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Santa Never Made It into Darwin

"Santa Never Made It into Darwin" is a charity single recorded by Bill and Boyd. It was written by the band's William Cate. Funds raised supported the Australian city of Darwin, Northern Territory, following the damage wrought by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1974. The song peaked at number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report. At the 1975 Australian Record Awards it won Song of the Year. It also won APRA Song of the Year at the 1976 Country Music Awards of Australia.

"Santa Never Made It into Darwin"
Single by Bill and Boyd
from the album Bill and Boyd
ReleasedJanuary 1975
StudioArmstrong Audio/Video (Melbourne, Australia)
Length5:54
LabelFable
Songwriter(s)William Cate
Producer(s)Doug Trevor
Bill and Boyd singles chronology
"Aussie"
(1974) 		"Santa Never Made It into Darwin"
(1975) 		"Union Silver"
(1975)

Background

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Bill and Boyd formed in Wellington, New Zealand as a pop and country music duo in 1959 by William "Bill" Cate and William Boyd Robertson.[1][2][3] They relocated to Sydney in 1964.[1][2] In 1970 they signed with independent label, Fable Records, which issued "Santa Never Made It to Darwin" in January 1975.[1][2] Its proceeds supported the re-building of Northern Territory's capital city, Darwin after its devastation on the previous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by Cyclone Tracy.[1][2]

"Santa Never Made It into Darwin" was written by Cate and produced by Doug Trevor at Armstrong Audio and Video Studios in Melbourne. It peaked at number 2 on the Australian singles chart.[4] At the 1975 Australian Record Awards it won Song of the Year.[5] It also won APRA Song of the Year at the 1976 Country Music Awards of Australia.[6]

Track listing

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7-inch vinyl single

A. "Santa Never Made It into Darwin" (William Cate) – 5:54
B. "Chulu Chululu" (Cate, William Boyd Robertson) – 2:02

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 2

Year-end charts

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Chart (1975) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 48

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[9] Gold 50,000[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA). "'Santa Never Made it to Darwin' by Bill and Boyd". NFSA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b c d Sergent, Bruce. "Bill and Boyd". New Zealand Music of the 60's, 70's and a bit of 80's. Bruce Sergent. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. ^ Bourke, Chris (27 November 2013). "Bill & Boyd – Person". Audio Culture: The noisy library of New Zealand music. Digital Media Trust (Simon Grigg, Murray Cammick, Steven Shaw). Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 35. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Cashbox Magazine" (PDF). Billboard. 29 November 1975. p. 54. Retrieved 12 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
  6. ^ "Past Award Winners". Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  7. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  8. ^ "International News" (PDF). Cash Box. 11 March 1978. p. 48. Retrieved 15 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
  9. ^ "Fifteen Years Search Yield Aussie Gold" (PDF). Cash Box. 7 June 1975. p. 63. Retrieved 15 November 2021 – via World Radio History.
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