Today, the Central Coast’s 107.7 Triple M celebrates its golden anniversary as the Coast’s oldest local radio station.
On Friday, 19 November 1971, the Coast saw the birth of its very own radio station, 801 AM 2GO.
Broadcasting live for the first time right from the lush Gosford Hills in the heart of the coast, on Henry Parry Drive, this still remains the location for the Coast’s first local frequency, on the air from Lake Macquarie to the Hawkesbury.
Everything is beautiful by Ray Stevens was the first song Coasties heard on their local radio station, led by its first ever on-air announcement by then General Manager, Keith Graham.
Since then, 107.7 Triple M has been home to some of Australia’s most well-known radio personalities including Doug Mulray, John Kerr, comedian Akmal Saleh, Mike Duncan, Rick Julien, Dwayne Jeffries, Bob Peters, Cam Humphreys, Sarah King, Paddy Gerrard, Rob Palmer and many more.
During the 70s, the station was always present across the Coast, from cutting the ribbon at Old Sydney Town theme park in 1975, to seeing Midnight Oil perform at the Doylo and ACDC rock the stage at the Wyong Memorial Hall before the band became a global phenomenon.
In the 80s, the Damien Gerard Recording Studios relocated from Sydney to Gosford where iconic bands such as Hoodoo Gurus, Grinspoon and Mental as Anything recorded some of their most famous tracks.
Becoming more of a recording hub for some of Australia’s best homegrown acts, the 2000s saw INXS’s Gary Beers build a studio in Somersby called the Grove, which saw bands like Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe and Silverchair record their music, and who are still played on Triple M’s airwaves today.
The original 801 AM frequency switched to 107.7 FM back in 1992, with the station rebranding from 2GO to 107.7 Triple M in November 2019.
Group Content Director, James Speed, says, “It’s an honour to be a part of this historic celebration for the Coast. Being the Coast’s station for over 50 years is a long time, and 107.7’s presence has played such an important part in Coastie history.
“As the first ever radio station to broadcast here, we’ve lived through and experienced every major event over the past five decades. We’re still broadcasting from the original studios on Henry Parry Drive and continue to offer a product and content that matters to the Coast, those that have been born and bred here just like us.”
The Coast’s 50th birthday celebrations saw Diesel and Mark Gable of Choirboys return to the historic studios this morning for live on-air performances.