Greg Allen wins national award for his music website

ACE Radio Network announcer Greg Allen has been honoured with a national award for his music website.

Greg launched ‘Bang a Gong’ in 2020.

The website and its associated social media were named Best Online 60s & 70s Music Resource at the eighth annual Australian Enterprise Awards.

The awards, by APAC Insider magazine, celebrate a diverse collection of businesses and individuals that “truly demonstrate a pristine level of service across Australia,” according to Awards Coordinator, Kaven Cooper.

During the pandemic and its lockdowns, Greg quickly found an appreciative audience for his website among fans of ’60s and ’70s music.

Borrowing its name from Marc Bolan and T. Rex’s 1971 hit song ‘Get in On, Bang a Gong’, the site highlights more than 1200 songs, with video clips, single and album chart statistics, song and artist details, and curated Spotify playlists.

While Bang a Gong has a big fan base in Australia, its Facebook stats also reveal a large following in countries including the USA, Canada and the UK.

As Greg tells APAC Insider “The site includes many songs from Australia, and I love that some very talented local songwriters and artists from over the years are being given more exposure in other countries. Australia has always had a vibrant music and recording industry.”

As well as being Bang a Gong’s creator and manager, Greg is an announcer on ACE Radio Network stations 2UE Sydney, 3MP Melbourne and occasionally Magic 1278 Melbourne, which play hit songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Greg’s long media career has seen him work as a radio presenter, music director, journalist/newsreader, program producer, voice artist and writer.

During his high school years, Greg was an avid listener of Melbourne stations like 3XY, and local stations in Gippsland where he later ended up working.

Greg loved the hit songs of the early seventies and wanted to be the DJ on the radio playing them.

His dream became reality in 1976 and he’s still doing it 48 years later.

Greg is is grateful for both the award and Bang a Gong’s many thousands of website and social media followers, who often express their enjoyment of the project.

“Their appreciative comments make this labour of love worthwhile,” Greg says.