The ''Countdown Spectacular'' is a series of concerts reviving the nostalgia of the Australian music television 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 ...

''.

Countdown Spectacular

The first tour was staged from June to August 2006. It featured mainly Australian artists and groups, some re-forming specially for the tour, plus several international artists now living in Australia. Artists and groups performing on the tour included: * Joe Camilleri * Brian Canham from

Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...

* Scott Carne from

Kids in the Kitchen Kids in the Kitchen are an Australian pop, funk and new wave band which formed in 1983. They enjoyed chart success with four top-20 hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, "Change in Mood" (1983), "Bitter Desire" (1984), "Someth ...

* Chantoozies *

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

* The Choirboys *

Stephen Cummings Stephen Donald Cummings (born 13 September 1954) is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but ha ...

The Sports The Sports were an Australian Rock music, rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on dru ...

Joe Dolce Joseph Dolce (born October 13, 1947) (, originally ) is an American-Italian singer/songwriter, poet and essayist. Dolce achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling song, " Shaddap You Face", released worldwide under the ...

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 ...

Grace Knight Grace Ethel Knight (born 23 December 1955) is an English-born Australian vocalist, saxophone player and songwriter. During the 1980s she was a mainstay of Indie pop group Eurogliders which formed in Perth, Western Australia. Knight later became a ...

and Bernie Lynch of

Eurogliders Eurogliders are a band formed in 1980 in Perth, Western Australia, which included Grace Knight on Singing, vocals, Bernie Lynch on guitar and vocals, and Amanda Villepastour, Amanda Vincent on keyboards. * First edition (online copy): * Secon ...

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with " It's a Man's Man's ...

Frankie J. Holden Frankie J. Holden (born Peter Brian; 18 December 1952) , also known as Frank Holden, is an Australian singer, actor and TV presenter. In the 1970s, he fronted Ol' 55 (band), Ol' 55, which had a hit with "On the Prowl" from their debut album, ...

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

Brian Mannix Brian Mannix (born 7 October 1961 in Melbourne) is an Australian rock music singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of 1980s band Uncanny X-Men. Career Early life Mannix won a 'beauty contest' in his childhood after being entered ...

* Paul Norton *

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Rod ...

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

* Sherbet * Alex Smith of Moving Pictures *

Wendy Stapleton Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton (born 8 July 1954) is an Australian pop/ rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronte ...

(Wendy & the ) * Dave Sterry from

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on th ...

* Swanee *

Wilbur Wilde Wilbur Wilde (born Nicholas Robert Aitken on 5 October 1955) is an Australian saxophonist, television personality and radio presenter. He is best known for his work on '' Hey Hey It's Saturday''. He rose to prominence with the bands Ol' 55 and ...

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a perform ...

* Ross Wilson and

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote man ...

* Billy Miller of The Ferrets * Goanna The

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

concert was edited into a television special and DVD.

Countdown Spectacular 2

A second tour was held from Saturday 18 August to Wednesday 5 September 2007 in all major capital cities of Australia. This featured international artists as well as "a host of Australian Countdown favourites". Artists on the tour were: * Birtles Shorrock Goble, the original members of

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song "Pash" received a gold sa ...

* Richard Clapton * Martha Davis from

The Motels The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In ...

Doug Fieger Douglas Lars Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band The Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the ...

from

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a ...

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

* Richard Gower from

Racey Racey are a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as " Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls". The ...

* Paul Gray from

Wa Wa Nee Wa Wa Nee was a 1980s Australian funk band. Career Singer/songwriter Paul Gray and guitarist Steve Williams formed the band in 1982. They were joined by Geoff Lundren (bass), Elizabeth Lord (keyboards, backing vocals) and Chris Sweeney (drums) ...

Ignatius Jones Juan Ignacio Rafaelo Lorenzo Trápaga y Esteban (born 1957), known professionally as Ignatius Jones is a Filipino-born Australian events director, journalist, actor and previously fronted the shock rock band Jimmy and the Boys. From 1976 to 1982 ...

from

Jimmy And The Boys Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian shock rock and new wave band, active from 1976 to 1982. They pioneered the use of shock theatrics in Australia with an act that revolved around vocalist and contortionist Ignatius Jones and keyboard play ...

Katrina Leskanich Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song " Walking on Sunshine" was an international hit in 1985. In 1997, the band won the ...

from Katrina and the Waves *

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

from

The Reels The Reels was an Australian rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song " Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel ...

Les McKeown Leslie Richard McKeown (12 November 195520 April 2021) was a Scottish pop singer. He was the lead singer of the Bay City Rollers during their most successful period in the 1970s. Early life McKeown was born in Broomhouse, a suburb close to the ...

from

The Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Bea ...

Doc Neeson Bernard Patrick "Doc" Neeson OAM (4 January 1947 – 4 June 2014) was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was the front man for the hard rock band The Angels from its formation in February 1976 through to 1999. The band then split ...

and The Angels *

Sharon O'Neill Sharon Lea O'Neill (born 23 November 1952) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist, who had an Australasian hit single in 1983 with " Maxine" which reached No. 16 on both the Australian Kent Music Report and Recording Industry Association ...

David Paton David Paton (; born 29 October 1949) is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with " Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" b ...

from

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single " Ça plane pour moi". Biography ...

* The Radiators *

John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a s ...

from

Redgum Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Ch ...

* Robin Scott from M *

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

* Supernaut *

The concerts were hosted by Ian "Molly" Meldrum,

and Gavin Wood.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , 2007 , ''The Countdown Spectacular Live'' , rowspan="2" , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , rowspan="2" , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, ''Countdown Spectacular 2'' , , -

References

External links

* * Australian music television series {{Australia-tv-prog-stub

Countdown Spectacular

Countdown Spectacular 2

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

See also

References

External links