NEWCASTLE radio host Jack Hodgins is seeking past Moree musicians who may have been part of the Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds competition, which ran across Australia during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Mr Hodgins is writing a book documenting the iconic contest – Australia’s biggest music competition at the time.
Musicians from Moree and district are believed to have competed in the competition.
Hoadley’s Chocolates, founded in 1913 and famous for its iconic Violet Crumble, ran the national Battle of the Sounds from 1966 to 1972.
At its peak, the contest held 60 heats across the country where young bands would compete for a chance to win a place in a state country final, and ultimately the national grand-final.
“It gave bands a chance to play, in many cases, to the biggest crowds they would ever play,” Mr Hodgins said.
“All they had to do was send in a coupon to their local radio station, and afterwards they could play in their local area’s heat.”
The Moree heats were facilitated by radio station 2VM and although they are known to have occurred, there is no documentation bands played in Moree heats.
Nationally, music icons like The Twilights and Sherbet took part, with winners receiving a substantial cash prize and a return trip to England.
Mr Hodgins first discovered the contest while working on his radio show Vinyl Vibes.
“I was interviewing a lot of Newcastle musicians from the ’60s and ’70s, and they kept bringing up Hoadley’s,” he said.
His initial research led him to a Facebook groups focused on Newcastle’s music scene, where someone eventually sent him a PDF of a 1995 document that attempted to detail the contest.
“It’s the only resource out there, but it has a lot of gaps,” Mr Hodgins said.
Determined to preserve this part of Australian music history, Mr Hodgins began tracking down any details he could find.
So far, his research has uncovered some unexpected gems.
“I was sent surviving audio of the 1966 Lismore heat,” he said.
“In an article, I read that Jeff Fatt – later of The Wiggles – was in a band called The Brass Nobbs who played that heat. I was shocked when I realised I had audio of their performance.”
This snippet of audio is one-minute long and a cover of the Peter Gunn theme.
“It’s just one example of the exciting things my research is turning up,” Mr Hodgins said.
“A big focus of my research is who played which heat and the songs performed.
“Not all of this information was written down, so in some cases the only sources are those who were there,” he said.
Mr. Hodgins is aiming for a June, 2026 release for the book and is still seeking any information he can find about the battles.
Anyone with any information about the Moree battles or the contest in general, can contact Mr Hodgins at jackhodgins67@gmail.com.
