''Sounds'', originally broadcast as ''Sound Unlimited'', was a popular Australian television series featuring pop and rock music, live performances, music videos and interviews. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings, from 9 a.m. for three hours, on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

beginning in late 1974 to end in December 1987. For most of its run it was hosted by former disc jockey,

Donnie Sutherland Donald Sutherland OAM (born 22 December 1946) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He was the host of TV pop music show ''Sounds'' between 1975 and 1987. Sutherland has also worked as a TV producer and music journalist, and is asso ...

. It is often credited as the first of its kind in the world, created because Australia was too far away for artists to travel to for live performances.

History

''Sounds'' began as ''Sounds Unlimited'' in late 1974, just before its long-time rival, 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 ''

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 ...

''. The show's producer, and original host, was the former commercial radio DJ Graham "Spider" Webb. Initially it was broadcast as ''Graham Webb Saturday Today Show'' on Channel 7 in Sydney only. Webb handed the compère position to the former 1960s pop singer and 1970s DJ,

. Jeffrey James was a co-compère with Webb and later with Sutherland but left the show. ''Sounds Unlimited'' (initially without the plural) was the first live studio programme broadcast in colour in Australia from 1 March 1975. Many local and international music artists appeared on the show. By May 1978 it was screened on 21 stations across the country. According to Sutherland, "When colour was starting, families would be in the shopping centres on Saturday morning and they would see our show – and a lot of our material was in colour. Not only did that help sell sets, but it also established ''Sound Unlimited'' in people's minds." It broadcast the final public appearance, on 30 September 1978, of Australian rock'n'roller,

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

, who died a week later, on 6 October. Broadcast out of a hangar in Rutherford NSW using NBN 3 OB facilities late 70's ... Blew the circuit on the power pole ... Only saving grace was NBN's small OB van with a generator ... The theme song for the show was "

Love's Theme "Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White in around 1965, and recorded and released as a single by White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach No. 1 on ...

", by

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

Love Unlimited Orchestra The Love Unlimited Orchestra was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra formed by American singer Barry White, and serving as a backing unit for White and for female vocal trio Love Unlimited. From the early 1970s on, they also recorded several sing ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sounds (Tv Show) 1974 Australian television series debuts 1987 Australian television series endings Australian music television series Black-and-white Australian television shows Seven Network original programming

History

See also

References