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Topic: Teenager in the 70’s?  (Read 1232 times) previous topic - next topic
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Teenager in the 70’s?

If you were a teenager in the 70s you might be interested in a podcast I came across ‘Pilots of the Airwaves’ where old DJs chat about the ‘good old days‘ of 3DB, 3XY, 3KZ, 3UZ etc. This week it’s Lee Simon talking about XY and Rocktober....(used to be the best month of the year!)

Re: Teenager in the 70’s?

Reply #1
If you were a teenager in the 70s you might be interested in a podcast I came across ‘Pilots of the Airwaves’ where old DJs chat about the ‘good old days‘ of 3DB, 3XY, 3KZ, 3UZ etc. This week it’s Lee Simon talking about XY and Rocktober....(used to be the best month of the year!)
I used to get into 3DB quite a bit, it was part of Herald and Weekly Times(HWT), and the studio was in Flinders Lane behind the HWT offices. We would use the 3DB auditorium for meetings, until Bert Newton became GM and kicked everybody out, loved by most Bert wasn't really the nicest person off air.

Ran into Bill Collins a few times, he was a top bloke!

Across the lane was the Wentworth Hotel and it had the Wentworth News Bar, which was the unofficial place for HWT and 3DB journalists to meet with a source. Everybody knew this, even the police, who were often also in there drinking on the HWT tab. Around the edge of the bar were a number of different coloured phones, bat phones we called them, the old style bakelite GPO phones some of you will remember. They rang regularly but nobody ever ever answered them, they were installed by HWT to call various departments back to work for a special edition, urgent issue or even if the boss just couldn't find anybody. If your Depts coloured phone rang you knew you had to go back to work, if you stupidly picked it up you were sacked on the spot, because that was the boss calling and you left him with no choice as answering was unequivocal proof you were at the pub during work hours. Some days the bar would start filling up at Morning Tea about 11am and be jam packed by lunchtime, usually because all the bosses had gone to The Phoenix owned and run by Lou Richards for one of Lou's regular free sessions he offered the big wigs. I'm not sure there was anyone at the HWT office left to even answer the phones. The rest of us regular plebs didn't go to Lou's for beer, not because the bosses were there, but because Lou watered it down while serving bottles and stubbies to the big wigs. Different times back then!
The Force Awakens!

Re: Teenager in the 70’s?

Reply #2
The beer at the Phoenix tasted alright to me LP.  One of my mates worked at 3DB and we would often meet up at the Phoenix on Friday's after work.

I grew up learning to hate Lou Richards and it was quite confronting when I first had a beer in his pub.  To my great consternation, he was the ideal publican; very friendly, liked a yarn and pulled the occasional free beer.

“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?”  Oddball