Last year, Classic Hits 4KQ Brisbane, Australia, was the only music AM anywhere in the world to hit No. 1 in the ratings, according to Radioinsight ratings expert Chris Huff. Over the course of the year, it averaged a 10-share. It did that without an FM translator of the sort that has allowed Oldies/Classic Hits stations (most of them older-leaning) to proliferate in the U.S., although Australia’s more viable digital radio tier does level the playing field somewhat.
4KQ has been a regular presence in this column for the last decade. Its “Friday Night Fever” (‘70s/’80s) and “Jukebox Saturday Night” (‘50s through early ‘70s) are heard in the U.S. on those respective mornings, East Coast time. “JBSN” in particular is regularly No. 1 in its timeslot. Along with MD Brent James’ oldies compilations, the show has been a part of my Australian rock’n’roll education, but it’s also a reliable place to hear American and British hits that aren’t common on the radio anymore.
In the time I’ve been writing about 4KQ, owner ARN’s Classic Hits FMs in Melbourne and Sydney have become ratings powerhouses as well. Recently, ARN acquired the smaller-market Grant Broadcasting, which owns enough FM stations in earshot of Brisbane that 4KQ will have to be spun off. No new buyer has been named and not every logical candidate would necessarily be committed to Classic Hits.
So it’s time for a “Fresh Listen” to 4KQ. In its regular format, 4KQ’s center lane is the ‘70s, but it still has more of a ‘60s component than most of its counterparts. (ARN’s FM Classic Hits stations have long reached well into the ‘90s, long before most U.S. stations began doing the same.) Currently, the station is doing five daily hour-long spotlights to various years, billed as “25 Years in 25 Days” during Australia’s holiday summer break.
Here’s 4KQ at 11 a.m., Jan. 12 as its “25 Years in 25 Days” feature salutes 1975:
- David Essex, “Gonna Make You a Star”
- Doobie Brothers, “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)”
- Neil Sedaka, “Laughter in the Rain”
- Skyhooks, “Ego (Is Not a Dirty Word)”
- Splinter, “Costafine Town”
- Abba, “Mamma Mia”
- Sweet, “Peppermint Twist”—the Joey Dee & the Starlighters hit; one of several examples of songs by international acts that became Australia-only hits
- Kevin Johnson, “Man of the 20th Century”
- Queen, “Killer Queen”
- Railroad Gin, “You Told the World”
- Leo Sayer, “Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)”
- Eagles, “Lyin’ Eyes”
- Jamie Dunn, “Jamie Come Home”
- Little River Band, “Curiosity (Killed the Cat)—reggae-tinged hit a year before their U.S. chart debut
- Elton John, “Island Girl”
And here’s the station in regular format at Noon:
- Fleetwood Mac, “Don’t Stop”
- Neil Diamond, “Sweet Caroline”
- Patti Smith Group, “Because the Night”
- Blondie, “Call Me”
- Amii Stewart, “Knock on Wood”
- Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun”
- Earth, Wind & Fire, “September”
- Bob Seger, “Fire Lake” (with a “lost classic” stager)
- Hot Chocolate, “Every 1’s a Winner”
- Beach Boys, “Little Deuce Coupe”
- America, “Sister Golden Hair”
- Seal, “Crazy”
- Norman Greenbaum, “Spirit in the Sky”
Here’s Friday Night Fever at 8 p.m.:
- Anita Ward, “Ring My Bell”
- Squeeze, “Cool for Cats”
- Kim Wilde, “View from a Bridge”
- Rolling Stones, “Start Me Up”
- Bee Gees, “More Than a Woman”
- Ian Dury & Blockheads, “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick”
- Dolly Parton, “Baby I’m Burning”
- Kiss, “Sure Know Something”
- Abba, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”
- M, “Pop Muzik”
- Boney M, “Daddy Cool”
- Electric Light Orchestra, “Rock and Roll is King”
- Christie Allen, “Goose Bumps”
- Chantoozies, “Wanna Be Up”
- Madonna, “Into the Groove”
- Jackson 5, “I Want You Back”
Here’s “Jukebox Saturday Night” at 6 p.m. on January 8. There are a lot of 2:00-2:30 songs in this commercial-free hour:
- Roy Head & Traits, “Treat Her Right”
- Easybeats “I’ll Make You Happy”
- Ray Charles, “Hit the Road Jack”
- Buchanan Brothers, “Son of a Lovin’ Man”
- Chuck Berry, “School Days”
- Booker T & M.G.s, “Time is Tight”
- Archies, “Jingle Jangle”
- Beatles, “Please Mr. Postman”
- Box Tops, “The Letter”
- Elvis Presley, “Return to Sender”
- Sam Cooke, “Cousin of Mine”
- Fifth Estate, “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead”
- Del Shannon, “Hats Off to Larry”
- Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, “Don’t You Know”—1964 rocker by Thorpe from yet another phase of his career
- Rob E G, “5-4-3-2-1 Zero!”—space-age 1962 instrumental
- Somebody’s Image, “Hide and Seek”
- Bev Harrell, “Come On Over to Our Place”
- Love Machine, “Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands”—rockin’ cover of the 1962 Bill Anderson country hit
- Jerry Lee Lewis, “Great Balls of Fire”
- Kinks, “Dead End Street”
- Surfaris, “Point Panic”
- Royal Guardsman, “Airplane Song”
- Little Richard, “Long Tall Sally”
- Searchers, “Sweets For My Sweet”
Update: On May 5, it was announced that 4KQ had been sold to Australia’s sports broadcaster, SEN, meaning that listeners have until roughly July 1 to hear the station., generating a lot of unhappy listener reaction on Twitter. That change will likely benefit crosstown 4BH, currently billed as “Easy Music,” but also positioning around ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Here’s a Fresh Listen to 4BH on May 5:
- Joe Jackson, “Is She Really Going Out With Him”
- Righteous Brothers, “Rock and Roll Heaven”
- Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack, “Tonight I Celebrate My Love”
- James Taylor, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”
- Beatles, “Hey Jude”
- Elvis Presley, “Always On My Mind”
- Cher, “If I Could Turn Back Time”
- Elton John, “Bennie and the Jets”
- Nilsson, “Everybody’s Talkin'”
- Supertramp, “Breakfast in America”
- Barry Manilow, “Can’t Smile Without You”
