Broadcast area | Australia: FM, DAB (where available) & Online Worldwide: Internet Radio |
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Slogan | We Love Music |
Frequency | Various |
First air date | 19 January 1975 |
Format | Music, current affairs, youth culture |
Language(s) | English |
ERP | Various |
Former callsigns | Double J, 2JJ |
Owner | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
Sister stations | Triple J Unearthed, Double J and J |
Webcast | |
Website | abc |
Triple J is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 25 which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station places a greater emphasis on broadcasting Australian and alternative music compared to commercial stations. Triple J is government-owned and is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
2JJ commenced broadcasting at 11:00 am, Sunday 19 January 1975, at 1540 kHz (call sign 1539kHz in 1978) on the AM band. The new Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) station was given the official call-sign 2JJ, but soon became commonly known as Double J. The station was restricted largely to the greater Sydney region, and its local reception was hampered by inadequate transmitter facilities. However, its frequency was a clear channel nationally, so it was easily heard at night throughout south-eastern Australia. After midnight the station would often use ABC networks – during their off air time slot – to increase its broadcasting range.
Its first broadcast demonstrated a determination to distinguish itself from other Australian radio stations. The first on-air presenter, DJ Holger Brockmann, notably used his own name (a deliberate reference to his former work for top-rated Sydney pop station 2SM). Owing to 2SM's restrictive policies at the time, Brockmann, whose real name was considered "too foreign-sounding", had been forced to work using the pseudonym "Bill Drake" in prior positions. After an introductory audio collage that featured sounds from the countdown and launch of Apollo 11, Brockmann launched the station's first-ever broadcast with the words, "Wow, and we're away!", and then cued The Skyhooks' You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good in Bed.
The choice of a Skyhooks song to introduce the station was significant, as it represented several important features of the Double Jay brand at the time. Choosing an Australian band reflected Double Jay's commitment to Australian content at a time when American acts dominated commercial pop stations. Most notably, the song was one of several tracks from the Skyhooks' album that had been banned from airplay on commercial radio by the industry's peak body.