At 6pm on July 2, 1984, a new ABC series debuted and would go on to become one of the most popular shows aired on the national broadcaster all decade. Created by Johanna Pigott and Tim Gooding, both former members of punk band XL Capris, Sweet And Sour depicted the rise and fall of fictional group The Takeaways. In this first episode in a two-part special, Johanna shares her memories of being in XL Capris and how that experience formed the basis for Sweet And Sour. She reveals the false start the series had and discusses the process of creating the show a generation of Australians watched again and again in the mid-'80s. We also talk to three of the cast members: Tracy Mann, who played singer Carol Howard; David Reyne, who brought his existing music industry knowledge to the role of guitarist Martin Kabel; and Ric Herbert, the man behind human whirlwind Darrell Winters, The Takeaways' manager. In the upcoming Part 2, we'll take a closer look at the music in Sweet And Sour and hear from Deborah Conway, Sharon O'Neill and Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup about their contributions to the soundtrack.