle Whitehead (2004–2006), Faustina "Fuzzy" Agolley (2006–2011), Nathan Sapsford (2007–2008), Hayden Guppy (2009), Dylan Lewis (2010–2011) Saturday and Sunday mornings
Off The Record 1987?–1989? Ballarat BTV6 Glenn Ridge Saturday mornings 10:30-12:00
rage 1987–current ABC Friday show is generally compère-free. Saturday show has numerous guest presenters Friday and Saturday nights (late) until early morning
Nightshift 1987–1989 Network Ten Friday and Saturday nights approx 12am-6am
MTV 1987–1992? Nine Network Richard Wilkins late night show, later moved to pay-TV
The Factory 1987–1989 ABC Andrew Daddo and Alex Papps Saturday morning
Countdown Revolution 1989–1990 ABC Tania Lacy
Video Smash Hits 1990–1996? Seven Network Michael Horrocks, Emily Symons and Kym Wilson Saturday mornings. Ran opposite Ten's Video Hits
Take 40 Australia 1993–2009 Network Ten/2Day FM Andrew G produced in association with the syndicated radio program of the same name.[21]
The Drum 1993 Channel V Australia (on Foxtel) Ian "Molly" Meldrum Revived on Fox-8 in 2002.[16]
Turn It Up (Rhythm NATion) 1994–1996 Australia Television Channel 31 Optus Vision Paul Fidler 1995 - Beamed to over 40 countries globally, Back in production January 2009
Big Music Soup 1994 Tas TV Paul Franklin, Filthy Fi Saturday mornings. Clip show in Tasmania only.
MC Tee Vee early to mid 1990s SBS Annette Shun Wah Mainly dance, house and hip hop tracks.
Recovery 1996–2000 ABC Dylan Lewis Saturday mornings from 9:00am to 12:00pm
Alchemy TV 1998–2000 SBS Frank Rodi, Robbie Buck, Nicole Fossati Friday nights from 10.55pm
Ground Zero 1998–1999? Network Ten Penne Dennison, Jade Gatt, Ugly Phil O'Neil, Jackie O
The 10:30 Slot 1999–2000 ABC Dylan Lewis, Angus Sampson
Studio 22 1999–2003 ABC Clinton Walker, Annette Shun Wah Live performances of artists from Australia and overseas [22]
The House Of Hits 2000 Network Ten Leah McLeod, Ian Meldrum Saturdays, 6:30pm.[23]
AMV 2000–2002 (Seven Network), 2000–present (Seven Local TV) Seven Network 7am to 9am weekday mornings
So Fresh TV 2002–2006 Nine Network David Campbell and Elysia Platt Saturday Mornings.[24]
Underground Sounds 2004-current? C31 Shane McNamara and Kelli Mcdonald Saturday Nights
Eclipse Music TV 2005–current Seven Network (2005–2010)
GO! (2010–present)		 Lizzy Lovette (2005–2007), James Tobin (2005–2010), Virginia Lette (2008–2010), Suze Raymond (2010), Shura Taft (2011–present), Zoe Balbi (2011–present) Saturday noon
jtv 2006–current ABC Rosie Beaton and various other Triple J presenters Friday nights, weekend mornings
The Music Jungle 2007–2008 Nine Network Asha Kuerten (07), Angela Johnson (08), Lizzy Lovette (08) Saturday Mornings.
The ARIA Music Show 2009 Nine Network / GO! Monday to Friday late night
MTV Hits Weekly Hot30 Countdown 2010-current MTV Hits Australia/Today Network (2010–present) Erin McNaught (2010–present), Matty Acton (2010–present) Every Sunday, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
The Hit Rater.com 2010-current? Southern Cross TV Every Sunday, 8:30-9am
The Loop 2012-current Eleven Scott Tweedie and Ash London Saturday Mornings, 9am-11:30am
Volumz 2011-current SBS Alec Doomadgee
Fusion with Casey Donovan 2012-current SBS Casey Donovan
SBS PopAsia 2011-current SBS Jamaica dela Cruz and PopAgent JayK Every Sunday, 8:30-10:30am, Every Monday, 5pm - 5:30pm

Jukebox Saturday Night. 2009 - current. Aired each week on Foxtel's Aurora Channel 183 at 7.30pm, Repeated Sundays at 1.30pm and 10.00pm and again on Thursdays at 9.30pm. JBSN is hosted by well known radio DJ Ken Sparkes. It's a bit like listening to the radio in the 60s, except with vision. Ken plays the videos from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Music-oriented talent quests/shows

Talent quest shows have been popular throughout Australia's television broadcasting history. A typical format is a selection of unknown singers or musicians (as opposed to established recording artists) performing before a panel of judges who award points with the winner receiving a cash prize or a recording contract. More recent incarnations have had the heats and eliminations running over several months with public votes included (e.g. Australian Idol).

Young Talent Time was one of Australia's longest running talent quest shows (1971–1988) and included a mix of regular in-house performers with a weekly talent competition.

Name Period Network
/channel		 Compère/s Notes
Stairway to the Stars 1956-1958 HSV-7 Eric Pearce (1956), Geoff McComas Aired in Melbourne only, this may have been the first talent show produced for Australian television, having debuted 9 November 1956. While not specifically focused on music, most of the contestants were either singers or instrumentalists. It ran for about 2 years, and it is not known if any footage survives of the series, given the wiping of the era.
Australia's Amateur Hour 1957-1958 TCN-9 and HSV-7 Terry Dear Based on a long-running radio series. Unlike most Australian series of the 1950s, this series was not live. Rather, it was kinescoped in advance so it could be shown in both Sydney and Melbourne.
TV Stars of Tomorrow
- Tarax Show segment		 1958? Nine Network Kids talent segment, included Denise Drysdale, Wendy Stapleton, Marty Rhone
New Faces 1963–1985 Nine Network Frank Wilson (1963–1976), Bert Newton (1976–1985) Originally titled Kevin Dennis Auditions, renamed New Faces in 1968
Young Talent Time 1971–1988, 2012- Network Ten Johnny Young (1971–1988)
Rob Mills (2012-)		 Mainly focussed on young teens. Notable for establishing performers such as Tina Arena, Jamie Redfern, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, and Debra Byrne.
Pot of Gold 1975–1978 Network Ten Tommy Hanlon Jr. Bernard King was a regular judge.[25]
Tasmanian New Faces 1979?–1981? TNT-9 Launceston Jim Cox Tasmanian talent show based on New Faces
Pot Luck 1987 Network Ten Ernie Sigley Based on Pot Of Gold. Competitors included Kym Wilson
Bert's New Faces 1992–1993 Network Ten Bert Newton [26]
Popstars 2000–2002 Seven Network Luke Jacobz Tuesday 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Australian Idol 2003–2009 Network Ten Andrew G, James Mathison and Ricki-Lee Coulter Sunday 7:30pm (performances) & Monday 7:30 (elimination)
Late Winter – Late Spring (Annual season)
Popstars Live 2004 Seven Network Luke Jacobz Sunday 7:30pm (performances) & Monday 7:30 (elimination)
The X Factor 2005, 2010–present Network Ten (2005)
Seven Network (2010–present)		 Daniel Macpherson (2005), Luke Jacobz (2010-current) Sunday 7:30pm (performances) & Monday 7:30 (elimination)
The Voice 2012–present Nine Network Darren McMullen Monday 7:30pm (performances and elimination)

See also

References

External links

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