From broken strings and poorly timed jumps, to studio trashing and stage fright, we revisit 5 golden moments in Australian music television.

5. Ben Lee puts a foot wrong on The Panel

Ben Lee might be the most loved/hated vanilla pop guy since the 'amazing' Alex Lloyd. But when the brash singer performed live on TV talk show The Panel, it was the haters who had the most fun. Halfway through the performance Lee leaped onto the desk only to yank the plug out of his guitar in the process. He nervously fumbled his way back while a drum machine played on behind him but the embarrassment was palpable.Lee had the last laugh though. Film director Tony McNamara was watching the show at the time. In Lee he saw the protaganist for a script he was working on, and promptly cast the singer as the lead in feature film "The Rage in Placid Lake", opposite Rose Byrne.

Pros: Lee wrote 'Hard Drive', one of Evan Dando's best songs. Ever.
Cons: The irony of 'We're All in this Together' violently dividing audiences.



4. The Vines spaz out on Letterman

In 2002 The Vines were riding high on the international success of their debut 'Highly Evolved'. Rolling Stone and NME covers, sold out shows and an appearance at the US MTV Music Awards followed. A visit to The Late Show with David Letterman that August saw the band slated to play hit single 'Get Free'. What followed was a picture of frontman Craig Nicholls building predilection for wanton destruction. He careened around the stage, yelped incoherently and knocked over the mic stand as his pissed off band mates looked on. It was a few months away from Nicholls destroying the set of Jay Leno's talk show during soundcheck and two years before the band's implosion on The Annandale stage. At the end of the performance a cackling Letterman and house band leader Paul Shaffer sum it up nicely:

Dave: "Is he alright Paul?"
Paul: "Can't say".



3. Andy Cox saves the day on Recovery

In 1997 when the ABC's Saturday morning TV show was rather vitally showcasing artists from all corners of the music industry, NZ indie icon Chris Knox paid a visit. With regular host Dylan Lewis away, house band The Fauves were promoted to hosts for the morning. The Fauves playful absurdity and slyly acerbic stage presence hilariously translated fluently to the small screen. Frontman and default host Andrew Cox's sense of occasion and keen wit was vital when Knox, playing solo to a televised national audience, broke a string on his guitar. Turning to try and use The Fauves guitars as replacements he found them all tuned differently, rendering the idea useless. Fauves drummer Dougy is heard to declare, tongue in cheek "Oh Jesus Christ Coxy this is a disaster". Facing a televised meltdown, Cox jumps up to not only implore the NZ singer to carry on acapella but joins in and saves the day with an impromptu, hilarious group singalong.

Pros: Chis Knox singing intensely about fucking to an underage audience.
Cons: Andrew Cox not being given his own TV show in the wash up.



2. Madison Avenue kill their career at the ARIA's

In 1999, dance act Madison Avenue were massive. Songs 'Who The Hell Are You?' and 'Don't Call Me Baby' were everywhere, the latter going on to sell in excess of 200,000 copies (people bought CDs back then), making them the highest selling act that year. It was inevitable then that the duo - DJ Andy Van and frontperson/sex kitten Cheyne Coates - would be invited to perform at the 2000 ARIA Awards. What followed put an end to their career. Coates arrived on stage looking meek and nervous. She then launched into a consistently off-key rendition of the band's songs. Halfway through she motions off-stage for a glass of water, sips it, and lays it down at her feet for the rest of the sagging performance. Inexplicably the cameras keep the glass in frame. As one YouTube poster puts it: "I thought she was gonna dance around it like a handbag!"

Pros: Coates wasn't supposed to be the singer for Madison Avenue. 'Don't Call Me Baby' was intended for another singer but Andy Van fell in love with the guide vocal Coates recorded for the song and asked her to join the group.
Cons: After a post-ARIA two year hiatus, Madison Avenue's return single placed at Number 9 on the charts. The duo disbanded soon after.



1. John Spencer Blues Explosion serve hot morning television

Bands performing on TV are adequate at best. It's a cold start, the sound is being manipulated somewhere out of your control and you're performing to a bank of blinking lights and distant, glassy-eyed kids who couldn't give two shits. One morning in the late 90s the John Spencer Blues Explosion stepped into the studio space of Recovery TV and overhauled the art of live TV performance. Granted it wasn't like the ABC had to cut to an ad break, but the way in which Spencer and co transform a slack-jawed morning crowd, a terrified presenter and giant foam letters into a "Did you just see that?!" event, made a diehard out of everyone within ear and eye-shot.



Gold. Got your own?


Via TheVine