There were two significant milestones at the end of last week in Brisbane radio. One was a 40th birthday and the other an incredible 90th anniversary.
Brisbane Triple M launched into the Brisbane market 40 years ago and it follows other 40th anniversaries for commercial FM radio stations from Perth to Sydney and Melbourne. The first song on 4MMM was The Little River Band’s Cool Change. On Seven News last week current Triple M Brisbane breakfast host Marto recalled being a schoolboy who listened to the new station in the morning on his way to class.
An early FM 104 promotion involved asking listeners to bring in their old AM receivers. They would be given a new radio and then the old one would be smashed live on air. The station became so successful it later attracted a bid from Christopher Skase who paid $50m for the licence and premises. The Brisbane station also introduced the annual Sky Show which also was a successful event in other markets.
The other radio milestone in the market was the 90th birthday of Brisbane’s first commercial radio station 4BC. The station went to air on August 16, 1930. Interesting it was launched by a city retailer who later went on to be Lord Mayor of Brisbane – John Beals Chandler.
4BC’s new owner Nine Radio has recently launched dedicated Brisbane breakfast and drive shows with Neil Breen and Scott Emerson after the station previously featured all content networked from its Sydney sister station 4BC.