THE year is 1987. Bob Hawke is Australia’s Prime Minister, the AFL doesn’t exist yet, Michael Douglas’s Fatal Attraction is number one at the box office and iPad, Skype and myki are merely made-up words.
A few months before the final episode of Countdown airs in July, the ABC launches a new late-night TV program called Rage.
In the years since, other music programs have come and gone – Recovery, Video Hits, Take 40 Australia – but only Rage has survived the vinyl, CD and mp3 eras and lived to tell the tale.
Regardless of the paths you’ve travelled over the past quarter-century, chances are you’ve had encounters with Rage. It may have soundtracked a drunken late night or the next morning’s hangover. You may have tuned in the week after the death of a musical icon – Kurt Cobain, George Harrison, Michael Jackson – when the program traditionally devotes hours to that artist’s music. Perhaps you’ve sat up, bleary-eyed, as your favourite band programmed the show on a Saturday night.
When I was younger, I’d record hours of the show on VHS tapes and sift through the results the following morning, sometimes putting together tapes of my favourite videos using rudimentary editing skills.
Rage has introduced me to countless new acts and made me appreciate the ones I like even more. It’s also given some of the first Australian screen time to the most influential film clips of the time – Billie Jean, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Paranoid Android and even the Prodigy’s controversial Smack My Bitch Up (banned by MTV and the BBC).
This week, Rage turns 25 and celebrates with a Silver Jubilee special on Saturday night.
You Am I singer Tim Rogers will lead viewers through Rage’s most memorable moments, including some of its most-requested songs, highlights from big-name programmers and recollections from the likes of Peter Garrett.
Rage has always kept things simple. It’s never had a host or a studio audience. Viewers can’t request tracks, send in feedback via SMS or join in conversations on Twitter.
Things will be slightly more interactive on Saturday, when viewers will be encouraged to record and upload their own version of the Rage scream (some of the best will be screened during the special; so have your earplugs handy).
The famous red couch – used by guest programmers – will also be given away.
Congratulations, Rage, on 25 fine years. We can’t predict how the world will look in 2037 but we can hope you’re serving our late, insomnia-riddled, music-obsessed nights just as well as you do now.
ABC1, Saturday, 10.20pm.
