Kyle Sandilands: “This isn’t Sesame Street”

It’s now almost two weeks since Kyle & Jackie O exploded onto Melbourne’s airwaves, and the city’s ears are still recovering from day one.

Even experienced radio programmers say they were shocked – horrified, actually – by how explicit that first half hour of the show was.

Kyle Sandilands admits it was raunchy, yes. Raunchy … but harmless.

Speaking to Craig Bruce and Irene Hulme in the latest episode of the Game Changers Radio: Melbourne Radio Wars podcast, Sandilands explains “We are usually a little raunchy in that first hour, because when you look at the figures, it’s mainly tradies and nurses coming home from night shift. The naughty people! So we’ve always ramped up that first hour.”

Sandilands says rather than looking at the show in its entirety, he asked himself: Who is listening where, and when?

“This isn’t Sesame Street, so we’re not super kid-friendly, ever.”

“But we are more aware that there may be little ears in cars.”

“In that first hour, I thought – I want all of those tradies.”

Of the Kyle & Jackie O staff – who eagerly joined in the x-rated discussions – Sandilands says everyone is different, and everyone is free to be themselves.

“It’s like a cast of Seinfeld. You can’t do Seinfeld without Kramer, or George or Jerry or Elaine. It just seems to work with the ensemble.”

Sandilands is quick to cheekily lay claim to last week’s stunt, in which a South Melbourne meet-and-greet hosted by Nova’s Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips was gatecrashed by the newly-minted Kyle & Jackie O bus.

Sandilands says it all comes down to guerilla marketing.

“That whole bus thing, that’s all me, just so everyone knows.”

“The greatest bit was that Jase and Lauren did a bit on the Today Show … and I just said ‘Let’s just get the bus doing loops, loops, loops.’”

“And when they showed them on TV, the bus came around the roundabout slow, and just stopped.”

“I had to give myself a little clap. And then they started talking about it on air, and I was like ‘I’m in their heads.’”

“That’s all I wanted to do … get in their heads.”

The Nova team wasn’t happy, but Sandilands says he and Hawkins remain friends.

“I spoke to Jase yesterday and said ‘Enough of the bullying shit … I said ‘You know me, bro.’”

“We don’t like that we’re going up against each other, ’cause I think he’s a very good operator.”

“He just had a laugh and I had a laugh.”

Sandilands says whilst it was great to finally move into ARN’s new North Sydney HQ with its larger studios, big news booth, you-beaut airlock and disco lights, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.

“All the new technical gear got brought in, and oh my God, what a nightmare.”

“It’s just like buying a new car and you have to figure it out on the fly – because who stays around for the orientation? No-one.”

Asked his thoughts on the importance of local content, Sandilands says “You know how much people pay consultants? So our consultants’ ideas – and I don’t mean to throw the consultants under the bus – but this is their idea: You go to Melbourne for a week and you ride trams and you do a live show in a different park every day.”

“I said ‘No effin’ way.’ Why would I be on a tram? I don’t do public transport. That’s not my thing.”

“I said we’ll go for the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup, the Grand Prix – all the big events – but we’re not gonna march into town and try all this hokey local rubbish.”

“Let Fox do ‘Here we are in Ramsay Street. Come and get a sausage.’”

In terms of content, Sandilands says “My belief is – what’s good is good.”

The K & J marketing campaign urges Melburnians to make up their own mind about the show.

But if you’re still not sold, Sandilands’ advice is simply to listen to the whole thing.

“I do want you to go on that rollercoaster with us – happy, sad, joyful, thoughtful, emotional … I want it all in one show.”