Whatever Happened to Rick Melbourne?
Andrew Bayley
: And of course, you can't forget Rick's outside broadcasts - he pioneered the
: breakky OB. I started working at 3DB in '87 (after 8 1/2 years, I'm leaving
: next week :-() and my boss and I did most of the organising of the move from
: Flinders Lane to Southbank. We got to clean out the archives - that was
: so much fun! There were pictures of Rick Melbourne at Flinders Street
: Station and a SEA of people! I pity the poor punters trying to get to
: work :-)
What happened to those DB archives?? Dont tell us they were thrown away!!
They would be so interesting to see now.
It must have been very rewarding watch TT emerge from being a low-rating
AM station to a top-rating FM station. Why are you leaving?
btw there was a interview with Rhys Holleran in this weeks B&T Magazine.
He was quoted as saying that DB was a classic hits station before the
days of 3TT. If I remember correctly DB was doing News/Talkback/Racing
during the 80's. The only time (since the 70s) that DB was doing music
was in the two or three months leading up to the 3TT launch, after the
Horse Racing rights went to 3UZ. However I'll give Rhys the benefit of
the doubt here. B&T have a habit of botching details relating to radio
stations, which is a tad embarassing when you realise that reporting on
the industry is something they're supposed to specialise in. I recall B&T
reported once that 3MP was an FM station (when it was a high-rating AM
station) and sometime later, they reported that Sydney's 2WS had quite
high ratings for an AM music station, when in fact they'd been on FM for
a couple of years!! Back in 1990, they reported on Melbourne station
3KZFM and also KKZ FM, which prompted a letter from the station manager
saying that the station is known as KZFM, not 3KZ FM or KKZ-FM, and said
it was a shame that a publication that is reporting on the media cant
get a simple callsign right!!
Felicity Jones
: Felicity Jones (fl...@guru.apana.org.au) wrote:
: : And of course, you can't forget Rick's outside broadcasts - he pioneered the
: : breakky OB. I started working at 3DB in '87 (after 8 1/2 years, I'm leaving
: : next week :-() and my boss and I did most of the organising of the move from
: : Flinders Lane to Southbank. We got to clean out the archives - that was
: : so much fun! There were pictures of Rick Melbourne at Flinders Street
: : Station and a SEA of people! I pity the poor punters trying to get to
: : work :-)
: What happened to those DB archives?? Dont tell us they were thrown away!!
: They would be so interesting to see now.
Some of them are still with the station - lots of great old photos and some
other things (like Rickety-Kate [spel?] the "doll" they used for the "live"
cricket broadcasts and etc) were given to a radio museum whose name escapes
me. One of our very very long-term staffers (when he retired DB had been his
one and ONLY job :-) also has quite a lot of memorabilia and is involved in
some sort of radio museum (maybe the same one? God, it's terrible how much
detail you forget over time!).
: It must have been very rewarding watch TT emerge from being a low-rating
: AM station to a top-rating FM station. Why are you leaving?
You should have seen the party when we hit No 1 this year. Oh dear, there
were a lot of very sad and disgraceful people at that poor pub :-)
Basically, I'm leaving because my field is IT and there is nowhere for
me to move up to, in the current Network (hint, much of the Wesgo
Administrative people still remain :-(). Also, after 8.5 years I feel
I need a change of industry. I finished on Friday and it was a tearful
and alcoholically-charged event. I was number 4 on the longevity list :-)
: btw there was a interview with Rhys Holleran in this weeks B&T Magazine.
: He was quoted as saying that DB was a classic hits station before the
I saw that - what IS it with journo's that they can never get things
correct? Little details like that are so important. Of course Rhys
didn't say that - he's number 3 on the longevity list!!!! Actually, he
hired *me* back in 1987 just after the HWT was sold to Rupert and Rhys was
my direct boss until he was promoted to GM 3 years ago. Couldn't have
gone to a more appropriate person. He IS the best radio GM in Melbourne,
if not Australia. Which is why he's now GOLD's GM as well. And, best
of all, he's a HUGE Led Zeppelin fan so we got on like a Black Dog on
fire...
Of course, it was 3TT that was Classic Hits on AM, and then converted to
Classic Hits TTFM...
: days of 3TT. If I remember correctly DB was doing News/Talkback/Racing
: during the 80's. The only time (since the 70s) that DB was doing music
: was in the two or three months leading up to the 3TT launch, after the
: Horse Racing rights went to 3UZ. However I'll give Rhys the benefit of
: the doubt here. B&T have a habit of botching details relating to radio
: stations, which is a tad embarassing when you realise that reporting on
: the industry is something they're supposed to specialise in. I recall B&T
: reported once that 3MP was an FM station (when it was a high-rating AM
: station) and sometime later, they reported that Sydney's 2WS had quite
: high ratings for an AM music station, when in fact they'd been on FM for
: a couple of years!! Back in 1990, they reported on Melbourne station
: 3KZFM and also KKZ FM, which prompted a letter from the station manager
: saying that the station is known as KZFM, not 3KZ FM or KKZ-FM, and said
: it was a shame that a publication that is reporting on the media cant
: get a simple callsign right!!
Amen! B&T tend to be a little "careless" of such details.... I remember
that letter, we all cheered Les Heil for that one. I sometimes think
that B&T is much more interested in TV and Ad Agencies and thinks radio
is a little small and not worth much bother.
Very nice article about Rhys though...
regards
Flick
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Felicity Jones
: I remember seeing Rickety Kate at an exhibition at the Performing Arts
: Museum a few years ago, I hope they do the radio exhibittion again
: sometime. There should be a permanent radio museum though - like the TV
: museum down in Mornington. Melbourne has such a great radio history with
: stations like 3DB and 3XY, that it should be recognized somehow.
I know there were plans for one, and I thought it had been created...
maybe not :-( I have my copy of "From Wireless to Radio", but I
meant to get "The First 60 years" which finished off 3DB before I left. Still,
I'll be keeping in touch with Rhys in particular so I hope I can still get
a set of tapes.
: I remember listening to 3DB signing off just before 5am in April 88, and
: then just after the time-pips at 5, 3TT was born with a song from the
: Doobie Brothers (whos initials are DB - was that of any significance or
: just a coincidence?) The song was also the last song played on 3TT before
: switching to FM (I dont actually know the name of the song - "Listen To
: The Music" perhaps?)
Yep, Listen To The Music (I nagged and nagged for Turn Up Your Radio, but I'm
into heavier classic hits :-) was the one that made the champagne corks pop.
The Doobie Brothers DB things was just coincidence - the music theme thing
was the main point, much like In The Air Tonight which started off TTFM.
Same PD, same bad puns! (and I nagged and nagged AGAIN for Turn Up Your Radio
and lost AGAIN :-)
Actually, there's a funny story about that 5am signoff, because the PD
said the wrong date.... it's on a tape somewhere of course :-)
: Well it was a long time since the last time the station hit no.1 - 33
: years I believe! It's longer than Collingwood had to wait for another
: premiership!!
.. and we did it twice in a row, unlike the magpies :-)
: All the best with your new ventures Felicity!!
Thanks!