Donald Sutherland
OAM (born 22 December 1946) is an Australian
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
presenter. He was the host of TV pop music show ''
Sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' between 1975 and 1987. Sutherland has also worked as a TV producer and music journalist, and is associated with the local greyhound racing industry.
Biography
Sutherland was born on 22 December 1946 in
Fairfield, New South Wales
Fairfield is a Greater Western Sydney, western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Being in the centre of the Cumberland Plain, Fairfield is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrati ...
. His father, Andrew Ross Sutherland, was a bus driver.
His older brother, Ross Sutherland, was an apprentice jockey who died in February 1958, aged 18, after a four-horse collision at
Gosford
Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...
race-track.
His younger brothers are Ken and Ted; the family lived at
Bossley Park
Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the ...
.
At 14 years old Sutherland also became an apprentice jockey, but increasing weight ended this career after four years.
From mid-1965 Sutherland recorded voice demos for job applications as a radio presenter.
He fronted the Titans, who released a single, "
Mocking Bird Hill", in March 1966. Norm McLeod of ''
The Biz'' noted that "one of his records, just released, has brought him much praise from critics. The young vocalist first came into prominence when he was a member of a band making weekly appearances at the Marconi Club."
From September 1968 to July 1971, Sutherland wrote for teen-based pop music newspaper, ''
Go-Set
''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...
'', as one of their Sydney-based correspondents.
He "was given the task of producing a weekly Sydney gossip and news page. The column known as 'Donnie's Place', was only published in the New South Wales edition, and is in keeping with the strategy of keeping ''Go-Set'' local and national at the same time."
[ Note: This PDF is 281 pages. Kent sometimes spells Sutherland's first name as Donny.] Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM (born 29 January 1943) is an Australian music critic, journalist, record producer and musical entrepreneur. He was the talent co-ordinator, on-air interviewer, and music news presenter on the former popular mus ...
, his counterpart in Melbourne, had been with ''Go-Set'' from July 1966.
In 1969, Sutherland released his first solo single, "Fairyland", on Du Monde Records, which was a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of a song by United Kingdom group, Pop Workshop, from the previous year.
It peaked in the top 50 on the local Sydney-based singles chart.
It was one of the first
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
singles recorded in Australia, and was produced by John Eggington, at United Sound Studio,
Pyrmont.
In the early 1970s, Sutherland began a career as a radio disc-jockey with
2UW
KIIS 1065 (call sign: 2WFM) is a commercial broadcasting, commercial FM radio station in Sydney, Australia, on a frequency of 106.5 MHz. KIIS 1065 is one of the flagship stations on Australian Radio Network, ARN's KIIS Network. The station's ...
.
In March 1975, Sutherland became the presenter of the
Channel 7's pop music TV show, ''Sound Unlimited'' (later shortened to ''
Sounds
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'').
He took over from original host (and former radio DJ)
Graham Webb
Graham Paul Webb (13 January 1944 – 28 May 2017) was an English racing cyclist who became the world amateur road race champion in 1967. In response to a journalist's shouted comment that the last British amateur world road champion had b ...
, who remained as the show's producer.
It was broadcast each Saturday morning for twelve years until 1987, and was a long-term competitor to the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's pop music series, ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'', hosted by Meldrum. During its early years, ''Sounds'' was seen only in Sydney, but later it was relayed nationally, although its first hour (9 a.m. –10 a.m.) was still seen in Sydney only, due to time zone differences, with the following two hours (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) screened nationwide.
Debbie Kruger
Debbie Kruger (born 14 August 1962) is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer, she wrote ''Songwriters Speak'' in August 2005, which contains interviews with 45 Australian and New Zealand songwriters about their craft. Kruger was t ...
described how the show "was brilliant. Donnie often appeared hung over, his guests often appeared hung over, but everyone into the ''Sound Unlimited'' studio at some stage during the show's 16-year run—
Sherbet,
JPY,
Jon English
Jonathan James English (26 March 1949 – 9 March 2016) was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for S ...
,
Marcia Hines
Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...
, and the odd overseas guest who could handle live TV on a Saturday morning."
''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' Keith Gosman observed "
utherlandis not very young. What makes this program even more indigestible is that it has more disc on it than ''Countdown''. I remember one program when disc-jockies "from all over Australia" appeared and gave their views on the current state of Australian pop music... This program also showcases a hefty amount of disco which speaks for itself."
John Byrell of ''
The Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by ...
'' described how his lifestyle of "Too much work too many late nights and a poor diet are doing the damage...
e had
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...
a minor physical and nervous collapse" a year earlier.
In October 1980, Sutherland hosted an evening TV special, ''Olivia's Greatest Hits'', to focus on the music of
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
.
Also in that month, he organised a charity event, "Wonder Wheel", during which celebrities, including Gaynor Martin (''
Skyways Skyways may refer to:
*Skyway
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very ...
'' actress),
Lynda Stoner
Lynda Stoner (born 10 September 1953) is an Australian former actress, and animal activist
, ''Animal ...
and Nick Jones (
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group.
The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's.
2SM's progra ...
DJ), raced across Sydney Harbour for
Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children
The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...
.
From 1982 to 1985, Sutherland also hosted a late-night music and chat show, ''
After Dark'',
which had a relaxed style. This featured chat segments with Australian and overseas music and entertainment identities, interspersed with music videos; on occasions when Sutherland was unavailable, it was guest-hosted by music personalities
Stuart Coupe
Stuart Coupe (born 11 September 1956) is an Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and music label founder. He is best known for his work as a rock writer with Roadrunner (Australian music magazine), RAM (Rock Aus ...
or
Glenn A. Baker
Glenn A. Baker (born 28 July 1952) is an Australian journalist, commentator, author, and broadcaster well known in Australia for his vast knowledge of Rock music. He has written books and magazine articles on rock music and travel, interviewed ...
. Notable international guests on the show included
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...
,
John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with sev ...
, the
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
and
Jello Biafra
Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Initially ac ...
.
From 1978 Sutherland also hosted five hours of disco music presented on Sydney radio station 2UW on Saturday nights from 7pm to midnight which lasted a year.
Sutherland also appeared in the 1983 film ''
At Last... Bullamakanka: The Motion Picture''.
At the conclusion of his tenure with ''Sounds'', Sutherland worked with the emerging
Sky Channel until 1991.
Sutherland was diagnosed with
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
in March 2014 and started
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
and
radiation treatment
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
s.
In December of that year, after a recurrence of the cancer, he had surgical removal of portions of his throat including his
larynx
The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...
.
Discography
Singles
Honours
On Australia Day in January 2000 Sutherland was awarded a Medal of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
with a citation "For service to the music and entertainment industries, particularly the promotion of Australian performers, and to the community as a compere of fundraising events."
In the following January he was awarded the Centenary Medal "For service to the Centenary of Federation celebrations."
References
External links
Australia Day Ambassador biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Donnie
1946 births
Living people
Australian television presenters