Frontier Tours ‘Countdown Spectacular’

Frontier Touring Company announced six arena shows August 30th to September 17th of “Countdown Spectacular.”

The 30-act trek is based on the iconic Australian Sunday night music TV show “Countdown,” which broke hits in the 1970s and 1980s.

Frontier Touring’s managing director Michael Gudinski told Pollstar, “It took me five years to pull this together.”

The bill is headed by Sherbet, a pop phenomenon that was the first Aussie act to sell more than $1 million worth of product, and whose popularity pioneered extensive regional tours and merchandising income.

Sherbet’s manager Roger Davies later moved to Los Angeles and took over the management of Tina Turner, Olivia Newton-John, Joe Cocker, and Pink, among others.

Other acts on the bill who gained international attention include John Paul Young (“Love is In The Air”), Leo Sayer, Joe Dolce of “Shaddup You Face” fame, Mondo Rock, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, Pseudo Echo, The Models, The Sports, and Renee Geyer.

The shows will include host Ian “Molly” Meldrum, voice-over dude Gavin Wood and the Countdown dancers. Skyhooks member Red Symons will narrate a tribute segment in the show.

Frontier initially released 60,000 tickets May 29 for the six shows, priced at $159 and $99. Sources say “Countdown Spectacular” will match the 200,000 sales of the “It’s A Long Way To The Top” 2002 tour by Michael Chugg Entertainment and Jacobsen Entertainment, which focused on the 1950s to the early 1970s.

– Bryan Jones