Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds

Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds was an annual national rock/pop band competition held in Australia from 1966 to 1972.

History

Australia's Battle of the Sounds was originally established by Australian tabloid magazine Everybody's in 1965 as a talent quest for new unsigned bands in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The National Battle of the Sounds gained significant credibility and attracted many of Australia's top pop outfits when, in 1966, confectioner Hoadley's assumed sponsorship and it took the full name of "Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds" for the first time. Go-Set magazine took over the co-ordination role and local radio stations all over Australia organised local heats. This turned it into a truly national competition. Heats were held in the capital cities and country towns and bands worked their way up through semi-finals to one penultimate grand-final, held in either Melbourne or Sydney.

The valuable first prize was a full return passage to England on the Sitmar cruise line, two booked concerts in London and $1000 prize money, later upped to $2000 and return flights to Los Angeles (early winners did not get the concerts).

1969 was the peak year of the battle with over 1000 bands entering and two Grand Finals, one for full bands and one for groups and singing groups that specialised in harmony vocals. Over the years the battle would see such quality acts as The Groove and Sherbet taking out the major prize. Many other prominent outfits that would go on to greater success competed in the Battle until its conclusion in 1972.

Winners

National Battle of the Sounds: National Finalists: 1965

Year	Winner	Region/State	Other Finalists	Venue
1965	The Crickets	Melbourne Victoria	* Jimmy Crockett & The Shanes *The Pink Finks * The Showmen * The Rising Sons * Embers	Festival Hall Melbourne

Hoadley's National Finalists: 1966-1972

Year	Winner	Region/State	Second Place	Third Place	Other Place Getters	Venue
1966	The Twilights	Adelaide South Australia	The Other Ends (Sydney N S W)	Chaos & Co (Tasmania)	* The Road Runners * The Breed * The Chosen Few * Trolls * The Modes * The Clique	Festival Hall Melbourne
1967	The Groop	Melbourne Victoria	The Questions (NSW)	The Flamingoes (Queensland)	* The Valentines * The Mystics * The Wanderers * Gus & The Nomads * James Taylor Move * J A Madison * Mickey Finn * J B J & The Originals	Festival Hall Melbourne
1968	The Groove	Melbourne Victoria	Masters Apprentices (South Australia)	Doug Parkinson In Focus (NSW)	* The Marksmen * Rain * Tol Puddle Martyrs * Shades of Blue * Beat 'n Tracks * Sect * Abstract Image * Black Orchids * J A Madison	Festival Hall Melbourne
1969 (Main Grand Final)	Doug Parkinson in Focus	Melbourne Victoria	Aesops Fables (NSW)	The Valentines (Victoria)	* The Avengers * Chain * Tin Pan Alley * Pepper Adams * Spice of Life * Sect * Limit * Proclamation * Clockwork Oringe * Chapter Three	Festival Hall Melbourne
1969 (Vocal Group Grand Final)	The Affair	Sydney NSW	Mark VI (Queensland)	Travis Wellington Hedge (South Australia)	* The Chiffons * 1812 * New Edition	Festival Hall Melbourne
1970	The Flying Circus	Sydney NSW	Zoot (Victoria)	Autumn (NSW)	* Nova Express * Axis * Sweaty Betty * Ssarb * Musick Express * Maya * Chapter III * Jug Band * Sons of Bacchus * Noddys Crew	Capitol Theatre Sydney
1971	Fraternity	Adelaide South Australia	Sherbet (NSW)	Jeff St John and Copperwine (NSW)	* Bacchus * October * Langford Lever * Pendulum * Nutmeg * Jelly Roll Big Band * Impulse * Barrelhouse	Festival Hall Melbourne
1972	Sherbet	Sydney NSW	Jeff St John and Copperwine (NSW)	Amber Light (Melbourne)	* Headband * Brandy * Jody	Capitol Theatre Sydney

See also

• Australian rock

• Timeline of trends in Australian music

• Abel Hoadley – founder of Hoadley's Confectionery Company and inventor of the famous Violet Crumble chocolate bar.

References

• Everybody's Magazine – 1964 to 1967 (Courtesy Mitchell Library, Sydney)
• Go-Set Magazine – 1967 to 1972 (Courtesy Mitchell Library, Sydney)