Rage (music show)

1987–present

Rage is ABC TV's nightly music video show and the longest running music show in the world.

The first name conjured up for show was 'Rocks Off'; a name quickly scraped in favour of the phrase "Rage Til You Puke", attributed to Triple J presenter Lillian Pascoe. This was because the program stretches from the previous shutdown time into the morning (approx. 6-8 hours), as the ABC was using the show to expand the channel to 24-hour broadcasting. Viewers intending to watch the show in it's entirety would be 'raging' for a while, hence the phrase. The name was finally shortened to Rage to make it more palatable.

The logo was designed by an unnamed graphic designer at Seven Network; where the show's visuals and opening sequence were assembled. Rage's producer Mark Fitzgerald requested the logo be in lowercase, reminiscent of a typewriter font and be coloured as close to vomit as possible; an allusion to Pascoe's original quote. Mark chose the most suitable of 20 options provided by the designer. The show's title sequence and logo were made to be as annoying as possible, to stand out from commercial music video shows of the era, with a budget of $800.

The opening sequence is a scored by a remix of Iggy Pop's cover of 'Real Wild Child' by Australian artist Johnny O'Keefe. The visuals were made up of blue-tinted clips of Iggy Pop and Johnny O'Keefe, static recorded off a screen and footage of ABC staff miming the word "rage" on the building's roof (with the TV aerial in frame), all spliced together erratically. The distortion effect on some shots was created by re-recording the footage off-screen with acrylic moving about in front. The logo would then squeeze into frame in time with a recording of actress Deni Gordon screaming "Raaaaaaaaaage!". The closing sequence was given a similar, more-subdued treatment, set to the opening bars of 'Speed Your Love To Me' by Simple Minds.

The ABC had previously made multiple attempts to refresh the look of Rage, all to no avail. A Triple J poll on the issue showed that the public's consensus was it should be left be. The look of the show had only been retooled once, for widescreen. Otherwise, the logo, opener, closer and on-air presentation has always been consistent with its roots.

• ABC News - Rage is turning 30, but it was never meant to last so long (2017)
• Triple J - 25 years of rage: the story behind the scream (2012)

ABC TV rage Intro Theme (HD)

Refreshed title sequence

Rage I.D's- Various Rage I.D's that have aired over the years (see below for details)

On-screen elements

ABC TV rage Closing Credits (HD)

Closing sequence