Yep it was great to be able to flick between the two. I was on FM104 for most of the time, but it was cool to be able to flick over to Stereo 10 to get my Top 40 fix. Plus my car only had AM at the time, so in the car it was Stereo 10 and 4BK, and on a good day also 4SS came in ok in the car.
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Youâve given me enough for a Missing Six there!
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What happened to the student campus radio stations that were around in Melbourne during the 1970s?
Hugh Jeffreys is a gun, followed him with his phone repairs, and I am happy heâs moved to retro radio repairs now! 
David Tiptonâs the real gun for vintage radio repairs.
Yeah. Barry Drinkwater and Bob Gallagher were very laid back. Karl Van Est even more so.
Bill Healy in breakfast (with Bluey) and Rod Tiley was possibly a little less low key, but still this wasnât personality radio. It wasnât even a âbreakfast showâ so to speak. You nail it when you say FM104 had an âuncluttered soundâ. It wasnât in your face radio like Waynee Poo or the fast talking yap like the â4IP good guysâ of old. These were âmatureâ blokes with deep voices who spoke slowly and played ârealâ music.
So it was almost like every song played on FM104 at the time was âsuper coolâ. The impression was that their playlist was exclusive, deliberate and hand-crafted. When Kylieâs âI should be so luckyâ was #1 Bill Healy made a big thing of the fact that they would never play it - so played a parody instead! This was Brisbaneâs top rating radio station with a share of more than 30% who was telling the audience âWe will play what we want to play and what we want you to hearâ.
Anchor down in Anchorage. I am shocked to find out this wasnât a major hit around the world. Made it to #51 in Australia and #60 in the UK. But listening to FM104 youâd think it was a top 10 hit. Not that they ever thrashed songs - no way in the world. But that was a song youâd hear once in breakfast, once during the day and then once at night. Do that daily and after a few weeks, next thing you know listeners are singing along to every word.
No. But even as a teenager you had to listen to FM104 because it was so new and innovative. So yeah, you might tune in to the Boogie check at night for a bit of self-indulgent top 40 and you might enjoy the Machinations and Bananarama as a guilty pleasure, but it didnât take long to flick back to FM104 to hear the Venetians So much for love. Because âcoolâ radio was skewed older and on FM.
I canât remember the first time I heard Martha Davis Donât tell me the time on FM104, but I certainly have a fond memory of driving down Sandgate Road on a Thursday night on our way to Toombul Music and I asked my cousin who was driving âCan I please turn this upâ.
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Your observations are spot on! Iâm glad Iâm not the only one who remembers FM104 exactly the same way. At the time I was naive enough to think it would last forever.
I do remember going to Sydney in about 1987 for a holiday and noting the FM stations there didnât sound the same, which shocked me a little.
Funny you should mention So Much For Love / Venetians. It was one of those quintessential FM104 songs that got their maximum air play. As a result it reached No. 1 on the Queensland charts, but nowhere else in the country. Back in the days when they had State charts, at least Top 10
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The Venetians remain a Billy Bob Broadcasting Network special. Heard regularly on SWR (Inphase, Powerzone) and on my show.
96 FM Perth had a similar laid back sound, at least from the little Iâve heard of it via airchecks:
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Yes, 96fm and FM104 were often compared during the 80s as having a similar sound.
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I didnât get what the âBoogie Checkâ,was about exactly.
I remember some of the characters though, Gus the cleaner, and âFluffyâ
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Yes definitely. Iâm even getting nostalgic FM104 flashbacks listening to that 96FM aircheck. No talking over outros or intros. No real notion of being âtightâ.
FM104 had a little studio at the Riverstage.
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I downloaded a bunch of 3XY/Bay airchecks from @Frankster a while ago, lots of âBoogie Checkâ on that. Quite low brow and not my cup of tea.
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Nice pic.
Yes thatâs what I noticed when I heard the Sydney FMs in 1987, they seemed so âtightâ and in my mind very âunâ FM-like. Almost like AM stations just on FM.
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I miss the good old days of radio ,send me back to the 80s please
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I have a USB stick full of old airchecks which I listen to in the car. Itâs great to pretend youâre back in the 80s or 90s for a little bit.
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A 256GB one? Probably the current equivalent of the old D120 TDK cassette tapes (being the largest of their eras) ..Because size matters!
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That is a big D.
BASF - Big As FâŚ
4SB sign-off from 1986 - using God Save The Queen instead of Advance Australia Fair. Did Sir Joh have a word in the stationâs ear?
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And a special 2BE sign-off from 1981 - listen and youâll find out why.
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