Marty Rhone performs ‘On the Loose’, the opening song of the Australian Popular Song Festival in Melbourne, 1976. The actor and pop star delivers a confident and charismatic live performance of the song, which wound up winning the contest and reaching the Top 40 when it was eventually released as a single. His sparkling white satin stage outfit, complete with a wide collar and flared pants, irrefutably dates this clip to the mid-1970s.

The Australian Popular Song Festival was a short-lived local equivalent to events like the Eurovision Song Contest. Running between 1972 and 1979, it served as a stepping stone for Australian entrants to the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo. Though short-lived, the festival played a role in showcasing local pop talent during a period of growing interest in the Australian music industry and was supported by major stars like Marcia Hines, Little River Band, Daryl Braithwaite and Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum.