When did Gareth McCray silently leave 2UE/ACE Radio? He was the last connection to the ex-2CH audience, especially after Trevor Sinclair got shifted out of 2UE Breakfast.
What a shame that hardly any 2UE shows come from Sydney these days.
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I think everything that’s happened at 2UE in recent memory is a shame.
The loss of the newsroom, moving to talking lifestyle, moving to sports and now to a lowly rated music format.
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Blame the previous MRN management - they brought 2UE only to program it in such a way that it couldn’t compete with 2GB. Mission accomplished.
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What do you mean that Gareth McCray leave Ace Radio? He still on 3mp Sunday Mornings
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Agree, that was definitely the mission.
I honestly believe they could have programmed it in a way that 2GB wouldn’t have lost audience and they could have gained listeners from the middle ground. It certainly would have rated better than the 2-3 they’re getting now.
The top 10 for ACE Radio’s Easter 500 Countdown for 2026, as heard on 2UE Sydney, Magic 1278 (3EE) Melbourne and 4BH Brisbane:
Top 10
| 4KQ Easter 1000 | 3EE Easter 500 '25 | 4BH Easter 500 '25 | 2UE/3EE/4BH Easter 500 '26 | Title | Performer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 6 | 5 | 10 | Stairway to Heaven | Led Zeppelin |
| - | 8 | 28 | 9 | Khe Sanh | Cold Chisel |
| 721 | 2 | 9 | 8 | Piano Man | Billy Joel |
| - | 30 | 4 | 7 | Let It Be | The Beatles |
| 38 | 295 | 6 | 6 | Hey Jude | The Beatles |
| 742 | - | 8 | 5 | Sweet Caroline | Neil Diamond |
| 74 | 7 | 16 | 4 | Imagine | John Lennon |
| 66 | 63 | 3 | 3 | You’re the Voice | John Farnham |
| - | 1 | 2 | 2 | Hotel California | Eagles |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Queen |
Full list:
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I don’t keep up or follow these easter countdowns. How is this list determined? Is it a listener vote or just someone at ACE making it up!??!
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Listeners are incentivized (sort of) to vote.
However, the same message was shared by all three stations, so this might be the collective chart from all of them.
Somewhat misleading.
Dreary top 10.
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Really good Top 10.
Something for everyone!
As mentioned above, it’s publicly the former - but, like most of these big countdowns, I don’t doubt that there’s a little of the latter thrown in.
At least the old 4KQ Easter countdown was calculated from Brisbane charts from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I trust that narrative more than ACE’s, but you’d probably have to ask Brent James.
As a bonus, here’s all three stations synced up as they contact the $2,000 winner (Tina Parkinson Spoto*, according to all three websites). Marvel at how they avoid any pesky localness.
“Well done, Tina,” indeed.
*EDIT 29/4/26: The websites initially said that Tina Parkinson was the winner, but now they say Tina Spoto.
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Where is he these days since leaving 4BC?
I had no idea Gemma O’Neill’s (Jackie O’s Manager) partner is ACE Radio’s Scott Menz.
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Absolutely. But all these countdowns become so lame when they get to the top 10.
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‘That song’ coming in at Number 1 was never in any doubt.
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“I adore this station”, she says, definitely not coached not to say the station’s name 
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Magic1278 have changed their Facebook page name to Melbourne’s Magic.
Maybe Ace Radio will rebrand 2ue to Sydney’s Magic and 4bh to Brisbane Magic then