Announcers Archives - Page 2 of 2

On this day: Hitz FM’s 2nd broadcast fired off

When Hitz FM’s 2nd broadcast kicked off on July 3rd, 1993 – things were a bit different from the first time around. The music was a bit broader; less rock (sorry Guns n Roses), more pop (hello Sub Sub) and hip hop (hello Informer). The announcers sounded a bit more polished too. But the biggest change was the location.

Hitz FM’s 1st broadcast was held at a government school, John Gardner Secondary College. It was chosen for the location (near public transport) and the cost – free. But this time around, the station was a little further north – in the rather fancy Xavier College in Kew. Picture lots of big old buildings in a slightly Harry Potter style.

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Stream this from Winter ’96: Hitz FM broadcast 8

June/July 1996 – the time of Hitz FM broadcast 8.

On TV.. fans of hot men and women in uniform had a choice of new shows… Jag or Water Rats. Comedy fans were loving Good News Week on the ABC and 3rd Rock from the Sun on Seven.

In the cinemas we were spotting flying cows in Twister, watching Tom take on Mission Impossible, laughing at The Cable Guy and going Trainspotting.

Meanwhile, on 89.9 – the Hitz returned.

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WATCH: The 2021 Hitz FM reZOOMion

March 11th is an important date on the Hitz FM calendar. It’s the anniversary of the final night of the history-making 3rd broadcast. And this year, I wanted to make it special.

So over a number of weeks, I organised a Zoom catchup with many of the original Hitz gang. But I had no idea how much work the entire project would take.

At the end of this post you can watch the full 30 minute documentary.
But how did it happen?
And what did I stuff up?

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LISTEN: Today in history, Hitz FM got hacked

The youth station’s 5th broadcast went quite smoothly until the day Hitz FM got hacked.

And if you scroll to the bottom of this post- you can HEAR the recording!

We’d tweaked the music to add a bit more hiphop and alternative to the mix. We were smashing out the big pop/dance tracks of early ’95 like The Bomb (The Bucketheads), Living in Danger (Ace of Base) and the Hardfloor remix of Yeke Yeke [Mary Kante]. We had fantastic Jeep Renegade vehicles for giving out prizes. And the Hitz team were living on a very healthy (?) diet of Jolt Cola and Kettle Chips.

But one day in the final week of the broadcast, a little “beep” changed everything.

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LISTEN: On this night: Hitz FM’s 3rd broadcast ends

Right now, it seems a lifetime since I posted about the anniversary of the start of Hitz FM’s 3rd broadcast. And back on this night, March 11 in 1994 – it felt the same. Ninety days felt like ninety weeks.

Our planned 2 month broadcast – had been extended to three months. Our borrowed school classroms had become a proper office. We knew we’d be able to be heard all over Melbourne – but we didn’t realise people would LISTEN all over Melbourne.

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Madness panic PANDEMONIUM when Peter Andre visited Hitz FM

First of all, happy Valentines Day. The day that Peter Andre visited Hitz FM.

Tonight I bring you news of a February 14 like no other. And for the first time ever on GabeMcGrath.com – I’ve invited a few of my old Hitz friends to help me.

As I noted the other day in our A Current Affair post, early 1994 was a pretty crazy time at Hitz FM. We had tonnes of media coverage. Hundreds of phone calls every day.

Then one night, Peter Andre dropped in…

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STREAM: 1st HOUR of Hitz Broadcast 3 – Summer 93/94

Today’s the day. December 10. The day back in 1993 when something pretty amazing started. Hitz Broadcast 3. The 3rd broadcast of a little youth-run radio station that soon caused a BIG fuss.

Over the next 90 days the request phone line went from 1 phone to 2 phones, to 4. The media went crazy. Radio ratings showed Melbourne kids were tuning in – in their thousands. And a near riot occured when we invited a popstar to visit.

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Live From Inflation – The End Of Hitz FM’s 6th Broadcast

25 years ago tonight, a certain youth radio station was broadcasting live from Inflation Nightclub. It was the final night of Hitz FM’s 6th Broadcast. Time to celebrate. The station had come back onair, it had a new CD in the shops, and it had one of those brand new “webpage” things on the “internet”.

Yes – it was clearly 1995.

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James Ash is Right in the Night!

He’s back.

James Ash (Rogue Traders, Union State, former Hitz FM announcer and committee member) has come back to where it all began. He’s re-signed with legendary Melbourne-based dance label Vicious Vinyl. And his first release – is a cover of a true Hitz-era classic.

But what I found most interesting about all this – is that it’s NOT the first time he’s tried to cover this song…

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