Perhaps Countdown’s greatest rival was Seven’s long-running Saturday morning music show Sound Unlimited (later just Sounds), which aired from 1975 to 1987.

Launched on ATN7 Sydney in 1974 as The Graham Webb Saturday Show, it became Sound Unlimited on ‘C-Day’ (1 March 1975), with 2UW DJ Donnie Sutherland taking over from Webb the following week. By 1977, the two-hour (later three-hour) show was seen nationally on Seven, earning small but solid double-figure ratings. Relying heavily on available video clips, Sutherland provided news and reviews and conducted a plethora of interviews with sleep-deprived artists at ATN7’s studios each Saturday morning.

Though not in direct competition with Countdown’s format, timeslot and duration, a rivalry emerged over Countdown’s ‘first pick’ demands on clips (imposed by Meldrum), which often restricted Sounds' access to the latest releases.

In this sequence from a 1978 episode, Sutherland speaks with New Zealand rockers Dragon to uncover the songwriting origins of their enduring hit ‘April Sun In Cuba’.