Ten big Triple J moments
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Beds Are Burning
The ABC's youth radio station 2JJ went to air at 11am on Sunday 19 January, 1975 with a statement of intent: You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good in Bed by Skyhooks was the first track played, an Australian song from a hugely successful local artist that had nonetheless been banned from commercial airplay. Here, plainly, was an alternative.
Cut Copy
By the early 1980s Double J had already introduced Midnight Oil and INXS to the airwaves and the next wave of leading Sydney independent bands, such as The Celibate Rifles, felt so connected to the station that as soon as they picked up copies of just pressed vinyl singles they would drive straight to the broadcaster's offices in William Street and present a copy to whoever was on air at the time. Often it would be played straight away.
Somebody That I Used To Know
Double J became Triple J when it moved to the FM frequency, but the real upheaval came in 1989 and 1990 when the station started broadcasting in various state capitals and a culture change saw a battle fought on air and off between management and a generation of popular DJs such as Tony Biggs and Tim Ritchie. When some broadcasters lost their positions there was public outrage, media coverage and even vocal demonstrations.
Counting The Beat
The year 1989 saw the birth of a Triple J institution with the first Hottest 100 airing, a day-long rollout of the 100 top songs as voted by the station's listeners. For the first three years it was the best tunes of all time, with Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart the inaugural winner, while from 1993 onwards the poll has covered that calendar year's releases, providing victors such as Zombie by The Cranberries and Offspring's Pretty Fly (For a White Guy).
Listen Like Thieves
In 1989 Triple J was quite possibly the only radio station in the world with a public profile, let alone state funding, that was playing NWA's incendiary hip-hip anthem F--- the Police. The track was beamed out for several months before it became a public issue and ABC management directed the station to pull the track. In a gesture intended to emphasise the importance of free speech, the staff responded by placing F--- the Police on continuous loop for 24 hours straight. The song went out 360 times in a row.
Great Southern Land
In the 1990s Triple J started expanding into regional centres, making it a true national youth broadcaster. A generation of teenagers frustrated by rural commercial radio stations (trust me, they were incredibly frustrating) suddenly had unparalleled access to new sounds and Australian alternative music deposed the mainstream as the likes of Silverchair, Powderfinger and Spiderbait found a national audience.
We're All In This Together
There has been an incredible range of Double and then Triple J presenters, from initiates such as George "Groover" Wayne, through to Helen Razer and ABC children's television presenter Michael Tunn in the 1990s, then the just departed Lindsay 'The Doctor' McDougall. What's the one thing they had in common? For every listener who loved them, another – one possibly slighter older – couldn't stand them.
The Special Two
The exception to the above rule? H.G. Nelson and 'Rampaging' Roy Slaven. The excitable sports presenters played by Greig Pickhaver and John Doyle transcended parody to become something both hilarious and genuine on their weekly show, This Sporting Life, which aired between 1986 and 2008. The duo's hilarious grand-final commentary for various codes became an Australian institution.
Get Free
Since 1995 Triple J's Unearthed has been the ultimate band comp for young Australian acts. A quick scan of the winners reveals Grinspoon, Missy Higgins, Oh Mercy and Snakadaktal, although it's not clear what became of Meat Head Disciples.
One Crowded Hour
What Triple J does – and also doesn't – play has been a source of contention inside and outside the station for decades. There are grown adults with perfectly decent educations and otherwise productive lives who harbour elaborate conspiracy theories about why certain songs achieved high rotation on Triple J – many of these daft theories involve long-time music director and presenter Richard Kingsmill. But the high stakes make the paranoia understandable: Triple J is the custodian of Australian music.