Rare Countdown footage of Ted Mulry Gang and John Paul Young

In August 2022, the NFSA uncovered a major find while digitising a batch of ½” open reel videotapes. Within a 1976 Swinburne Institute of Technology student documentary were found two live performances from a missing Countdown episode (episode 77 transmitted 5 September 1976): Ted Mulry Gang’s ‘It’s All Over Now’ and John Paul Young and the All Stars’ ‘Keep On Smiling’. 

Unseen since 1976, this footage provides a rare glimpse into Countdown’s early days. While the low-quality black-and-white reproduction reflects the limits of the original Portapak format, these precious rediscovered moments, reflecting the genuine excitement evident in early Countdown episodes, cast a spotlight on local teenage music tastes of the time. 

Read more in Countdown: Six O'Clock Still Rocks!