You may not know his face or voice but Yusuke Aso probably has the most extensive lists of high profile contacts in his phone of not just anyone in radio, but anyone in Australia.
After 38 years as an ABC Radio Sydney producer, Yusuke will retire after guiding the programs of Andrew Olle, Bob Hudson, Phillip Clark, Angela Catterns, Sally Loane, Virginia Trioli, Deborah Cameron, Linda Mottram, Wendy Harmer, Robbie Buck, James Valentine, Cassie McCullagh, Sarah Macdonald and currently Hamish Macdonald.
Hamish said Yusuke’s list of contacts was like “having the keys to the world of making radio”.
Apparently it is in the range of 40,000 – two iPhone worth!
Yusuke arrived in Australia from Japan in 1985 and commenced with the ABC in ’88 producing Bob Hudson’s night-time radio show, which started his own collection of rock music. He’s been rung over dinner by Prime Ministers (Paul Keating) and all who worked with him spoke warmly of the safety of working with such a ‘keeper of the keys’.
Angela Catterns said:
“Whenever I presented a radio show with Yusuke producing I know I was in safe hands,”
Robbie Buck added:
“He’s diligent, he’s hard-working, he knows where all the bodies are buried.”
Yusuke will continue to offer translation services to the ABC on occasion and looks forward to more time playing music and hopefully, as suggested by one listener, a later date with ABC Conversations to tell his story.
He said:
“I never thought I’d be in a place like this, doing things like this. And I feel so humbled and honoured and flattered to have served and played a role in this kind of organisation.”
In a farewell note to the ABC 702 team, manager Nick Lowther wrote:
Yusuke hasn’t just been a constant at our station; he’s been a force for change and someone who has carefully helped shape the ABC over many decades in his role as program producer.
One of the things Yusuke has always been quietly proud of is that he was likely the first producer at 2BL whose first language wasn’t English. Not because he wanted recognition, but because he hoped that, one day, it might inspire someone else from a similar background to believe there was a place for them here too…
He also carries something very few people can claim: the living DNA of the ABC. In nearly 40 years, from the days of typewriters and tape reels at Forbes Street, through Ultimo, and now Parramatta, Yusuke has been part of every era of modern ABC Sydney. He’s experienced the station at its highest highs and helped steady it through its toughest moments.
Ask anyone who has worked with Yusuke and they’ll tell you the same thing: he’s been someone they’ve been proud to work alongside. His professionalism, generosity, calmness and deep love of broadcasting have left a mark on countless colleagues over the years.
From next week, Yusuke leaves with a wonderful sense of achievement—and so he should. There are very few people who can say they’ve dedicated so much of themselves to one organisation and, in return, made it a better place.
You can read more here.