Nostalgia Week: Donnie Sutherland

 

EXCLUSIVE: Across the 1970s & ’80s Donnie Sutherland hosted marathon music show Sounds every Saturday morning on Seven.

Originally debuting as clip-based show Sound Unlimited in March 1975, it was soon retitled and extended to 3 hours of Live hosting, 52 weeks a year, for just under 13 years -and always won the ratings.

Sutherland interviewed Australian & international rock royalty including Kiss, Dire Straits, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Peter Allen, Adam Ant, Deborah Harry Phil Collins, Joe Cocker, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick and dozens more. Legendary Johnny O’Keefe appeared just 2 days before his untimely death.

Sutherland, who was awarded an OAM for services to Australian Music and charities and a Centenary Medal, sadly lost his voice to cancer in 2014.

This interview was conducted via email.

What was the spark that got you interested in music / performing?
I was always singing at school in talent quests and acted in plays so I was interested from an early age. However, a super -love of horses took over and on leaving school at age 14 I became an apprentice jockey but weight problems brought that career to an early end at age 18.

How did you come to be involved with Sound Unlimited / Sounds?
Shortly after ending that pursuit I joined a band in a club near my home and did regular gigs with The Thunder Birds! After a name change to The Titans we had some success but due to their day jobs 3 members decided to quit. I realised I wasn’t the greatest singer so I decided to try and get work in radio. I became a columnist at Australia’s first pop magazine Go-Set and I got a job as a DJ in a club in King’s Cross. There I met Graham Webb, a well-known radio and TV host in the 60’s and 70’s. A year or 2 later when myself and 2 other blokes were running suburban dances I saw Graham on TV doing the first film clip TV music show anywhere in the world on Channel 7.

I contacted Webby to ask if he could give our dances a plug on his TV show. He said ‘No trouble’ and invited me to help him put his TV show together with 2 other guys. Eventually I was doing spots on the weekly show. Then as Colour TV was looming I was offered the host gig of a new music show to be called Sound Unlimited. I was reluctant to do it at first but a girlfriend at the time convinced me to take it on -thank you Nina!

You were the first full colour show on Australian TV?
Yes and our 2 hours was completed in colour, no black and white to be seen. The first full colour TV show on Australian telly on that day!

What are your earliest memories of getting the show to air?
The show was originally called Sound Unlimited and it ran 2 hours on its first day, March 1st 1975! We were in a tiny studio, I think it was Studio E.

Was the music industry on board from the start or was it a battle for access?
Graham had a guy in the newsroom, Russell Mulcahy, cutting up film clips and he gradually built a library. Today that guy from the news room is a very successful movie maker!

Who were your favourite interviews? And the ones you would rather forget?
Cliff Richard, Elton John, John Denver and many Aussies including LRB, Air Supply, Swanee, Andy Gibb -Frank Zappa was very interesting. And the Rolling Stones member Bill Wyman was a gem!

What do you consider to be the show’s crowning achievements? Which stars owe you a debt of gratitude?
We did it for each other and they all helped our show and that vehicle gained them recognition. So it was a win / win for all involved!

What about the near disasters behind the scenes, or demanding pop stars?
Many of them hadn’t slept between their gig the night before and our early Saturday morning show. I don’t know how they did it!

Did the show enjoy a good relationship with management over its run? What about ratings?
Yes we had the GM’s full support until our last show early in 1988. And we won our rating right until the end.

Were you doing appearances and concert hostings?
Yes some weeks I would do as many as 10×1 hour guest appearances in dance clubs and recordings for TAA in-flight entertainment. I wrote 2 weekly music columns plus recorded After Dark on Monday nights for a few years as well as the Sounds show. It became known for 52 shows a year for just on 13 years. Then there were numerous charity appearances. It was a busy time for sure!

Is Sounds legacy too often overshadowed by Countdown?
I believe so but I’m proud of what our team achieved….

Do fans still recognise you for Sounds and share their memories?
Yes even former-PM Tony Abbott told me our show was a Saturday ritual and he said we supplied the sound track to the viewers young lives.

After the show’s end you continued in radio & pop journalism, and entered the racing fraternity, what was the appeal?
It was a great fit considering that’s where it all began for me on leaving school.

You survived 3 car crashes and lost your voice to cancer. What inspires you to rise above such adversity?
Its a darn sight better then the alternative!

If you had to change one thing…..?
Not a thing. It has been a pleasure, an education, an amazing gift to have been handed such a variety of super experiences. I have been blessed and have loved every second of it!

You can read more about Donnie Sutherland at his official website.