B105 at William Jolly Place, Brisbane
Several Brisbane radio stations have moved their studios over the last few weeks. Hit105 & Triple M Brisbane completed their final broadcasts from their North Quay location in early June 2019. They’re now broadcasting from Petrie Terrace.
Below is my personal memory of B105’s move from Bowen Hills, and our first day broadcasting from the old warehouse building at North Quay. I was the breakfast show EP.
Thursday 6th July 2000 — The B105 Morning Crew hosted by Ian Skippen, Jamie Dunn, Robin Bailey & Sally Quayle broadcast their final show from Bowen Hills. Last post-show meeting at the location.
Friday 7th July 2000 — Mickey Maher panels the final B105 Morning Crew ‘Street Party’ from the Bowen Hills studios.
Saturday 8th July 2000 — While a team of Austereo techs work around the clock at the new B105 / Triple M FM 104 studios, I arrive, and drop off at my new desk my small box of tricks. (Hardly a significant moment in time!)
Sunday 9th July 2000 — I join Richard Branson and a media pack for a mystery flight from Brisbane for the launch of Virgin Blue in Australia. While Branson sat in his plane as it flew to the Sunshine Coast, he agrees to run around his plane for B105 and record interviews with celebrities who were on board including UK resident Natalie Imbruglia. (I recall seeing 7NEWS Brisbane’s Peter Doherty on the plane that day). Branson also agrees to be interviewed via phone by the B105 Morning Crew the following morning — this was to be B105’s first celebrity interview from our new studio at North Quay.
Monday 10th July 2000 — Sally Quayle, then Ian Skippen were the first voices on air for B105 from the new North Quay studio at 5:30am. Luke Bradnam the first traffic reporter. At about 7:10am, we invite Richard Branson on the air via phone.
He can hear the Morning Crew, and the Morning Crew can hear him. Great — all was going well. The phone system was doing its ‘thing’ on the air. When Skip tells Branson that we would play his celebrity interview package on the air, Branson enthusiastically embraced the idea.
Skip throws to the audio cart. It plays Branson’s interviews that he recorded the day before. Listeners can hear the cart playing, and so can Jamie, Ian & Robin. But there’s one person who can’t hear it — Richard Branson!
So, Branson pipes-up as the cart plays live on the air…”hey, guys…I can’t hear anything…” Agghh, the phone fader in the new studio wasn’t connected properly to the panel.
Branson could hear the mics, but not the audio being played out on the new panel.
Skip stops the cart, says ‘goodbye,’ and throws to the traffic.
In the end, what was going to be a radio ‘spike’ (this was the terminology used for a content highlight by Austereo program directors in 2000) turned out being a radio fizzer.
Day #2, and every day thereafter, in the new studios went well from a technical perspective. There were plenty of ‘spikes.’
At the top of this article is a photo that was taken soon after B105 moved into North Quay. Note the Virgin Blue signage on the wall behind the Morning Crew and Mike Munro.
And, for the record, my last-ever broadcast that I participated in from that North Quay location was with the Triple M Sydney Grill Team on the 13th & 14th of January 2011 when Gus Worland, Chris Page & The Spoon Man broadcast their show live from the balcony located near the B105 front reception. (Brisbane flood disaster OB).
Below is Spoonman doing a live cross back to the B105 balcony (OB location) for the Triple M Sydney #GrillTeam. Spoonman is standing on the William Jolly Bridge at North Quay…and, as usual, he’s pumping up the flood story to make it sound interesting 4 our Triple M listeners.
Below is a photo of Pagey watching a damaged restaurant float down the Brisbane River during the massive flood.
Above is a photo of Triple M presenter Gus Worland with Channel Nine’s Peter Overton with the flooded Brisbane River behind them.
