Countdown performances II

One of the best elements of the TV series Countdown was the wacky performances that happened on the show, so much so that a while back, its official website (which no longer exists) commissioned a competition for 250 of these performances to air on VH1 Australia which they published the list here. In honour of the achievements this show made, I'll be featuring every song on this list with a quick commentary of how well the song did here in Australia back in the day.

For whatever reason, Icehouse didn't perform "Great southern land" on the show, as such it didn't become as big a hit as the second single from Primitive man which they did perform on the show. There will be three more entries from the band on this list as they were able to break the three-artist limit rule due to a technicality we'll get to in a bit.

Someone else who broke the three-artist rule was James Freud as he appears with his only hit as a solo artist (or rather a lead singer to a backing band) years before he joined the Models as their lead vocalist. Evidently, he was part of the punk movement prior to his first hit he achieved in his career which explains the lack of success he had prior to it.

Although these guys appeared multiple times on the show as did most Aussie artists of the 70's and 80's, this will be their only appearance as it was likely due to their performance on the show which helped this become a much bigger hit internationally than it did locally.

These guys are another band who only have one entry on this list despite appearing on the show multiple times, it seems fitting that I finally mention their third and final hit on this site given how this only barely failed to appear on the 1987 list.

This is Marcia Hines only other appearance on this list, it's with her cover of the Dusty Springfield classic that was a much bigger hit for her here in Australia than it was for Dusty a decade prior likely due to how memorable her performance was from the early seasons of the show.

Although this was a massive hit in America for Robert Palmer, I'm willing to bet it was thanks to him performing this on the show that helped it crossover here in Australia due to it being a huge flop for him over in NZ. It's a sexually charged performance as were many of his music videos from the 80's.

Dragon was another band who managed to score three entries on the list, this was their first entry which just so happens to be the song which made them a household name here in Australia as well as their native NZ due to how well it stood out from the other pub rock of the 70's.

This was another song that was performed at the 1984 Countdown awards that became a massive hit following its performance that night, it allowed the Models to finally have a mainstream hit given how the best they did prior to this song was "I hear motion" which is still to come on this list.

You'd think these guys would've gone with "The sun always shines on TV" as the song they performed on their episode given how that was their new single at the time, alas they skipped over that in favour of the third single from the album which sadly didn't do it or said album any favours down under.

This is INXS's final appearance on this list, although they had plenty of other memorable performances during the shows run which sadly were disqualified for this list due to that dreaded three artist limit VH1 imposed here.

We looked at Nick Lowe's performance earlier on this list, so now let's look at the big hit that Dave Edmunds achieved with the song he performed on that same night as his Rockpile bandmate did. Neither man was able to find more success going into the 80's after their exposure the show gave them.

This barely missed the cut for both sides of my site as it was a minor hit for Culture Club as the fourth single from their Colour by numbers album in both countries, their performance of it on the show likely boosted its popularity here due to the album sales eating up most of its success otherwise.

Even though Suzi Quatro was the very first international artist to appear on the show (in its pilot episode no less) she didn't perform her signature track until the final season likely as a way of being present during the pivotal moments of its existence.

This was one of the last songs to be performed on the show, it makes sense that it comes to us from a supergroup given how the final season of the show seemed to be more interested in looking back on its biggest hits rather than focusing on the music scene of the moment.

This is another song that only barely missed the cut on this site due to it being too much of a sleeper hit back in the day to appear on my lists, it certainly had a massive push to success thanks to the band performing it on the show in what appears to be the same day they shot the music video.

Not many international bands and artists came on the show more than once during its run, one of the very few to do so was the Motels who came back once their third album took off in their native America where they performed its second single likely in an attempt to recreate the success they had with their debut album here.

This was a hit in the Damned's native UK; however, I doubt this would've been as such here had they not performed it on the show given how I doubt we Aussies would've been too interested in a new wave cover of a 60's ballad otherwise.

From what I can gather, Joe Cocker performed this song at some point in 1977, it's hard to verify given how the footage of him performing this ballad on the show is the only evidence that survives that proves he once appeared on the show.

I'm a bit surprised that these guys didn't have much commercial success back in the day given how frequently you still hear them on oldies stations to this day, I'm guessing those stations fondness of their music comes from how memorable the band's performances were on the show in order to promote their music.

Given how he's the son of the late Johnny Burnette, Rocky would've been a massive get for the show back in the day especially given how this had already topped our charts by the time he performed it on the show. He did perform his other big hit he had here which sadly won't be appearing on this list.

Given how both of his appearances on this list came from his most recent album he released when the series came to an end, it's safe to say that Paul Kelly would've greatly benefitted from the show had it gone on just a little while longer given how this was at the cusp of his mainstream breakthrough.

For what it's worth, all three of Dragon's appearances on this list are their three biggest hits they achieved throughout their career, I think it's safe to say that it was because they came with stellar performances from the show that they became their biggest hits down under back in the day.

Marilyn actually appeared on the show over a month prior to when Culture club made their appearance, this was because their one and only hit was already proving to be much bigger here than it was in their native UK as well as their relationship with Boy George being well documented by this point.

This is the song people will be familiar with from Cheetah due to how memorable their performance of it was from the start of the 80's, I'm not sure why this didn't become a hit here back in the day as the duo already found success with "Walking in the rain" two years prior.

Hall and Oates were another international act that appeared on the show more than once during its runtime, this was from their first appearance (that I'm aware of) which no doubt helped it become a hit here in Australia around the time it finally took off in their native America.

Given how much the show loved Sherbet (especially considering how all of their performances have survived in ABC's archives) it's a bit surprising that only their two chart toppers managed to make it on this list especially given how they were one of the first bands to perform on the show in its pilot episode.

This is the final appearance from the Models on this list, like Dragon they appear on here with their three big hits they had throughout their career. This is another song that was performed on the show twice, the first time was when it was released as a single and the second was at the 1983 Countdown awards.

This is Do-Re-Mi's only appearance on this list despite them appearing on the show multiple times during their time together, I think this made the cut due to their appearance allowing it to become a massive hit due to the novelty of a song about pubic hair being performed on the show.

I've scoured the internet to find if this performance really exists but alas, my sources have turned up empty. As such, you'll have to take this entry with a grain of salt as it did appear on the list back in the day even if I can't verify its existence nowadays.

Four years prior to scoring one of the biggest hits of the 80's, the Choirboys made their first splash in the Australian music scene with the lead single to their debut album which came with a performance memorable enough to make this list but not so much to make it or the album a success back in the day.

This is the only other entry from Hall and Oates to appear on this list, this time it was their biggest hit in their career which was released much sooner here in Australia than in most parts of the world likely due to the success they already had with their earlier entry on this list.

It appears that Pseudo Echo maxed out their three-artist limit with this entry as they had several other performances on the show that could've made the cut were it not for this rule. It makes sense this made the cut as it remains their second biggest hit after "Funkytown" which they didn't perform on the show.

These guys were arguably the heaviest band the show got their hands on given how few if any heavy metal managed to become a success here in Australia back in the day. Indeed, we Aussies passed up the single in favour of making the album a success likely due to how explosive their performance was.

It's easy to forget that this was the debut single from Human league and not their earlier entry on this list, as such it was already a hit by the time the band appeared on the show which they performed nonetheless in order to hype up the other material from their album.

Given how her earlier entry was what closed the episode of the Xanadu competition, it only makes sense that this was what opened that episode given how it was Livie's first big hit of the 80's as well as her (then) biggest hit on Billboard due to how it almost managed to single handedly redeem the disaster that was the film.

(evidently, this was only released as a single in Japan)

This was the second single to come of the Monkey grip soundtrack that the Divinyls were commissioned to make for the film, I'm guessing this list wanted had a field day in which songs to put on it given how neither "Science fiction" nor "Pleasure and pain" were performed on the show to my knowledge.

This was the big hit that Jo Jo Zep had back in the day, naturally it was a shoe in for this list as there's little doubt its success came from how wacky this performance was that he and his backing band the Falcons gave upon its initial release.

This and "Crazy" from Icehouse were both performed at the 1986 Countdown awards, these awards were the final episode of the series, meaning that at least both songs received a massive push from appearing in the series finale which of course went all out on the spectacle.

This is another song that was performed twice on the show, those times being upon its initial release and the 1981 Countdown awards which no doubt solidified this as an early 80's classic even after it became a success here and in NZ for Renee Geyer.

You'd think that "Darktown strutters ball" would be appearing on this list, alas it won't be even though the third big hit that Ted Murly Gang achieved during their time in the spotlight managed to make an appearance on here due to how well remembered their performance of the song remains.

At least now I can honestly say I've featured every single from Mondo rock's album this third track was named after, I guess the performance they gave here was more memorable than the ones they gave for "State of the heart" and "Cool world."

You'd think Richard Clapton would be another artist who would dominate this list given how often he appeared on the show back in the day, this is his only appearance on here which is the lead single to his biggest album Goodbye tiger which no doubt became as such due to the performance he gave on the show.

It's a shame that these guys didn't have any success back in the day especially given how much oldies stations love to play their signature track "Coming home," it appears that VH1 instead went with this fan favourite for the list which did have a shot at becoming a hit upon its initial release.

This came from the Divinyls first studio album and was the first single from the album they performed on Countdown (that I can find given that no footage of "Science fiction" being performed on the show seems to exist.) I'm sure if it weren't for the three-artist rule that many of their other performances would've made the cut on this list.

Now you'd think that A-ha would've performed this on their episode that they performed their two earlier entries on this list, it turns out they came back on the show almost a year after their first appearance to perform this track which did go over very well even if it didn't translate to mainstream success.

This is another song I'm surprised was a massive flop back in the day given how much oldies stations love to play it to this day, admittedly these guys did make a good case for this being a jam when they performed it on the show due to how energetic they managed to make it feel even from its contemporaries.

This will be the only other entry from Rose tattoo to appear on this list, this was their second single after "Bad boy for love" put them on the map on our alternative rock circuit that I'm sure would've been a huge hit were it not for our aversion towards heavier rock throughout the 70's.

You'd think Christie Allen would've had more than one entry on this list given how she entered the 80's with one of the biggest disco hits from an Australian artist with "Goosebumps," alas this is her only entry on here even if it is her biggest hit likely due to it being the very first song performed on the show of the decade.

This is the final entry from Icehouse on this list, or at least this is their last entry as Icehouse as they still have two more to come due to a technicality with their name VH1 overlooked. This was a bonus track from the deluxe edition of their debut album to signify they were Flowers no more from this point onward.

We have Dragon's final appearance on this list, a lot was riding on this song given how it was their first since Marc Hunter rejoined the band following the failure of his solo career. It proved to be a massive hit thanks to their memorable performance they gave on the show.

This was the song that opened up Joan Jett's episode of the series primarily to promote it given how it came from the album prior to her breakthrough from earlier on this list. It could also be due to it being a cover of a Gary Glitter track given how the problematic glam rocker did appear on the show not long prior to when she did.

This is one of only two entries on this list that was performed at the 1985 Countdown awards, I'm guessing there was meant to be a dedicated episode to these guys, but they were only available for that week which is perhaps why none of their other singles were performed on the show.

Shaun Cassidy was indeed one of the more popular teen idols to make an appearance on the show back in the day, although it looks like VH1 didn't care much for the performance he gave for his biggest hit likely due to it already being a such when he appeared on the show which wasn't the case for this ballad.

This was one of the last songs that the Sports released as a single before they went their separate ways, although it and the album it came from was a huge flop for them which understandably led to their breakup, the performance was well received, and it even remains a staple on oldies stations to this day.

The Cure made multiple appearances on the show over the years, however it was only with their first appearance that they managed to make this list as this remains a fan favourite for listeners on Triple J to this day given how often it appears on their greatest of all time lists likely due to their appearance on the show.

OK so this is cheating as this is less of a performance and more of a jam out session for the audience members of the show, indeed many of the final episodes had this sort of performance given how the series had blown its budget on big name stars who did little to entice audiences to keep watching the show for its previous two seasons.

There was a bit of controversy back in the day as Bananarama were meant to appear on the show in 1982 but didn't end up coming on until two years later where they performed this second track to their sophomore album. Although the performance was well received, I guess there was resentment from audiences as the album was a huge bomb here.

This is the best proof I have that the general public of Australia weren't homophobes in the 80's even though our government unfortunately was, in fact I'm willing to bet that you're more familiar with the Countdown performance of this track than you are with its official music video due to how iconic it remains to this day.

This was yet another song that was performed twice on the show, the first time was upon its initial release whilst the second came from the 1985 Countdown awards shortly before Mr. Mister's entry from earlier on this list. It's also another song that only barely missed the cut for appearing on one of my lists.

Another song that barely missed the cut for appearing on my lists up until this point was this track from Nik Kershaw, this managed to scrape into our top ten thanks to his performance of the track on the show which allowed it to be a bigger hit here than it was in his native UK.

I think this only makes the list thanks to the strange decision the band Painters and dockers made by wearing big prosthetics when they appeared on the show to perform it, it did them no favours as far as their success was concerned, however it at least made for one memorable moment in the shows final season.

This was the final single to come from Culture Club's second album, naturally it was a shoe in for a performance on their episode given how it was their (then) most recent single which serves as the fourth single from the album in America given how "Victims" was never realised over there for some reason.

It's a bit of a surprise that Andy Gibb only has this one performance on the show that made the list (although it's possible this is due to his only performance that isn't currently lost media) this was his debut single which he released just before his older brothers transitioned towards disco for the better.

Although she had multiple appearances on the show throughout the 80's with her bands the Crocodiles and QED, this was the first sign that we Aussies had finally gravitated towards Jenny Morris's music given how well remembered the song and her performance on the show remains to this day.

These guys remain one of the most critically acclaimed Australian bands from the 80's (specifically from listeners of Triple J if their appearance on their all-time lists is anything to go by) as you can see, they didn't have much commercial success back in the day even though they were well received on the show.

This is the other entry from the Village people that came from their Can't stop the music medley, I still think this is cheating as (at least as far as I'm aware) the band hadn't performed either of these songs on the show prior to when they promoted their critical disaster of a film.

This is the only other entry that Paul Kelly managed to have on this list, this was the last song he released before his big commercial breakthrough he achieved with "To her door" which no doubt would've been an even bigger hit had Countdown existed when it was released as a single.

Although this song was already a chart topper here in Australia by the time Sheena Easton performed it here, she gave such a seductive performance of the otherwise innocent love song that it no doubt helped her out of the one hit wonder bin with her Bond theme several months later here in Australia.

I'm surprised it's taken this long for there to be an entry from Little River Band on this list, here they are with their biggest hit which I'm sure became as such due to how much of a great case the band made for it when they performed it on the show. Don't worry, we've still got two more entries to look at from them on this list.

Although it took a while for her to come on the show (likely due to how young she was) the series was able to get their hands on Kate Bush just as she was about to release her second album which was the perfect opportunity for her to perform its lead single which went over very well back in the day.

It looks like Billy Thorpe attempted to have a career resurgence in the early 80's with Countdown being the ticket to his success, he must have thought this was the case as although his performance of this track was well received, it didn't translate to mainstream appeal for it.

This was the song Elton John performed on the show following his marriage to Renate Blauel, it wasn't a hit here due to the album already eating up the success it would've had had he released it as the third single like he did internationally, however it was well received which is why it appears on this list.

This is the only other appearance from the Sports on this list, although this lead single to their breakthrough album was a huge flop for the band, I'm guessing the performance they gave on the show allowed the album to be a huge success for them which worked out for the best.

It's hard to tell when Smokie performed this song as episodes from the show during the 70's are hard to come by in their full even to this day, this performance was such a hit that it managed to survive thanks to several airings of it in future episodes which was the case for most 70's entries on this list.

This is one of two appearances from the Reels to appear on this list, again neither of them was either of their big hits they had here back in the day which is less of a surprise when you consider how their two big hits are a bad representation of their overall catalogue.

Not a lot of glam rock performances survived ABC's master tape purge back in the day, as such, it's hard to say if Supernaut were one of the few glam rock bands to appear on the show or if their performance of their signature track was simply that good that it survived the test of time compared to its contemporaries.

The Chantoozies were one of the last bands to appear on the show given how they only broke through during its final season, as such, you can make the argument this was one of the last songs to make it big thanks to them appearing on the show even if it likely didn't need the assistance.

Even by the mid 80's, there were still Australian bands that otherwise never would've found any sort of audience were it not for their presence on the show, in this case we have Geisha who were a new wave band who failed to find success among the likes of Pseudo echo and the Models despite how good of an impression they made with their performances.

It's a bit surprising this isn't even higher on this list, but at least we have the biggest hit that the Eurogliders achieved appearing on here likely due to it becoming as such thanks to their performance on the show. They made several attempts prior to this song earlier in the 80's to little avail.

Foreigner was one of the earliest international bands to appear on the show, they performed their debut single on the show which wasn't a bit hit here but likely did allow the album it came from to be a huge success much like other entries on this list that are new to this site.

Bet you didn't know Dame Edna had a singing career, well here she is with a song that's basically about how much she wants a son like Elton John that I'm sure has become a queer anthem in some parts of the world. I'm guessing she gave up on a music career after this failed to take off outside of the show.

If there was any punk legend that had a shot at finding success here in Australia back in the day, Iggy Pop was it as he performed this track of his during the height of its popularity in the UK which was well received by fans of the show but nonetheless failed to translate to success in our mainstream.

OK you're gonna have to take this entry with a pinch of salt as for the life of me, I can't find any evidence that the Eurythmics ever performed this or any of their tracks on the show during its run. Perhaps it's since become lost media due to a legal dispute with their former label as I can imagine this going over very well with audiences back in the day which resulted in its massive success here.

This is the only other entry from the Reels to appear on this list, sure they still haven't appeared on this site with their signature track "Quasimodo's dream," but these two entries are still a much better representation of their work than their two covers that appeared on my official lists.

Let it be known that in addition to being queer friendly, Countdown was a show all about embracing multiculturalism given how the appearance that Sandii and the sunsets had with this track allowed it to become a hit which means that it only barely missed out from appearing on my lists prior to this entry.

Well, I guess someone should've told VH1 that Flower and Icehouse were both the same band with the exact same members, either that or they wanted an excuse to include the two bit hits they had from their debut album given how both of them were very well received and resulted in their respective success.

Deckchairs overboard were another Australian band that were well received by those who watched the show but didn't have that love translate to mainstream success, this is despite the fact that they performed this track on the show (no relation to the Johnny O'Keefe classic) and it going over very well at the time.

It's a bit surprising this was the only song that the Pretenders performed on the show given how they seemed like the perfect choice for a band to dedicate an entire episode to, alas they only came on to promote their second album which was a bit of a commercial dud for them here in Australia.

Although this was a huge success over in NZ for Malcolm McLaren, it was a bit of a dud here in Australia even after he performed it and "Double Dutch" (which won't be appearing on here) suggesting that there was a market for him back in the day that wasn't met.

We have another success story that the show can boast about here, this was the only hit that the Little heroes achieved here back in the day which became as such largely due to their appearance on the show with this track. They were a one hit wonder but at least people remember their one hit.

Well, it's about time I featured the signature track from the Style council on this site, as I said when I talked about the album this was the lead single to, we Aussies and kiwis passed this up in favour of the album even though the band made a great case for it when they performed it on the show.

This was performed on the same night that the band unveiled their tribute for John Lennon here in Australia, it's a bit surprising that VH1 went with this track from Flesh + Blood over "Jealous guy" even if that song was played over the credits of its episode.

Kiss were a huge deal here in Australia back in the day, there was even an entire episode dedicated to the highlights of their Australian tour which included this performance of their second single from Unmasked they made for the show that was seen as a delight to viewers back in the day.

Even though his solo career was a huge commercial disaster back in the day, Marc Hunter must have had some encouragement from viewers of the show given how this performance manages to be fondly remembered by those who saw it even to this day.

Now if you know me, you'll know that this performance from Kim Wilde is far too low on this list given how much I love her music. Still at least it and another performance from her did make the list which is more than I can say for "Chequered love" which didn't even though she performed it the same night as this.

This is another entry that's far too low on this list for my liking, although admittedly it feels very different from the other entries on here to the point where I keep having to remind myself that it was on Countdown that Harry Casey dared to wear that pink outfit on TV.

This was also performed on the final episode of the series, it was the second single from Jenny Morris, meaning that her first big hit here was the first song of hers she released after the show came to an end for some karmic irony.

You're likely beginning to notice that Countdown was a haven for alternative music even if so few of it managed to become a success in our mainstream back in the day, such was the case for the breakthrough single for Simple Minds who performed it here shortly after its initial release to little commercial avail.

This is the only appearance of Swanee on this list, although at least he managed to get in a solo entry as opposed to his younger brother who had all of his appearances taken up by his time with Cold chisel. This is another case of someone's appearance on the show greatly benefitting them in our mainstream.

This was a minor hit here in Australia likely due to the band's appearance on the show just as it was coming to an end, as such we have another case where the band in question likely would've thrived in our mainstream had the show kept going for a little while longer.