Radio race caller, reporter and comedians added to this years Sounds of Australia list

Radio race caller Ken Howard has been immortalised in this year’s National Film & Sound Archive Sounds of Australia list. Howard called races for 2KY, 3XY, 2UE and 2GB, and also later for television. An early recording from radio comedian Roy ‘Mo’ Rene and Nat ‘Stiffy the Rabbit-o’ Phillips from 1916 is also included in the list, along with a report on Cyclone Tracey from ABC Radio’s Mike Hayes and the iconic Skyhooks album, Living in the 70s.

 

Ken Howard described 32 Melbourne Cups in a career that spanned from 1936 until 1973. Some of his colourful phrases, such as ‘London to a brick on’ have become part of the Australian vernacular. He broadcast for 2KY, 3XY, 2UE and 2GB as well as working for Channel 9, hosting the first TV program on horse racing in December 1956. Until 1952, broadcasters were not allowed to broadcast from the race courses themselves, so ingenious off-course vantage points were used to enable the calls.

 

Comedians Nat Phillips (1883-1932) ‘Stiffy the Rabbit-o’ and Roy Rene (1891-1954) ‘Mo’ formed a comedy duo in 1916 which was highly successful on the vaudeville circuit until 1925. Rene went on to greater success on the stage, screen and radio with his character Mo McCackie.

 

Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974, killing 71 people, destroying about 80% of housing, and severing all public services, including phones. ABC and other journalists worked in adverse and difficult conditions to report on what had happened. Mike Hayes was the senior ABC journalist in Darwin at the time and his report, probably sent by ham radio a few days later, gives a touching picture of conditions in Darwin in the cyclone’s aftermath.

 

Skyhooks’ debut album was notable for having six of the ten tracks banned on commercial radio for drug and sex references, however You Just Like Me ‘Cos I’m Good In Bed was the first song broadcast on the ABC’s new youth station 2JJ in January 1975. The album entered the charts in October 1974, where it stayed in the top 100 for 54 weeks and was the best selling album in Australia in 1975. The best selling single from the album Horror Movie also reached No. 1 nationally.

 

 

Also named this year in the list are works by The Seekers and Joan Sutherland plus an early research recording and two maiden parliamentary speeches.

 

To listen to then audio of all the segments added this year, click here.