Amusing about the local announcers. I wonder if many went onto bigger markets and longer careers in the 80’s from 4MB?
Taking the overnight feed would’ve minimised costs on infrastructure, cart machine with commercials/promos to fire on the pulses. No need for early style automation that was cumbersome, limited and often malfunctioned.
So 2HD were local in mornings prior to the mid 90’s with two hosts from 9am to midday? Wow.
What address was NEW at prior to moving in at Sandgate?
Was wondering if anyone recalls the Lite & Easy incarnations of 4IP and/or 2SM. I only vaguely recall Lite & Easy 1008 in Brisbane because I was listening to FM104 almost exclusively once Stereo 10 ceased. I’m very curious as to what the playlist looked like. I vaguely recall hearing some up tempo stuff from Whitney Houston but also some real easy listening music as well. Would love to hear people’s recollections of what type of music was played.
2HD even had Harry Criticos doing mid dawns up until the late 90s. I think this stopped when Caralis bought the station.
Sussex Street sure funded the station well.
Did it need Labour Council support? I seem to recall 2HD rating quite well for a period… maybe not the years we’re talking about here?
Yes, hence my comment, during Labor’s time, NEW and HD were competitive and rating well. Bill benefited from that legacy for sometime after acquiring the duo in was it 99?
Looking at my Newcastle radio ratings records that go back to Survey 4, 1997, 2HD remained competitive against KO/NX after Bill acquired it until about 2002, when the station axed its local evening program in favour of Grahame Gilbert. NEW was a different story, in which their ratings fell as soon as Bill bought it, but was back to being fairly competitive during 2001-02, when it went back to a rock format.
here’s a short aircheck from when Lite & Easy 1008 started:
and the launch TV commercial:
I only really recall hearing the following songs on either Lite And Easy station:
1008 Brisbane - “Wonderful Life” - Black
1269 Sydney - “She’s So Beautiful”’ - Cliff Richard
Here’s some I remember from Lite’and ‘Easy 1008:
Rick Astley :”When I Fall in Love”
Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World “ this song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie “Good Morning Vietnam” was released in 1988
George Michael(the late great)”Father Figure”
Can’t remember anymore it was 30 years ago after all 
I remember they sounded like Smooth FM sounds like today
Excellent! Thanks heaps for that.
Wow in am stereo, nice
Similar ad used by 3XY for its relaunch as XY Easy Rock circa November 1988
YouTube: d0nkeyshines
The TV advertising for 2SM/Lite & Easy 1269 was similar in concept to the spots for Light & Easy 1008 & 3XY Easy Rock:
Of course there are other examples of the same TV ad campaign being used for multiple radio stations in different markets (such as the 1993 TVC for Gold 104.3 in Melbourne later being reused for the launch of 2WS-FM 101.7 in Sydney), but I’d be here forever if I was to make an attempt at listing them all! 
One more off the top of my head was the Classic Hits Live on 2UW which was also used by 2CC and possibly 3TT and others
Thanks - they were a couple of my uploads.
This is a short clip of Light and Easy 1269 just uploaded
Was used by 3TT
Ground floor 47 Darby St Cooks Hill.
That was their first “real home”, the original studios were on the top floor of the old NESCA House (now Newcastle University), but these were always really only temporary.
When NESCA/Shortland Electricity-evetualy to become energyAustralia (yes it was spelt like that), moved their offices out of 47 Darby St, NEWFM designed & built new studios & moved in there, which I think was only about 12-18 months after they first started broadcasting in April '89?
When NEWFM moved out to Sandgate, they stripped the Darby St studios & moved all of the equipment into Sandgate in the same configuration, to give NEWFM the same signature sound, & also because of the fact they were built so well originally, by the current KO/NX engineer Ross. I believe some of that original Darby St equipment is still in use today at Sandgate?
After NEWFM had vacated Darby St, NRTV/Ten Northern NSW, moved their Newcastle operations into the old NEWFM studios or what was left of them, & they stayed there until they moved to Charlestown in with SCA stablemates KO & NXFM.
Probably to most Novacastrians who have any soft spot for NEWFM, Darby St is still the true home to NEWFM, even though they’ve now been at Sandgate about twice as long, as they ever were at Darby St.
Such a sad time to be a teenager in Brisbane…
1008 certainly thrashed ‘Wonderful world’…
Cliff Richard’s - ‘Some People’ was on high rotate too… he was touring at the time… even performed at Westfield Toombul.