Do you remember Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds?

Maybe you were even part of it?

If so, radio host Jack Hodgins wants to hear from you.

Mr. Hodgins is writing a book that documents the iconic Hoadley’s contest.

This was Australia’s biggest music competition from the 1960s till the early ’70s and even featured local rockers from Young and surrounds.

Hoadley’s Chocolates, founded in 1913 and known for inventing the Violet Crumble, ran the national Battle of the Sounds from 1966 to 1972.

At its peak, the contest held sixty 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 and all they would have to do is send in a coupon to their local radio station and then they could play their local area’s heat," Jack said.

The Young heats were facilitated by radio station 2LF and were won by local groups such The Shades (1968 and 1969), Straight No Chaser (1970) and Rock Melon (1971).

But it was not just locally known groups that played the contest; Aussie music icons such as The Twilights and Sherbet would go on to win the competition, which brought with it a considerable cash prize and a return trip to England.

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 Facebook groups focused on Newcastle’s music scene, where someone eventually sent him a PDF of a 1995 document that attempted to document the contest.

“It’s the only resource out there, but it has a lot of gaps,” Jack said.

Determined to preserve this part of Australian music history, 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,” Jack 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 a minute-long and is a cover of the Peter Gunn theme.

“It’s just one example of the exciting things my research is turning up,” he 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.”

Jack is aiming for a June 2026 release for the book and is still seeking any information he can find about the battles.

If you have any information about the Young battles or the contest in general, you can contact Jack at jackhodgins67@gmail.com.