History
Fox FM started life at 5PM on 1 August 1980. The station was put together by radio consultant and 1960s/1970s radio personality and programmer Rhett H. Walker, who also acted as first General Manager. This followed a successful stint for Walker as a consultant for Radio 3KZ in 1979. One of Fox FM's original advertising lines was 'Catch the Fox'. The original announcing team consisted of Mike Jeffries, John Aimes, Ralphe Rickman, Rod McNeil, Graham Braddy, Richard Combe, and overnight announcers Geoff Harrison, Noel Miller and Peter Acfield. In the newsroom were Pam Wilson, Gary McQuade and Michael Schilberger.
The first song to be played on air, George Benson's "Breezin'," was played at the wrong speed for a few bars by the station's first presenter, John Amies. Amies suggested this was due to repeated rehearsals of the station opening on instruction from studio manager Gary Collins, who was allegedly fussing around him in the studio right before the station went on air.
The first station studio equipment was a 16 channel Poul Kirk mixing desk, four cuemaster cart decks, JBL studio pro speakers and (then brand new) Technics turntables. Located in Nunawading, the studio was pleasant to work in with a floor-to-ceiling window giving a view of filming of such Channel Ten programs as Neighbours, Prisoner and the short-lived Holiday Island.
The first two years of the station's life were not easy. Melbourne listeners did not initially flock to the new FM stations, sticking to their regular listening habits with stations such as 3AW, 3MP and 3XY. It was positioned originally as a classy easy listening style format. The format, FM is Fox Music, came later, under the management of former 3XY station manager Graham Smith.
In 1982, the station's owners (which included Sir Donald Trescowthic, major shareholder of The Age Newspaper group) lost confidence in the original format and hired Smith to implement changes.
All the former announcers, except for Geoff Harrison were let go. Also, the station's instigator and first General Manager, the late Rhett H. Walker (later Associate Dean at La Trobe University) moved on to greener pastures.
From then on, the station was positioned with a pop rock format, appealing to the widest possible audience. This caused a steady rise in ratings through the mid-1980s, eventually landing the station in top position in Melbourne by 1986. The changes included new presenters, such as Gavin Wood (former TV show Countdown and 3XY announcer) and Barry Bissell. Take 40 Australia was a weekly countdown of the current ARIA Top 40 singles chart. During this time, the station also aired American Top 40 with Casey Kasem.
Fox FM was one of two original FM radio licence holders in Melbourne. It aimed to be the first commercial FM station to commence broadcasting in Australia, although it was eventually beaten by 3EON (which is now Fox FM's sister station, Triple M). Fox FM started life playing popular easy listening music whilst its other FM rival had adopted a more rock album orientated format. Throughout the history of the station its logo and marketing have always included a picture of a fox, although this was discontinued in 2005 when the entire Today Network introduced new standardised logos, much to the disappointment of many.
In 1986, Fox FM was bought by the owners of SAFM to create Austereo, which now - as the Hit Network - boasts five additional stations around Australia. It was at this time that announcer Mark Carter was moved from the breakfast shift to the afternoon shift, quickly becoming the most popular announcer in Melbourne over a record 11 surveys conducted and contributing to the rise in popularity of the station.[citation needed]
In 1996, the Today Network, owned by Austereo, merged with the Triple M network to form a single radio company. The merge was unpopular with Fox staff due to the rivalry between the two stations.
In September 2008, Fox FM re-located from studios at 180 St Kilda Road (with sister station Triple M) to brand new studios at 257 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.The Matt & Jo Show gave away many items from the old studios during their last show at the St Kilda Road studios.
In 2020, Fox FM celebrated 40 years of the iconic brand in a week-long celebration from 12 to 16 October. Throughout the week, the station played music highlights from the past 40 years, including chart hits and key live moments when artists came into the studio or to the World Famous Rooftop. The celebration also saw the return of Hamish & Andy, Osher Günsberg (Andrew G when he was on air at the station), Ugly Phil, Tony Martin, Tracy Bartram, Gavin Wood, Barry Bissell, and The Matt & Jo Show.[1]
In May 2021, Southern Cross Austereo announced that the network will re-locate to 101 Moray Street, South Melbourne from mid 2022 after signing a 10 year lease.[2] The network will take up approximately 3,000sqm on the second floor of the state-of-the-art commercial building.
In June 2022, Fox FM re-located from studios at 257 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne (with sister station Triple M) to 101 Moray Street, South Melbourne.[3] Rival broadcaster Nova Entertainment's Melbourne studios and offices (Nova 100, smooth 91.5) now occupy the Clarendon Street facility.
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Fox FM building (1989–2008), St Kilda Road, St Kilda
