Hit Scene

Hit Scene

Company type	Television program
Industry	Music television
Founded	May 10, 1969 (1969-05-10)
Defunct	December 16, 1972 (1972-12-16)
Headquarters	Melbourne , Australia
Products	Music television show

Hit Scene, an Australian music television program, was produced and aired by ABC TV in black-and-white format. This weekly half-hour show premiered on 10 May 1969 and continued until 16 December 1972.

History

The creation of Hit Scene was overseen by ABC's Light Entertainment division under the guidance of Ken Watts, Director of Television Programs. The series featured Melbourne radio personality Dick Williams (1931–2014) as its presenter. Williams had previously been the host of ABC's Hit Parade, a Victoria-specific segment within the Saturday afternoon Sportsview broadcast. Additionally, he served as the principal reviewer for Radio Australia's 'International Record Review' on shortwave. Transitioning into television presenting after a successful audition in early 1964, Williams brought extensive radio experience from stations such as 3KZ Melbourne, 7AD and 7LA in Tasmania, and 3HA Hamilton and 3TR Sale in Victoria. He took over hosting duties for Hit Parade and Radio Australia roles from Pete Smith when Smith joined GTV-9.

Broadcast

The airing schedule of Hit Scene varied by region; in Victoria, it was generally broadcast at 2:10 p.m. (AEST) on Saturdays during Sportsview, though timings were occasionally adjusted due to sporting events. In New South Wales, the show often appeared around midday, independent of Sportsview. Seasonal shifts also affected scheduling—for instance, late in 1969, it was shown on Sundays at 6 p.m. in Victoria. The initial episode was limited to Melbourne because of ABC’s other sporting commitments across different areas. The concluding episode was extended to a one-hour special. Each installment included interviews with both Australian and international performers, live performances by local artists recorded in-studio, footage of overseas musicians, national music chart updates, and reviews of new releases. The program also featured special concert broadcasts such as Max Merritt and the Meteors’ farewell Australian performance on 13 July 1970 prior to their North American tour.

Theme

The opening sequence of early editions featured the song Mr. Eliminator by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones, serving as accompaniment to Brisbane’s The Avengers (not to be confused with the New Zealand group), shown around Melbourne alongside host Williams driving his Holden Monaro GTS en route to ABC studios. The Avengers performed live on the first nationally broadcast episode on 17 May 1969 to promote their EMI single "Twiddle-E-Dee" written by Terry Britten. Unlike series such as GTK, most studio performances on Hit Scene were mimed to pre-recorded audio tracks. This practice contributed to the program’s eventual cancellation following a ban imposed by Musicians' Union and Actors Equity on mimed television performances effective from 1 November 1972.

Production

Produced in black-and-white at ABC’s Ripponlea studios located in Melbourne’s Elsternwick suburb, early episodes were under the production leadership of Bernard Terry with Roger Prior directing and Alan Morris serving as executive producer. The technical team included Brian Rodgers, Paul Brown, Ron Cromb, and Dick Robins. Set design and artistic elements were managed by Peter Redman, while stylized graphics and the show’s logo were created by Vivienne Adolphus.