After being on Townsville radio spanning over five decades, 32 of those years on breakfast radio (4TO which then became 102.3 MMM Townsville), Australian radio star Steve ‘Pricey’ Price OAM announced this morning to his beloved listeners that he will hang up his brekkie headphones at the end of the year.
While he’s leaving the position this year, Triple M Townsville has said he won’t stay away for long because he’ll be back in 2024 to work on special projects across the region.
Price said this morning, “This colourful lover of North Queensland, this rather strange character, this Pricey, has decided it’s time to go searching for Steve. It’s not retirement, it’s rejuvenation. I will never understand how I’ve been so truly blessed to be here.”
Price has been involved in radio since he was 17, and has been in Townsville since 1982, hosting breakfast for three decades. He’s visited Aussie diggers deployed around the world in Afghanistan and Jerusalem and has strengthened the shoulders of locals in times of crisis.
He was the first in the world to conduct an underwater radio broadcast (from Townsville’s very own Reef HQ), and he was on the ground in one of the darkest days in Australian military history – the Townsville Blackhawk crash in 1996.
In 2018 in recognition of his services to the community through his radio career, he was awarded the Medal of The Order of Australia (OAM) and last year he published his 200-page memoir called, THE PRICE OF PARADISE, which he describes as a love letter to NQ.
SCA Chief Content Officer Dave Cameron said Pricey was not only a legend of Far North Queensland, but his legacy within SCA reverberated across all corners of the broadcast network.
“His approach to delivering localism sets the precedent for all our Triple M stations in their respective communities, and my many chats with Pricey often over the last few years has always given me great perspective and huge admiration on his ability to engage and connect with his incredibly loyal audience. We will miss you on brekkie Pricey, and thanks for the multiple mango seasons of radio brilliance!”
Listen to Pricey’s farewell here.