It’s been a long time since Mike Webb’s picture’s been in the Sydney Morning Herald in relation to 2WS, the station he helped establish in Sydney’s West in 1978. He was the original Program Director and a foundation shareholder in what was then the first new licence awarded in that market in over 30 years.

For a moment, last Monday, it was nice for Mike to feel that he’d been remembered for his seminal role in that iconic station’s birth – until he read the caption which wrongly identified him as Bob Hughes, one of the announcers he had hired to fill the roster at the fledgling station.

The caption has since been corrected. Read SMH story. However, the woman in the picture, for SMH readers remains, as they say, “shrouded in mystery”. radioinfo can reveal that it’s Webb’s future wife Lisa. That’s because unlike the SMH correspondent, this humble reporter actually worked there at the time.

Webb was only one of several of the original crew who contacted radioinfo just a ‘tad miffed’ that they have been all but expunged from the station’s history. KO-FM breakfast announcer David Collins who spent 12 years there called it a disgrace. John Eller, who was on the original sales team and later became Sales Mgr and then General Mgr could not believe the error.

Mike Webb recalls, “Keith Graham’s involvement with 2WS started in 1975 when we were both working at Digamae with Rod Muir and the ‘wild bunch’. Rod introduced Keith to the group in Liverpool (local investors) looking to apply for the licence. Bill Stevenson actually passed them over to Rod. Rod said he was unable to get involved due to his powerful position in Commercial Radio at the time.

“Keith returned from the first meeting and asked if any of us wanted to get involved as he was going to become a director and advisor. I and the late Father Dennis Maddigan were the only one’s interested. Keith and I made a pact at that time and we both committed to buying an equal stake in the company and building the station together if we won. Years later we went on to fulfil that dream, except by chance, luck or design Keith was elected Chairman and CEO the morning of the first day of the hearing chaired by Bruce Gyngal.

In those days licences were awarded on a “most worthy” or “fit and proper” basis. They cost nothing to purchase. The so called “beauty contest” was later abandoned in favour of a straight out auction.

For the first couple of years, while the permanent building was under construction, 2WS studios were housed in a dilapidated weatherboard cottage in Seven Hills with a caravan annex for programming and a demountable class room for admin and sales.

When the purpose built building was completed, by way of celebration, the founding staff were awarded the “Golden Weatherboard Award” for having endured such a basic and often difficult workplace for so long. Their names were listed on parchment copies handed to each for posterity. See how many you recognise…

Alan BASKIN, Bruce BARNETT, Greg BENNETTS, Kevin BEST, Rohyrv RLYTH, Nick BREN’T, Leon BYNER, Wayne CLARK, Katherine COLE, Charlie COX, Jono COLEMAN, David COLLINS, Gary COLLINS, ]ohn COMBER, Graham CRON, George DONIKAN, lohn ELLER, Richard FISK, Louise FORD, Julie GALE, Wayne GEDDES, Steve GIBBS, Graham GUY, Graham HANNELL, Bob HUGHES, Ian KELLY, Myrna KOMAR, Ron LANGHANS, Debra LEW, David LYONS, Judy MAGUIRE, Alan MATHEWS, Greg MILNE, Geoff MOFFETT, Julie MURRAY, Wal MUSGROVE, lan McLEOD, Roslyn NEALE, Colin PINDAR, Greg POWER, Carolyn PRESTWIDGE, Robb RICHARDS, Robert ROGERS, Steve SAILAH, Peter SAXON, Kerry SAPSFORD, Tony SERASINA, Annette SHUNWAH, Mark SMITH, Cameron SYRETT, Pat TWEEDIE, Michael WEBB, Ken WHITE, David WHITCOMBE, Brian WIESE, Sue WILLIAMS and Osanna ZANFAGNA.

Others who left their mark during WS’ formative years and through the 1980’s include, Ray Bean, who took the station (briefly) to #1 as PD and his boss at the time, Bob Scott who later became CEO of the Wesgo Network and then a General Manager for Austereo. Current Fairfax Radio boss, Graham Mott later succeeded Bean as PD and then GM.

The picture shows a very young (22) Promotions Manager turned celebrity agent, Max Markson, left foreground, Sales Manager, Peter Saxon (owner of this website) top left and PD, Mike Webb, right. They’re building a champagne glass pyramid outside Parramatta Jail on Bastille Day in an attempt at the Guiness Record. They succeeded. It was Markson’s idea and made the TV news that evening. He was good at that.

It is, perhaps, for the best that the invitations to the 2WS 30th Anniversary, hosted by current owners, ARN, for most of the people mentioned in this article have managed to “get lost in the mail.” As functional and nicely art directed as their orange and white plastic encased 2WS-FM head quarters may be, no one who had the luck and the privilege to work in that ramshackle collection of sheds 30 years ago remained unmoved by the soul, the buzz and the sheer energy that permeated the place where great radio was made for a new audience at the dawn of a new era.