A segment from the long running Australian music TV series Countdown, which aired on the ABC from 1974-1987.
This particular segment aired during the Countdown episode which originally aired on April 26, 1981, on the ABC.
This clip features an interview of British band Ultravox, featuring lead singer Midge Ure and bass player Chris Cross, conducted by Countdown Talent Co-Ordinator Molly Meldrum, from London, UK in January 1981.
The interview begins with a discussion about how the band started, and how Ultravox got its name. They then proceed to talk about the punk scene in the UK at the time they were forming. They also discuss the image bands such as themselves and Spandau Ballet have in the music scene.
The interview ends with a short clip of their single 'Vienna'.
Note: To watch an Ultravox interview with Molly Meldrum from February 1982, go to the following link:
• Countdown (Australia)-...
Vaxfacts: Ultravox's biggest hit song, 'Vienna', never made it to number 1 on the UK charts. Instead, it stayed at number 2 for four consecutive weeks in early 1981, the first week kept out by John Lennon's 'Woman' (little more than a month after Lennon's assassination in Manhattan), and the subsequent three weeks kept out by American-born Australian singer Joe Dolce's hit 'Shaddap You Face' (which incidentally, Molly Meldrum appears in the film clip).
The film clip for 'Vienna' was filmed by renowned Australian movie and music video director Russell Mulcahy. Melbourne-born Mulcahy was without doubt the pre-eminent music video director of the era, directing many music videos for Ultravox, Duran Duran, Human League, Elton John, Spandau Ballet, Kim Carnes, Bonnie Tyler, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, and the Rolling Stones. Mulcahy also directed what is regarded as one of the landmark video clips in music history- The Buggles' 'Video Killed The Radio Star', which was the first video clip to be played on American music station MTV (Music Television) in 1981. An interview that Molly Meldrum conducted with Mulcahy on Countdown in 1986 in the lead up to the release of his movie 'Highlander' can be viewed at the following link:
• Countdown (Australia)-...