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Farewell Video Hits

The world's second longest-running music show is no more as Faustina "Fuzzy" Agolley and Dylan Lewis bid farewell to a generation of music videos.

Video Hits is no more.

After 24 years the weekend clip show took its final bow on TEN today in three hour retrospective special.

“Thankyou to Channel TEN for letting us be on air for 24 years, thankyou to all the bands and record companies and artists who have appeared on the show, thank you for watching,” said co-host Dylan Lewis.

Premiering in 1987, the show preceded rage by just two months and became the world’s second longest running music show after the Eurovision Song Contest.

But after 24 years it finally fell victim to cost-cuts under interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

Today Lewis and co-host Faustina “Fuzzy” Agolley looked back on the songs that have helped define its two and a half decades. Several of the previous hosts, Kelly Cavuoto, Axle Whitehead, Hayden Guppy, and Nathan Sapsford, were also acknowledged.

Across its three hour finale it featured interviews and shout outs from many artists including ABBA, Adele, Mariah Carey, Boy George, Muse, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Sinead O’Connor, Pharell Williams, Silverchair, La Roux, Faithless, The Script, Emma Bunton, Rhianna, The Pussycat Dolls, Coldplay, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys, plus highlights from Big Day Out, Park Life and live concerts in Martin Place.

In its final hosting segment, Lewis and Agolley toasted champagne with with the four production staff who have worked on the show.

“Here’s to Video Hits you will be sorely missed until something hopefully comes and fills the void soon,” said Lewis.

Final Playlist:
Karma Chameleon -Culture Club
Mmm Bop -Hanson
Poker Face -Lady Gaga
Time of Your Life -Green Day
Waterloo -ABBA
The Resistance -Muse
Hero -Mariah Carey
My Happiness -Powerfinger
Barbie Girl -Aqua
Torn -Natalie Imbruglia
Fall At Your Feet (Live) -Neil Finn
Angel -Robbie Williams
Livin La Vida Loca -Ricky Martin
Pure Shores -All Saints
Tellin’ Everybody -Human Nature
Better Than (Live) -John Butler Trio
Straight Lines -Silverchair
Killing Me Softly -The Fugees
Rehab -Amy Winehouse
You’ve Got the Love -Florence and the Machine
Wannabe -The Spice Girls
Runaway -Kanye West
Only Girl (In the World) -Rhianna
Superwoman (Live) -Alicia Keys
Every Teardrop is  Waterfall – Coldplay

On Twitter fans left affectionate farewells:

jesscampbell:Last #VideoHits ever! A childhood Saturday tradition all over, I remember when I use to record my fav videos and watch them over & over!

madeitobvious: “And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on & you cast your fears aside & you know you can survive…” #videohits

felicityward: Farewell #VideoHits you’ve got me through so many hangovers & panicked moments when Rage had already finished.

KristinDevitt: Raise your glass to all the crew who have brought us #videohits, a soundtrack for Saturday mornings. @channelten

chrispytweets: 24 years of music history comes to an end. Long live #videohits.

paulcochrane10: the #videohits farewell brings back heaps of memories working here in the @sportstonight1 newsroom on Saturday & Sunday mornings!

themacboy: Still cant work out why Channel 10 is cancelling #videohits . I mean how much would the show cost to make? The videos are free!!

CampbellTwitTim: Mariah Carey on #VideoHits!!! Quick, everyone grab the remote and sing it loud!! 🙂

blahblahellis: Farewell #VideoHits! If only they’d had cooking or renovating in with the music, it might have stood a chance.

james_tobin: @Faustinathefuzz and @_Dylan_Lewis_ congratulations on a stella run! The end of an era #videohits

_Dylan_Lewis_: It started to hail in Melbourne as the credits rolled and Coldplay was playing. So perfect and magic. #lasteverVideoHits

Faustinathefuzz: Our Executive Producer is crying at home. I’m going outside to play in the sun now. Will return to all of your beautiful messages soon. LOVE

Thankyou for the music, guys….

35 Responses

  1. It was a bit of a let down i must say. I have enjoyed watching VH over the last 15.5 years. I thought that they should have paid homage to the past producers and the people who got the show of and running, people like Gary Dunstan. It was disapointing that they mainly focused on reliving the days since the format changed in 2004. As for playing more alternative music instead just the popular music well i guess it was the changing of the times and i guess that VH thought that they had to change to keep going. I dont know how Ten is going to do any better then Video Hits. I can already see a mountain of work for James Warburton to do, by the time he makes Network Ten profitable again his hair will be whiter then Bob Katter’s. Network Ten have really gone down the path of the old demographic havent they, it will be interesting to see if it pays off.

  2. So sad that a free to air weekend music institution has ended.
    70 percent of the population will not have access to hit music on TV for the most part.
    Maybe it’s time to bring back the Top 50 countdown on Rage?
    Thanks for the great times Video Hits, I remember waking up ( often hungover ) in the late 80’s and watching those first Kylie, Madonna, and Mariah videos.
    I do believe in the end, the show got too “alternative” focussing on festivals and indie bands, but for the most part it was an iconic part of an Aussie weekend.
    Thanks for the memories Video Hits.

  3. I’ve heard a rumour that in America MTV are bringing back “Beavis And Butthead” but with less music videos because they cost too much to license now (hence why MTV is more “reality shows” than music now)

    Maybe the record companies jacked up the prices of putting music videos on TV? I wouldn’t be surprized if that turned out to be the reason for VH being axed. I also won’t be surprized if it gets replaced with telemall shopping!

  4. Something hostless and on either the 11, Go and/or ABC2 channels (with Rage being on it a lot longer than on ABC1 and maybe having vids of the ARIA chart) are probably the way to go with free to air music vids.

  5. If you know anyone who’s going to sign onto Foxtel, just so they can get
    Channel V and MTV, other than say someone who works in music and for radio and need to stay on top of what’s happening, I’d like to know, because movies, sport and mostly crap reality shows, are what primarily drives Pay TV numbers.

  6. Can’t agree that youtube has replaced the need for music video shows. Youtube is a mad frenzy of god knows what, and to go there to catch up with the latest music requires a certain intent.

    In contrast, I’d put Video Hits on as I lounge round my hungover Saturday morning, and it would play me stuff without any effort on my part, including stuff I’d never heard of and that nobody had ever recommended to me. I’m not going to do that with youtube. Thank god for Rage! but it finishes too early these days and isn’t on on Sundays.

    You know what I really miss? The top ten countdown…

  7. Video Hits had become a sad shadow of it’s former self. When it was solely popular video clips it was awesome, but recent years with it’s heavy alternative agenda with boring hosts and boring interviews, it was drab and boring.

    Australian TV needs to look to the past to provide the formula for a truly engaging and must see Saturday morning music program.

    Ch7 had the right idea for so many years. I can still remember waking up to watch “Sounds” with Donnie Sutherland every Saturday morning. That show was awesome and right on the pulse of current popular music; plus Donnie Sutherland was a charasmatic, engaging and genuine host.

    When Ch7 axed “Sounds” and replaced it with “Saturday Morning Live” with Johnno and Danno that show was also very good, if not quite as good as “Sounds”; the addition of comedy and banter was good. Then they replaced that with “Video Smash Hits” with Michael Horrocks and Emily Symons (from memory) and it was still great viewing, if not compulsory viewing.

    While we’re on the subject, Ch 2 really needs to consider relaunching a “Countdown” type of program. That program was equally iconic and combined with “Sounds” provided me with a very informed, entertained and catered to childhood/teenagehood.

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