Del Amitri are at 20 - great to start our collection of the the biggest Macs - Artists with a Mc-last name - with a band from Glasgow - featuring Brian McDermott and Jon McLoughlin.

 

 At 19 it's the singer who had a huge hit in the 70's before going on to become a popular author with a series of books about Numerology and Spirituality - Penny McLean.

 

18 in our Biggest Macs countdown - it's one of the key members of the Aussie band - the Models - James Freud! James changed his name from Colin Joseph McGlinchey when he went chasing a career in music.

 

Barry McGuire makes our Biggest Macs countdown. The Boy from Oklahoma didn't always use his Mc-last name when he was performing - he was once part of a duo who called themselves "Barry & Barry".

 

Maria McKee is at 16! The talented singer / songwriter made the charts with Show Me Heaven from the "Days Of Thunder" movie soundtrack - but did you know she also wrote the hit "A Good Heart" for Fergal Sharkey. 

 

 

 Many Madness fans will remember one of the maddest members of the band - singer, songwriter, actor "Suggs"! His real name is Graham McPherson. That gets Madness a place at 15 in the Biggest Macs Countdown!

 

 You Will remember Van McCoy's hit "The Hustle" what you may not know is he is an award winning producer having worked with Aretha Franklin, Peaches and Herb and the Stylilstics. Van Allen Clinton McCoy is at 14!

 

 

There's Run DMC - featuring hip hop stars Joseph Simmons, Jason Mizell and - Darryl McDaniels. Darryl still performs but is fast making a name for himself in the world of comic books - something he loved as a kid! 

 

Ex Wailer - Peter Tosh is another interesting one in the Biggest Macs 20 20 Retro Countdown. After performing with Bob Marley - he had a hit with Mick Jagger... so where does he fit in? His real name is Peter McIntosh!

 

At 11 in our Biggest Macs countdown - it's one of the biggest Aussie actors of the 80's - after all - he is a gold logie winner! Craig McLachlan said he always wanted to be in show biz - and his Mc gets him into the 20 20! 

 

 

Did you know George McCrae has Wayne Casey from KC and the Sunshine Band to thank for his hit "Rock Your Baby"? Casey wrote it for his band but they just couldn't get it right - so Mr McCrae picked it up and is in at 10! 

 

Do you recognise this group? It's Big Mountain at 9 in the Biggest Macs Countdown. The McWhinney's - Quino, James and more recently Jakob bring the family name into this 20 20 Retro Countdown!

 

If it wasn't for Eric McCusker - we wouldn't have gotten all of those great Mondo Rock songs - "Come Said The Boy" "Summer Of 81" "No Time". He was the chief songwriter with Ross Wilson and they're in with the big macs!

 

The Divinyls are at 7 in our Biggest Macs 20 20 Retro Countdown for guitarist Mark McEntee. Before joining the Divinyls, McEntee was one of the original members of Air Supply. 

 

Michael McDonald gets a place amongst our Biggest Macs - the lead singer of the Doobie Brothers at the peak got his big break with Steely Dan. McDonald said they were his favourite band so it was a great experience.

 

 

Guy McDonough was one of the key members of Australian Crawl - guitarist, singer, songwriter. His brother Bill was also in the band in the early years - and the brothers teamed up again for Guy's solo album in the mid 80's!

 

 

Number 4 of our Big Macs - Bobby McFerrin. The 10-time grammy award winner had the huge hit "Don't Worry Be Happy" and was heard in the theme for the Cosby Show. Can you believe he's released 23 albums??

 

 

Don McLean took the 3rd spot in our Biggest Macs 20 20 Retro McCountdown. He was working on the last album of his record deal when - with nothing to lose - he wrote the anthem of a generation "American Pie".

 

The McVies get Fleetwood Mac into the 2nd spot. Former married couple John and Christine McVie were the mainstays of the band from the beginning - with the name dedicated to John and drummer Mick Fleetwood.

 

And number 1 in the Big Macs 20 20 Retro McCountdown - Paul McCartney who says he doesn't mind being called "Macca". We'll remember that when he visits Australia on his first tour here in 25 years in December!

 

This week, as we countdown the hits - we'll feature 3 movies that are memorable for very different reasons, as we visit late June 1980, 1977 and 1987!

 

 

 

Tuesday - we're visiting this week in 1980 - when the Village People were inside the top 10 with "Can't Stop The Music" - the title track from the movie that was also in the cinemas during this week.

By the wa,y listen as we reveal the truth behind the number 1 from this week in 1980. The hit by the Vapors was plagued by a number of rumours about its meaning.... you would remember some of them... but it was just a song about breaking up. Listen for the true story from the members of the Vapors on the 20 20 Retro Countdown!

 

 

 

Wednesday - we're turning the 20 20 Retro Countdown clock back to the week when the 10th movie in the James Bond movie series was released. "The Spy Who Loved Me" was the late Roger Moore's 3rd outing as 007 - and many fans rate it as was one of his best.

Also amongst the hits from this week in 1977 - we'll find out why one of Australia's favourite bands were given the name "Highway" in the US... and we'll remember the final episodes of the Aussie drama "Number 96"

 

 

 

If you remember the classic Mel Brooks comedy "Spaceballs" then you'll remember the hits of this week in 1987! I've got the top 20 from this week ready to go on Thursday and along the way we'll remember the comedy that intoduced us to the power of the Schwarz and the battle between Lone Star and Lord Dark Helmet!

Away from the movies - it was also a time when an Australian political record was set by Prime Minister Bob Hawke. We'll talk about that and the lead up campaign to the federal election as we visit late June 1987 on the 20 20 Retro Countdown!

 

 

Hi it's Aaron! In our next countdown - it's the "Signature Hits" - song that artists and bands are most recognised for.

Here's our top 20, decided by a group of music exports - but not all of these were unanimous - and they're open for debate.

Feel free to have your say on which song you would've chose as the signature hit!

 

20. "Down Under" Men At Work.

19. "YMCA" The Village People

 

18. "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" U2

 

17. "It's Not Unusual" Tom Jones

 

16. "Rock And Roll All Night" Kiss

 

15. "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" Rod Stewart

 

14. "If I Could Turn Back Time" Cher

 

13. "Band On The Run" Wings

 

12. "Hungry Like The Wolf" Duran Duran

 

11. "Hotel California" The Eagles 

 

 

10. "It's A Long Way To The Top" AC/DC

 

09. "Money For Nothing" Dire Straits

 

08. "Imagine" John Lennon

 

07. "Born In The USA" Bruce Springsteen

 

06. "Don't Stop" Fleetwood Mac

 

05. "Livin' On A Prayer" Bon Jovi

 

04. "Piano Man" Billy Joel

 

03. "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction" The Rolling Stones

 

02. "Dancing Queen" ABBA

 

01. "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson

 

  Monday - we're not paying the Bills - thats too stressful!

Instead we're PLAYING the Bills... it's a countdown packed with artists named Bill or Billy, with a few Williams outside the Countdown! So join me as we play the top 20 Bills featuring the guy who went by the name Bill Martin, there's the Billy who was given his stage name by a teacher who called him "IDLE" and I'll play the Billy who was on a baseball scholarship at college before deciding to have a swing at music! They're in our "Playing the Bills" 20 20 Retro Countdown!

 

 Tuesday - We'll remember the final season of Mork And Mindy!

Join us on a trip back to early June 1982 - the week when the last episode of Mork and Mindy went to air. Remember that 4th and final season - Mork and Mindy were married - and their "Baby" Mearth was born. It was also the week that Toni Basil topped the Aussie charts with the hit named after one of the Monkees! Listen in to find out why! All that and a memorable tv ad flashback as we visit this week in 1982!

 

 Wednesday - we're turning back the 20 20 clock to 1979!

How many Welcome Back Kotter characters can you name? That show finished during this week in 1979 - so that's where the next 20 20 journey takes us! Inside the top 20 - we'll hear the group who's lead singer was both the reason for their success.. and their eventual downfall! And there's the hit that they had to create a grammy category for! All that and more as we re-create the paper chart from early June 1979!

 

 Thursday - we re-live the call of Bueller - Bueller! as we visit early June 1986!

It's one of those iconic movies of the 80's - "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".. do you remember who played his sister? And do you remember which actor had a small role talking to his sister in the police station? Join us for our countdown from this week in 1986 - and I'll fill in the gaps! We'll also playFergal Sharkey's lesser known hit, the singer renowned for 8 word song titles - and at number 1 - it's the hit recorded for the Comic Relief charity!

 

 Friday - grab your microphone and join in with the Celebrity Backing Singers!

When it comes to hits - we often know the title - the singer - maybe even the songwriter... but what about the people behind the scenes who didn't get a mention on the record label?? Did you know actress Darryl Hannah joined in on one of her boyfriend's songs...Do you know who sings "I Want My MTV" on that classic Dire Straits hit - "Money For Nothing" - and who did Lionel Richie take under his wing and guide towards his own recording deal... the answers to thos questions are on our "Celebrity Backing Singers" 20 20 Retro Countdown!