Radio Today April 11, 2014

The Top 20 Metro FM Breakfast shows of all time

Contributor

For more than three decades, since the launch of FM radio, there’s been some great, compelling breakfast shows around the country. Despite our small population, Australia has always been one of the most competitive breakfast markets in the world, offering an extraordinary high standard of breakfast radio.

In thinking about who I’d include on the list of all time great shows, my criteria for choosing the Top 20 was based on a few things.

Importantly, longevity: how long the show remained on air, always a good indication of its performance. Also taken into account was the market size and the competiveness of that market. Of course ratings success was also a big factor, and I also considered the show’s content, creativity and innovation.

I’ve been fortunate to have worked with 13 of these Top 20 shows. I acknowledge and salute the extraordinary efforts of those people, the unsung hero’s who worked behind the scenes on these shows, making them great, day after day – the Program Directors, Executive Producers, Producers and Assistants.

There are a select few names who appear more than once in a couple of shows. This talented bunch are Mick Molloy, Andrew Denton, Tim Blackwell, Amanda Keller, James Brayshaw, Meshel Laurie, and Matt Tilley.

There will be some shows that you think should have made the list that didn’t and others that you might consider shouldn’t have made it, so I look forward to your comments, suggestions and favourites.

Here we go ……

20

Amanda Blair, Paul Gale & James Brayshaw on SAFM Adelaide. Former state cricketer James Brayshaw joined co star Amanda Blair and Gale in the late 90s, the show going onto become Adelaide’s number one rating breakfast show. It enjoyed great success for 5 years before the show imploded.

19

Merrick & Rosso on Nova 969 Sydney. Originally on triple j the pair moved to the newly launched Nova 969 in 2001. The show ran for over 8 years and during that time included Katrina Blowers, Sami Lukis, and Kate Ritchie in its lineup.

18

The Morning Crew on PMFM Perth with Gary Shannon, Jane Marwick & Bernie Brittain. Shannon is a Perth radio legend and in the 90s dominated ratings, peaking at over 30% on PMFM, which later became 92.9. Originally the team consisted of another classic lineup, Gary, Amanda Walsh and Paul Redmond.

17

Hot Breakfast on Triple M Melbourne with Eddie McGuire, Mick Molloy and Luke Darcy. Although the show's only been in its current lineup for a short time, around 2 years, it's already achieved great ratings success and has been the pivotal factor in the ratings turnaround of Triple M.

16

SAFM Morning Crew with John Vincent in Adelaide. ‘Vinnie‘ was at the forefront of FM radio in the 80s, joining SAFM soon after it started in 1981. He became a household name in Adelaide and dominated ratings for 14 years.

15

Nathan, Nat & Shaun on Nova 937 Perth. Nathan and Nat have been on air for over a decade and are now considered Perth’s heritage breakfast show, being near the top of the ratings consistently.

14

Robin, Terry & Bob on 97.3FM Brisbane. The show started in 2006 and has been at the top of the ratings ever since and is now Brisbane’s longest running breakfast lineup.

13

Botica’s Bunch on Mix 94.5 Perth. Fred Botica only just recently announced his departure after 21 years at the station. He was on breakfast and lead the ratings having the number one FM breakfast show 111 times with Lisa Shaw and Captain Paul.

12

Jonesy and Amanda on WSFM Sydney. Currently the equal number 1 FM breakfast show in Sydney, Jonesy and Amanda who have now been together for over 8 years years also host ‘My Generation‘ the sydicated show airing on over 100 stations nationally each week. The team won ARN’s first ever ‘best on air team' ACRA in 2012.

11

The Morning Crew on B105 Brisbane. Featuring Jamie Dunn, Ian Skippen, Donna Lynch and Agro, the show spearheaded B105’s massive success in the 90s winning 115 consecutive surveys.

10

The Richard Stubbs Breakfast Show on Triple M Melbourne. The show which originally ran on 3XY was a huge success in its hometown Melbourne. An attempt to network the show to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth ultimately failed.

9

Meshel, Tim and Marty on Nova Brisbane. The original lineup launching Nova Brisbane was the high rating show Meshel, Ash, Kip and Luttsy. The show eventually becoming Meshel, Tim and Marty who went on to successfully host Nova national drive.

8

The Cage on Triple M Melbourne. The Melbourne Cage, there were also versions in Sydney and Brisbane, ran for 6 years. It featured the talents of Peter Berner, Brigitte Duclos, James Brayshaw, Matt Parkinson and the now head of Triple M Programming Mike Fitzpatrick.

7

Tracy & Matt in the Morning / The Matt & Jo Show on Fox FM Melbourne. From 1997 Tracy and Matt held the number 1 FM breakfast show ratings for 6 years. Matt Tilley then teamed up with Jo Stanley in 2004. The show ran for a decade and also included anchor Troy Ellis and comedian Adam Richard and featured the classic Matt Tilley Gotcha Calls.

6

Hughesy & Kate on Nova 100. Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek launched Nova Melbourne in 2001. Originally with Dave O’Neil in the lineup, then Tim Blackwell and Ed Kavalee, this extremely talented and funny team signed off only last year after one of the best runs in breakfast radio.

5

The Andrew Denton Breakfast show on Triple M Sydney included co-host Amanda Keller. The show, which enjoyed great ratings success was considered the show of the 90s, setting a new benchmark in breakfast radio. The show featured the classic and innovative ‘Musical Challenges‘ and the infamous ‘House from Hell‘

4

The D Generation on Triple M Melbourne. The hugely successful show was on air for six years and included Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, Tony Martin, Michael Veitch, Marg Downey, Magda Szubanski, Jane Kennedy, Mick Molloy, Jason Stephens and Judith Lucy.

3

Doug Mulray on Triple M Sydney. Doug was the Sydney ratings leader during the 80s. The legendary Mulray had an on air team which included the talents of Andrew Denton and Dave Gibson, was one of radio’s most innovative shows and is considered a pioneer of entertaining breakfast radio.

2

The Morning Crew on 2Day FM. In 1993, Wendy Harmer joined 2Day FM to host the top rating breakfast show with co-host Peter Moon and Paul Holmes. For 11 years this ground breaking show saw Wendy taking the leading role in a commercial FM breakfast show, the first female to do so. It dominated the ratings in Australia’s most competitive breakfast market, Sydney.

1

Kyle & Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 and 2Day FM. After 10 years of rating leadership on 2Day FM breakfast, Kyle Sandilands & Jackie O have repeated their success at the newly branded KIIS. Their best of show is now networked nationally and internationally more than any other Australian show ever and is set to become the biggest radio show worldwide.