The January long weekend is the perfect time for listening to a bunch of great tunes while you gather with friends. And if you’re over the ‘usual’ one – here’s a little time machine back to 1997/1998.
Continue reading “Your long-weekend bangin barbie playlist from Summer 97/98!”Category: Hitz FM music
Happy 50th birthday Hip Hop – from Hitz FM Melbourne
Happy birthday, Hip Hop! August 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the genre and culture – at a party in The Bronx in 1973. Our story picks up two decades later, as many consider the 90s to be a golden age of Hip Hop.
Hitz FM was proud to be part of that era, from the earliest chart breakthroughs to massive artists like Jay-Z and Eminem who appeared at the turn of the millennium. But let’s see how Hip Hop evolved along with Hitz FM Melbourne throughout your favourite decade.
Meatloaf – Hitz played Anything for Love (but we won’t play that)
With the sad passing of Meatloaf over the weekend, the song Anything for Love (but I won’t do that) popped into my head. It was one of the more unexpected songs we thrashed during our famous Summer 93/94 broadcast.
And I thought it would be good to catch up with a few of the OG Hitz FM crew to discuss this unique song, artist and time in music history.
Today: OJ’s defence finished and Hitz broadcast 6 began
September 22. Not today – I mean September 22 in 1995. When the defence team for the OJ Simpson case was just wrapping up. When the real life battles of the film “Black Hawk Down” were happening in Somalia. And Hitz FM returned for Hitz Broadcast 6.
All morning, a recording of “test tone” (a long ‘beep’) played onair, with the occasional announcement by Adele Cookson – asking for listener requests and sponsorship enquiries.
And most excitingly, I’ve found a recording.
Continue reading “Today: OJ’s defence finished and Hitz broadcast 6 began”On this day: Hitz FM’s 9th Broadcast blasts into life
September 1996. Some of us were watching the first ever series of Friends on TV. At the movies it was all about Independance Day and The Nutty Professor. And on the radio, it was the first day of Hitz FM’s 9th Broadcast.
We were smashing Inspiration (Strike), Wannabe (Spicegirls), Macarena (Los Del Rio), Ready or Not (The Fugees), Professional Widow (Tori Amos) and a tonne of other great tracks.
Continue reading “On this day: Hitz FM’s 9th Broadcast blasts into life”LISTEN: 2 hours of chaos – Hitz’s 2nd broadcast ends
July 18, 1993. 28 years ago – TONIGHT! After two fun-filled weeks, Hitz’s 2nd broadcast ends. The station had yet again managed to stay onair 24 hours a day using voluntters and borrowed equipment. And I’ve got 120 minutes of audio to share with you.
Looking back… compared to Hitz FM’s first broadcast – we’d made some great improvements.
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.
Continue reading “On this day: Hitz FM’s 2nd broadcast fired off”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.
Continue reading “Stream this from Winter ’96: Hitz FM broadcast 8”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?
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.
Continue reading “LISTEN: Today in history, Hitz FM got hacked”