Long Way to the Top

Long Way to the Top was a six-part weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary film series on the history of Australian rock and roll, from 1956 to the modern era, it was initially broadcast from 8 August to 12 September 2001. One of its writers, James Cockington, provided a book tie-in, Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll (2001). Another series writer, and interviewer, Clinton Walker, compiled a 2-disc CD soundtrack album, Long Way to the Top: Original Soundtrack from the ABC-TV Series (13 August 2001), by Various Artists, which featured in the show. It peaked at No. 9 on the ARIA Albums Chart. A year later a related national concert tour followed. History Long Way to the Top took its name from the AC/DC song, "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (December 1975). The six-part series was produced by Paul Clarke (Recovery), directed by Greg Appel and edited by Andrew Glover. It was narrated by former radio presenter Chris Winter (one of the original members of the on-air team at the ABC's 24-hour rock radio station, Double Jay). It featured interviews with Australasian singers and instrumentalists. Most of the nearly 200 interviews were conducted by music critic Clinton Walker, who also co-wrote the series, and compiled a 2-disc CD soundtrack album, Long Way to the Top: Original Soundtrack from the ABC-TV Series (13 August 2001), by Various Artists featured in the show. It peaked at No. 9 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The other writers were Tony Barrell, Sandy Webster, James Cockington and Laurie Zion. Cockington wrote a book tie-in, Long Way to the Top: Stories of Australian Rock & Roll (2001).