Countdown producers and directors regaled stories of ABC’s wild days at Ripponlea, with a special message from Molly Meldrum.

Former Countdown producers, directors, talent and crew gathered yesterday in Elsternwick to launch a new book on the iconic ABC series.

Count Down: A Complete Episode Guide is part of an ongoing series on Australia’s musical heritage by authors Brett Leslie & Milton Hammon.

Former Countdown announcer Gavin Wood (pictured left) read a note from director Ted Emery and then recalled the story of how, as a new Melbourne DJ 3XY’s Paul Turner invited him to the ABC Studios.

“He said, ‘Would you like to drive me down to Ripponlea?’ I said, ‘That’d be great.’ I still had the Volvo with the Queensland plates on it, I was that new to Melbourne. I thought, ‘This is where Countdown‘s done. This would be fabulous.’ So I drove him down. I was prepared to sit in the car, but he said, ‘No, come in with me.’”

In the audio booth was a list of the Top 10 and Turner coaxed Wood into having a crack at the read.

“So I sat down, and did the Top 10, and that was great. Soon as I finished, the door sprung open in the studio, and (producer) Robbie Weekes walks in and says, ‘You’re the new voice over on Countdown. You start next week. I’ll pay you $60.’

“By this time, my head was spinning. I said, ‘What about Paul?’ He said, ‘No, Paul’s going up to Sydney with Paul Drane to do the Quatrains of Nostradamus.’

He added, “I thank the Lord every day for Paul Turner, because he could have chosen Lee Simon, Greg Evans, John Peters, all the guys XY. But he got the new guy from Brisbane. It was the greatest ride of my life.”

Countdown director Paul Drane (pictured centre) recalled filming AC/DC clips Long Way to the Top and Jailbreak both on location.

“When I came to do Jailbreak, I was able to get the costumes from wardrobe for every one of the band to be dressed as either prisoners, wardens and soldiers. I got guns and rifles from the props department. The set designers made these massive, big prison doors for me and I had the pyrotechnics guys blow them away. Fantastic! Finally, the makeup and the pyro guys together provided the exploding blood pack so I could shoot Bon Scott in the back,” he recalled.

“We got something like 40 bucks a week. Every member of the crew was ABC, and the pyrotechnics guys were very keen to try out some stuff. They had a blood pack on the shelf for months, and they said ‘We got to try it out, mate.’ So we put it on Bon and bang, down he went! That was what it was all about. These people in every one of these departments were so enthusiastic and so incredibly helpful, and every one of them co-operated.

“Everything about that clip was an awful lot of fun. And of course further to that, a little earlier, it was a staging department that gave me a flatbed truck to some bagpipers on and drive them down Swanston Street.”

Producer Grant Rule (pictured right) acknowleged many in the room who had contributed to the series.

“Every one of us in this room, in some way, has contributed to the success of Countdown, whether it be a staff member, an audience member, publicists, journalists, we’ve all played a role in the success of this extraordinary programme,” he said.

“Those kids who turned up every week, who viewed every week and dragged their parents in, they’re the true unsung heroes along with the crew.

“I will say about the ABC that in 1975 to be suggesting that they were going to make a teenage show for kids was quite extraordinary. They were very conservative organisation, and it’s to their credit that they actually took this punt, when you think about it. To Robbie Weekes, Michael Shrimpton, and of course, Molly they’re heroic in their own way. They came up with this tremendous formula.”

Grant Rule also gave an update on the health of Molly Meldrum.

“I will say that I popped in a couple of weeks ago and said hello,” he said. “He doesn’t take visitors, and it’s hard to get in, but I managed to get in. And, you know, he’s not necessarily well, but he was grateful for the book. He wished everybody well. He wished you, Milton and Brett, success with it. You are to be congratulated. A historic record of the show is quite amazing. He said to say hello to you all, and thanks very much for turning up.”

The 460 page coffee table book sells for $99.95 plus postage & handling.

To order the book contact: Brett Leslie [email protected]