Reminiscing with Richard Daniel – another entry in radioinfo’s win a trip to Florida to report on the NAB RadioShow. 

I often like reading stories from some of the greats in Radio or reading reports of those that have finally retired and left the industry. Keith McGowan shares some great stories in this publication just to mention a few.  Then again there are some like Lawsy and Bob Rogers that seem to just keep going. I grew up in Sydney when AM Radio was what we listened to and how we got our music.

I went back to Sydney recently and happened to turn on 2WS only to hear Ron. E. Sparks still sounding as good as ever. (How old are you now Ron E.?…. Or is that a question I should not ask). 

In fact, I remember doing the Disco scene at Castle Hill RSL Club many, many years ago when I was a no body and Ron E. was the star every Sunday Night. In radio, who can ever forget Wayney Poo or Gary O’Callaghan and what ever happened to Peter Shanahan? Do you remember the breakfast show with Malcolm T. Elliot and Tony Delroy. Of course, Tony still sounds great on the ABC. 

I can still sing the “Todays Monday Song” that was played every week with Ian MacRae on 2SM… yes for you younger ones 2SM was actually a great Radio station in years gone by. I couldn’t wait to get home to listen to Ward Pally Austin. … What was it he used to say on air, can you quote it…. A Ricka Poody and a Fan Dooglee.. You can make up your own spelling for that one but many of us will remember him saying it on the radio every day. 

This was the time when the kids listened to 2UW and 2SM and when you got old you turned to 2UE and 2GB… or when you got really old you left commercial radio and went to the ABC. 

I must be getting really old, because I now listen to the ABC a bit but don’t tell my dad because I told him in 1976 that I would never be found listening to the ABC.

So my question is… is it good to remember? Well for those of us who still can remember some of these times we think it is good to reflect back on some of the “good old days of radio”.

In fact there are many in the industry today that are only there because they wanted to be like their heroes of the airways or they, like me, stood at the studio window of the 2UW outside broadcast in the Commemorative Building at the Royal Easter Show every year just wanting to jump into the seat and play the singles like Sam Galea did playing the “Gold Hits” every night on 2UW.

However, putting all this reflection aside for a minute, there is an other important reason why it is good for all of us to remember. Over the years, people have always been trying to say that radio is gone, dead, no one listens anymore, Radio is old hat, radio won’t last long or radio will be defeated by the internet….. and so it goes on.

For all those who for one fleeting minute ever thought that Radio would die…. Just look at the history books and you will see that this will never happen. 

In fact I hope that some one rewrites this articles in 10 years and 20 years time and takes out the names that I have mentioned above and replaces them with some of the talent on the airwaves today. 

You see only the names may change the story will still be the same, that RADIO will continue to be one of the greatest forms of communications every invented ready to continue to inform and entertain. 

I say…. Long live Radio. How say you ??

This entry in our RadioShow Trip competition is by Richard Daniel.