Despite the rise of radio station 2UE in the early 60's, 2UW in the mid to late 1960's and finally 2SM in the early 70's as pop stations, radio in Australia was generally a bland and restrictive affair. The opening of radio station 2JJ (affectionaly known as "Double Jay") in 1975, largely a result of the Whitlam government initiative to overhaul the Australian broadcasting system, marked a new era in Australian radio. For the first time, we got to hear album tracks and a far greater spectrum of music. Double Jay also actively promoted Australian music. They started the "Live at the Wireless" broadcasts, using nearby ABC studio 221 in Sydney.
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| Studio 221 recording room, around 1982 |
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| Studio 221 control room, during
the recording of the Tony Ansell album, "Just Arranging"
in 1977. Left to right: Tony Ansell, Keith Walker, Peter Wall |
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| Keith Walker - engineer / producer, around 1978 | Dennis Fox - engineer for ABC Radio, 1977 | Left:
Peter Wall. Right: Keyboard player Bill Hucker |
Keith Walker worked for ABC Radio from November 1966 to November 1987. When radio station 2JJ was opened in 1975, later to become triple j, Keith was responsible for all of their recordings, including the famous "Live At The Wireless" sessions. He later formed his own company Dreamix, specialising in audio production and technical management of live music events.
Peter Wall came from England in 1974 and is now head of ABC Radio NSW.
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| The ABC Outside Broadcast Van, April 1982. |
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| The Mike Perjanik
Band playing on The Naked Vicar Show, 1977. Alison MacCallum, Cheryl Black and Sally Rogan - singers, Bob McIvor - trombone, Keith Stirling - trumpet, Dave Foscat - sax and flute, Ian Bloxon - percussion, Paul Baker and Dave Donovan - guitars, George Bruno - bass, Will Dower - drums, Mike Perjanik - keyboards |