''Young Talent Time'' is an Australian television variety program produced by Lewis-Young Productions and screened on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

. The original series ran from 1971 until 1988 and was hosted by singer-songwriter and record producer Johnny Young for its entire run. The show was briefly revived by Network Ten in 2012 and was hosted by singer and actor Rob Mills.

History

The series featured a core group of young performers, in the vein of ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

'', and a weekly junior talent quest. The regular cast known as "The Young Talent Team" performed popular classic songs along with the top hit songs of the day. The original program launched the careers of a number of Australian performers including Sally Boyden, Jamie Redfern, Vikki Broughton, Debra Byrne (billed then as Debbie),

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

and

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

and spawned numerous hit singles, fifteen Young Talent Time albums, a film, as well as merchandise including swap cards, boardgames, toys, and mugs. The program won numerous

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

''Young Talent Time'' (1971–1988)

Production details

''Young Talent Time'' was produced as a joint venture by ''Lewis-Young Productions'' (the production partnership between host Johnny Young and his friend and colleague Kevin Lewis, one of the directors of

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

) and was taped mainly at the studios of ATV-10 in Nunawading,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

although occasional shows were taped at the TEN-10 studios in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

or on location. Many of the episodes from the early- to mid-1970s no longer exist as the tapes were wiped for re-use, being the official

policy at the time. Some later episodes from the series were repeated by

pay TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

broadcaster

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

in the late 1990s. On average, 44 episodes were produced per year for 18 years. The episodes were broadcast in black and white from April 1971 to April 1975, thereafter in colour. The final episode aired on 23 December 1988.

''Caravan Holiday''

In the Christmas break between the first and second seasons of ''Young Talent Time'', Johnny Young and the Young Talent Team shot a 22-minute colour film. (At the time, ''Young Talent Time'' still screened in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

on Australian television.) Sponsored by the Caravan Trade & Industries Association ''Caravan Holiday'' was completed by early 1972 and released in cinemas across Australia as a supporting feature to

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for ''Fi ...

's hugely popular US comedy picture '' What's Up, Doc?'' which starred

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

and Ryan O'Neal. The cast featured the then-current line-up of the Young Talent Team (Jamie Redfern, Rod Kirkham, Greg Mills, Philip Gould, Julie Ryles, Debbie Byrne, Vikki Broughton and Jane Scali) prior to Redfern's departure to tour the US with Liberace. Despite not appearing in the film, new team member Trevor Hindmarch turned up to the premiere, as seen in the documentary ''Young Talent Time Tells All''. It featured actor/comedian Buster Fiddess (as Mr Crawley) and Addie Black, and guest appearances by Johnny Young (in multiple cameos as a service station attendant, farmer, caravan site manager and speedboat lake), Evie Hayes and

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

(then known as Johnny Farnham) as himself. Fiddess died just a few days after he finished filming his scenes. There was also a film clip made for the Young Talent Team's version of

The Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill Cowsill, B ...

' hit song '' The Rain, The Park and Other Things'', shot in Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, but despite not appearing on the actual recording, being recorded prior to their recruitment, Mills and Ryles appeared in the clip. It screened on television just once, on Christmas Eve 1972. It was then unseen for three decades until a restored version was featured as a bonus extra on the 2002 DVD ''Young Talent Time: The Collection'' (Universal Pictures - 2002). In the opening credit sequence, Jane Scali's surname is misspelt as Scarli.

''Alumni''

Over the original run of the show, from 1971 to 1988, there were a total of 40 cast members. Members of the cast who found continued success after leaving the series and continue working as performers include

, Vikki Broughton, Jane Scali, Jamie Redfern,

, Karen Knowles, Sally Boyden, and Debra Byrne, Beven Addinsall and John Bowles. The show had a policy that when team members reached 16 years of age, they had to leave the series and move on, but this rule would subsequently be stretched and broken.

Concerts and live appearances

Over the 18 years of the original show, Johnny Young and the various cast members made numerous live appearances all over Australia, performing full concerts or short publicity appearances at various venues. In 1973, Young, the cast and Denis Walter supported Jamie Redfern in a series of live concerts. ''The Jamie Redfern Show'' sold out a number of shows at Melbourne's Festival Hall. In 1987, an unanticipated audience turnout of over 4,000 people caused trouble at a concert at the Westfield Shopping Centre, Parramatta. Some fans were crushed in the crowd and the concert was cancelled. Joey Dee had to be treated for a knee injury and Courtney Compagnino had to be treated for shock. In 1988, over 12,000 people attended an outdoor concert held in Brisbane at the 1988 World Expo, which was broadcast on television the following week. At the end of 1988, Young and the cast performed a series of concerts. The final concert was held at the Melbourne Tennis Centre on 23 December, the same night on which the last episode of ''Young Talent Time'' aired on Network Ten.

Luna Park incident

In the early 1970s the cast performed at

Luna Park Sydney Luna Park Sydney is a Heritage register, heritage-listed amusement park located at 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern shore of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour. The amusement park is owned by the Luna Park ...

. Due to the large crowd in attendance, they were unable to leave. Park management offered to stop the scenic railway so that the cast could exit through the tunnel. According to Greg Mills, the train driver was not told, and the train did not stop. The cast narrowly avoided death by pressing themselves against the wall of the tunnel. If not for Brad Boyden, Sally Boyden's father, neither of the team would have known that the roller coaster train was even approaching. Trevor Hindmarch came the closest to death or injury as his jacket was almost caught on the speeding vehicle as it passed. Fortunately Trevor lost only a button.

Final years

In 1988, an episode of Young Talent Time was shot in the United States. The two-hour special, ''Young Talent Time at Universal Studios'', aired on 13 August 1988. In its final years, Young Talent Time began to struggle for ratings, particularly following the decision of the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

to move its popular early morning variety show ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' is a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' to the 6:30 pm slot in 1985, which put it in direct competition to Young Talent Time. After four years of dwindling ratings, in October 1988 Network Ten finally decided to move ''YTT'' to Friday nights at 7.30 pm, but the change did not help. The show was cancelled three months later. The general manager of Channel 10 Melbourne, Renny Cunnack, announced on 25 January 1989 that ''Young Talent Time'' would "not be resuming production in 1989". Cunnack himself was dismissed as General Manager three months later. The following day on Australia Day in 1989, the Young Talent Time cast performed a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Near the end of 1988, Johnny Young had invested a large amount of money in building his own TV studio complex in Richmond with the intention of producing the show himself and leasing it to Channel 10 but the termination of the show ended this plan and he was forced to sell his family home to finance his debts. Network Ten continued airing compilation episodes in early 1989, initially as ''The Best of Young Talent Time'' at 7.30 on Friday nights, then as ''Young Talent Time Favorites'' at 11.00 on Saturday mornings. The last of these aired in Melbourne on Saturday 1 April 1989. On September 26, 2021, Channel 10 aired a special anniversary edition of Young Talent Time. It marked the show's 50th anniversary.

List of team members 1971–1988

*Vikki Broughton (1971–73) (first act to be signed) *Rod Kirkham (1971–73) *Phillip Gould (1971–75; 1975–76) * Debra Byrne (1971–75) * Jamie Redfern (1971–72) * Jane Scali (1971–76) *Greg Mills (1971–75) *Julie Ryles (1971–76) *Trevor Hindmarch (1972–77) * Sally Boyden (1973–76) *Derek Redfern (1973–76) * Karen Knowles (1975–80) *Steven Zammit (1975–80) *Debbie Hancock (1976–79) *Robert McCullough (1976–79) *Nicole Cooper (1976–81) *John Bowles (1977–81) *

(1977–83; longest-serving cast member) *Bobby Driessen (1979–83) *Jodie Loebert (1980–83) *Joe(y) Perrone (1980–84) *Michael Campbell (1981–83) *Karen Dunkerton (1981–85) *Katie Van Ree (1981–86) *Mark McCormack (1982–83) * Danielle Minogue (1982–88) *Vince Del Tito (1983–88) *Beven Addinsall (1983–88) *Vanessa Windsor (1983–87) *Greg Poynton (1984–88) *Lorena Novoa (1984–87) *Tim Nelson (1984–87) *Natalie Miller (1985–88) *Mark Stevens (1985–88) *Courtney Compagnino (1986–88) * Juanita Coco (1987–88) *Joey Dee (1987–88) *Rikki Arnot (1987–88) * Jamie Churchill (1988) *Johnnie Nuich (1988; shortest-serving cast member)

''The New Generation'' (1988)

In 1988 Johnny Young launched an American version of the show re-titled ''The New Generation''. Produced in Australia, it starred the current senior members of the former Young Talent Time cast: Dannii Minogue, Vince Del Tito, Natalie Miller, Lorena Novoa, Beven Addinsall; and a new member, Keith Williams, from Los Angeles. The show also featured regular appearances from the younger members of the former cast, who were billed as "The Young Generation": Jamie Churchill, Johnnie Nuich, Joey Dee, Courtney Compagnino, Juanita Coco and Rikki Arnot. ''The New Generation'' was hosted by American Michael Young, the host of the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winning ''

Kids Are People Too ''Kids Are People Too'' is an American television series that ran on Sunday morning cartoon, Sunday mornings from 1978 to 1982 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The series was a variety/news magazine show oriented toward kids, with the inten ...

''. Thirteen 30-minute episodes were produced by Johnny Young's Television House and Fries Entertainment and screened on CBN Cable Network/The CBN Family Channel (now Freeform) in the US.

''Young Talent Time'' (1990)

In 1990 Johnny Young self-funded and produced a one-off direct-to-video special titled ''Young Talent Time Now - 1990''. It featured the final six members of the cast (Jamie Churchill, Johnnie Nuich, Joey Dee, Courtney Compagnino, Juanita Coco, and Rikki Arnot) and former cast member Beven Addinsall.

''Young Talent Time'' (2012)

and Granada Australia - in conjunction with Johnny Young and Johnny Young Music - were the producers of a revival of ''Young Talent Time''. Taped before a live studio audience at Fox Studios in Sydney, the 15-episode series debuted on Network Ten across Australia at 6.30 pm on Sunday 22 January 2012. Hosted by former '' Australian Idol 2003'' contestant Rob Mills, the 2012 revival featured a regular Young Talent Team (of 10 members) performing a couple of group numbers each week, with one team member featuring in a solo spot each episode to showcase their individual talents. Starting from Episode 10, duets were sung instead of solos as each team member had performed a solo. Each weekly episode featured three or four young contestants (or acts) under the age of 16. These solo performers, duos, groups, etc., included singers, dancers (ballet, hip hop, tap, jazz, etc.), musicians, sight acts, illusionists, comedians and so on.Who will host Young Talent Time for TEN?
13 August 2011 By David Knox, TV Tonight The winning contestant (or act) each week received $5,000 from NAB (National Australia Bank) and the Grand Final winner received $100,000. Sherrynne Johnson a young Tasmanian semi finals Winner was unable to return for the Grand Final due to unforeseen family circumstances. The show's two judges/mentors were the original show's longest-serving Young Talent Team member

(who appeared from 1977 to 1983 – six years 6 Months), and Filipino-American choreographer Charles Klapow, one of the winners of the

for 'Outstanding Choreography' for ''

High School Musical 2 ''High School Musical 2'' is a 2007 American Musical film, musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 70th Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), it is the sequel to ''High School Musical'' (2006) and ...

''. Better known as 'Chucky' Klapow, he also helped choreograph the films '' Cheetah Girls 2,

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...

and High School Musical 3: Senior Year'' as well as appearing in all three ''

'' movies as a dancer. He has choreographed for

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and dances alongside

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

in the film '' Michael Jackson's This Is It''. Klapow had previously been a judge on UK talent show '' Don't Stop Believing''. TV Personality Ian Dickson filled in as judge while

was ill for one episode. From the beginning of the finals competition he served as a full-time judge. While the judges decided the winning contestant (or act) of each weekly episode, viewers could vote online for any of the weekly runners-up to become a 'wild-card' entrant, giving them a second chance of making it into the finals. On 20 March, it was announced that ''YTT'' would move to Fridays at 7:30 to 8:30, the current time slot of Glee. It is believed ''YTT'' was moved because of poor ratings on Sunday night resulting in the much more popular program ''The Biggest Loser'' taking the 6:30 to 7:30 timeslot. The YTT team then commenced a tour having shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. The Grand Final episode was aired on 4 May. The talent quest was won by first heat entrants and wildcard winners Lil' Banditz Krew. The all-boys Hip Hop troupe toured with the YTT team and Rob Mills in June and July 2012, visiting various Sydney venues as well as Melbourne and Canberra. ''YTT'' was not renewed for a 2013 season because of poor ratings. However, such team members as Aydan Calafiore and Adrien Nookadu went on to have music careers and Georgia-May Davis worked with Disney Channel Australia. Lyndall Wennekes later starred on ''The Voice'' in 2015, Adrien Nookadu on ''The X Factor'' in 2014. Aydan Calafiore appeared on ''Australia's Got Talent'' in 2013 and auditioned for the 2017 and 2018 seasons of The Voice, being unable to turn a chair in 2017 but turning all four chairs in 2018. Aydan joined Joe Jonas' and ultimately placed 4th place on ''The Voice'', which resulted in him releasing his own music as well as being on Eurovision - Australia Decides in 2019.

List of Team Members

* Aydan Calafiore * Georgia-May Davis * Nicolas Di Cecco * Sean Emmett * Tia Gigalotti * Michelle Mutyora * Adrien Nookadu * Serena Suen * Lyndall Wennekes * Tyler Wilford

Discography and videography

DVDs

A one-hour prime-time television documentary ''Young Talent Time Tells All'' aired on Network Ten on 29 October 2001. Produced and directed by former YTT cast member John Bowles, it was a tremendous ratings success celebrating the show's 30th anniversary. Bowles interviewed over thirty of the original cast members for the programme. Archive footage, including clips thought to have been lost, were interspersed with the YTT kids speaking about their experiences on and off-air. A small reunion of ''YTT'' cast and crew members (including

and Johnny Young) was held in Melbourne in October 2003 to launch the release of an extended version of the ''Young Talent Time Tells All'' documentary on DVD (through

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

). The original documentary TV Special was extended, and bonus features and rare footage, not seen in the television version, were added. It was titled ''Young Talent Time: The Collection''. Bonus features on the DVD include a restored version of the 1972 short film ''Caravan Holiday'' featuring Johnny Young and the Young Talent Team; full biographies of all 40 Team Members and Johnny Young;

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

's appearance as a guest on the show to promote her 1983 film '' BMX Bandits''; assorted television commercials featuring members of the team; footage of some of the Team when they appeared as contestants on the show; and the full-length clip of sisters

and

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

performing the song "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves". Rare footage includes a nine-year-old Jamie Redfern (pre-''Young Talent Time'') appearing with Happy Hammond on a Channel Seven test broadcast of colour television in 1968, seven years before Australian television actually began broadcasting in colour.

Albums

Awards

TV Week Logie Awards

* Best Australian Musical Variety Show of 1971 * Best Australian Musical Variety Show of 1973 * Best Australian Musical Variety Show of 1974 * Best Australian Musical Variety Show of 1975 * Award for Sustained Excellence (presented in 1982) *Johnny Young - Logie Hall of Fame (1990)

References

{{reflist

External links

Young Talent Time 40th Anniversary TourYoung Talent Time at the National Film and Sound Archive
Network 10 original programming 1971 Australian television series debuts 1988 Australian television series endings 2012 Australian television series debuts 2012 Australian television series endings Australian music television series British English-language television shows Television series by ITV Studios Black-and-white Australian television shows Television shows set in Melbourne Australian television series revived after cancellation