As you can imagine, Triple Jay’s birthday party was a decadent and gonzo affair. Someone passed around a joint. Then went on air.
Let’s look at the Triple Jay story by sharing the stories of ‘Uncle’ Doug Mulray, Jonathon ‘Jono’ Coleman & Ian ‘Dano’ Rogerson, Malcolm Lees & Vic Davies (Club Veg), Maurice Parker, Holger Brockman, Rusty Nails … all these legendary radio DJs and more came together to celebrate radio station Triple Jay’s tenth birthday party on Saturday 19 January 1985.
Triple Jay’s tenth birthday party on Saturday 19 January 1985. Words and photographs by Mark Anning. This is an advertiser supported blog so please check any sponsors to help us out.
You Just Like Me ‘Cos I’m Good in Bed.
In the beginning were the words … “Wow, and we’re away!” … and with those words at 11:00 am, Sunday 19 January 1975, disc jockey Holger Brockman began broadcasting the new youth radio station 2JJ. Brockman then cued The Skyhooks’ You Just Like Me ‘Cos I’m Good in Bed.
The Skyhooks song was banned on commercial radio by the industry’s peak body, Commercial Radio Australia (CRA). Double J was a government-funded station operating under the public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and it was not bound by commercial-radio censorship codes.
Double J were committed to showcasing Australian bands and content at a time when American acts dominated commercial pop music radio stations.
Double Jay became Triple Jay
As 2JJ, the station operated on the AM band. However, on August 1, 1980, it transitioned to the FM band and rebranded itself as 2JJJ or Triple Jay. To commemorate this transformation, a momentous all-day concert, with performances by renowned bands such as Midnight Oil and Matt Finish, was held at Parramatta Park in Sydney on January 18, 1981. This celebration marked the conclusion of Double J and the inception of 2JJJ, drawing a crowd of 40,000 attendees.
Triple Jay set the music agenda
Triple J gave airtime to many Australian and overseas acts whose early recordings were ignored by commercial radio including: Midnight Oil, Models, Paul Kelly, Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd, The Clash, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and hundreds more.
Triple J, together with the most popular music program in Australian TV history, Countdown with host Ian “Molly” Meldrum, had a huge effect on the success of emerging overseas acts, for example, Double Jay was the first radio station in the world to play The B-52’s debut single “Rock Lobster”.
Double Jay and Triple J contributed to the worldwide success of many acts, including: Blondie, Devo, and more recently Ben Folds Five, Garbage, and especially Ben Harper.
Commercial radio stations, such as Austereo (Triple M), monitored Triple J to see which songs and bands were doing well and would then add the most ‘saleable’ of them into their own playlists. Talking Heads, The Police, and Nirvana owed their commercial success in Australia to the early support of Double Jay and Triple J.
As early as 1977, Double Jay and Triple J began recording and releasing bands and artists on black shiny vinyl. By the time the 90s rolled round their “Live at the Wireless” compilations were legendary.
Club Veg
Club Veg, originally known as The Morning After Show on Triple J, was hosted by the comedic pair Vic Davies and Mal Lees, with early contributions from Stephen Quinn in the writing department. The show’s journey began on Triple J from 1984 to 1986, then moved to 2SM from 1986 to 1988, and subsequently landed on Triple M Sydney from 1988 to 1994.
During their time in Sydney, they transitioned from hosting nights to a breakfast slot before venturing to Triple M Perth from 1994 to 1995. Following a brief separation, Vic Davies and Mal Lees reunited on Triple M Sydney in 1998 and continued their collaboration until 2002.
A typical episode of Club Veg featured an array of “song parodies and comic sketches.” Club Veg released two albums, “Members and Guests & Things” in 1988 and “We Suck” in 2000, both earning nominations for ARIA Awards in the Best Comedy Release category in their respective years.
Tragically, in mid-2009, Vic Davies was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away on November 7, 2009, at the age of 55. Malcolm Lees still rocks the airwaves on the Gold Coast and Queensland
Uncle Doug Mulray
Uncle Doug Mulray moved to 2MMM was an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter, affectionately known as “Uncle Doug”. He began his radio career at 2AD in Armidale in September 1976, after doing a broadcasting course at the Digamae (Rod Muir’s) Radio School. After 6 months he moved to Central Coast station 2GO Gosford. During the mid-1970s he worked on 3AW Melbourne with a program called “Mulray & The Man”.
In the late 1970s, he started a permanent job in Sydney with the newly formed Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s alternative rock station 2JJ, in what would evolve in Triple J, where he built up a sizeable following.
In 1982 he was poached by a new station, Triple M. Mulray was married to Lizzie Muir, who happened to be the sister of Rodney Muir, the owner of radio Triple M.
Mulray, as the breakfast host, played a pivotal role in a remarkable surge in ratings, catapulting them from a modest 2.6 percent to an astonishing 18 percent. He was renowned for his portrayal of fictional characters such as Madam Zelda, who delivered hilariously absurd predictions about the future, Jack Africa, a perpetually paranoid individual convinced that chickens were plotting against him, the Prime Mincer, a satirical take on the then-Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and Gloria, a character inspired by rival broadcaster Alan Jones.
During Mulray’s tenure, he also introduced a slew of talented contributors to the program, including notable figures like Andrew Denton, who served as the head writer. Sadly, Mulray passed away at the age of 71 in Sydney, New South Wales, on March 30, succumbing to liver cancer.
Doug worked with Miss Lizzy — his wonderful wife Liz Muir. His sidekick was a then unknown talent called Andrew “the boy genius from indoor cricket”, who was none other than Andrew Denton, who was later replaced by Dave Gibson the voice behind Bogdan the Turnip Boy, Mr Fimey, Gloria and Roland Rollador, from Rolland Rollador Rolladoors.
Radio legend Doug Mulray goes off the air is a touching tribute to Doug Mulray by his friend Stewart White.
“Go to bed with Jono and Dano. Wake up with Doug Mulray. What a horrible thought.” – 2MMM catch cry.
‘Jono & Dano’ – Jonathon Coleman & Ian Rogerson
The Jono & Dano show was first broadcast on Triple J on Saturday nights before moving to Sunday afternoons and eventually the weekday breakfast shift.
Jono and Dano were the original FM comedy duo, years before Merrick and Rosso, Wil and Lehmo, Martin Molloy, Hamish and Andy and even a year or two before Roy and HG.
Jono & Dano moved to commercial radio and presented the breakfast show at 2SM before hosting a night-time show on Sydney’s Triple M in 1984.
Two years later Jono & Dano were sacked by MMM for signing with Channel Seven to host a late-night program which was axed after 16 episodes. An afternoon game show called Have A Go came next on Seven, followed by two years on Saturday Morning Live.
Jonathan Coleman died on 9 July 2021, aged 65, from prostate cancer.
Simon Townsend’s Wonder World!
Jono Coleman and Maurice Parker came to prominence as teenage reporters on ‘Simon Townsend’s Wonder World’, which won five television LOGIE Awards. The original four Wonder World! reporters were Jonathan Coleman, Maurice Parker, Sandy Mauger, and Alita Fahey.
Like Triple Jay, Simon Townsend’s Wonder World! was the nursery and graduation school for many media and entertainment careers, for example they made the first ever music video to feature Australian band INXS. Wonder World‘s reporters included:
Alita Fahey – actress on Restless Years, Sons and Daughters;
Angela Catterns – presented Triple J’s Mornings, “Unearthed” initiative, and then their drive program.
Edith Bliss – singer and television presenter.
Hugh Piper – documentary filmmaker and writer/director.
Sheridan Jobbins – journalist, television presenter and screenwriter.
In 1992, two of Simon Townsend’s former reporters Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements produced a new version, called Wonder World on the Nine Network. Young ‘reporters’ from this era included Catriona Rowntree (who had two programs on Triple J: Request Fest in 1994 & Groove Train in 1996) and Sonia Kruger.
I walked into the studio to photograph Jonathon Coleman and Maurice Parker were on air. I’d known Jonathon for some time, we seemed to be always at the same parties.
Jonathon gave me a nod and said, on air: “And here’s Mark Anning photographing the day’s proceedings”. I thought quick and replied “Oh Maurice, I’ve got one for you. I hear you’re doing the surf reports over at Saint Mary’s radio?” (2SM).
He said yes, so I said “Did you know that it’s been proven that a surfer gets hit in the head with a surfboard every ten minutes at Cronulla beach?”
Maurice looked surprised and enthusiastically said “Oh wow!”
I continued: “… and he’s getting really pissed off about it.”
Jonathon was ready to cut away and I walked away from another one.
Prior to starting at the House of Jays, Holger Brockmann had been forced to work using the pseudonym “Bill Drake” by 2SM radio because his name sounded “too foreign”.
Rusty Nails, an announcer at Double J and then Triple J in Sydney from 1977 through to 1990. Russell Thorpe is now Rusty Thorpe, Touring and Marketing Manager of Byron Bay Bluesfest. He is also Billy Thorpe’s son.
Roy and HG – “Rampaging” Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson – John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver wrote and hosted the live, improvised, and satirical radio program This Sporting Life on Triple J, from 1986 to 2008. After 22 long glorious years at the ABC, they left to host a new drive time sports program on commercial rival Triple M. ‘This Sporting Life‘ held the record as the longest-running program in the history of Triple J. Roy and HG’s State of Origin commentary was legendary, even getting its own Wikipedia page.
Words and photographs by Mark Anning © 1985-2023 All Rights Reserved
Related stories
Search Amazon for Divinyls music
Vicky O’Keefe presents ‘The Wild One’ Johnny O’Keefe Story
Ringside: from the man behind superstars Cold Chisel
Harmonizing with Legends: The Kevin Borich Express
Down Under Rhythms: The Men at Work Saga
Machinations: A Musical Odyssey from Down Under
Where is Australian legendary guitarist Randall Waller now? Album review “More”
