Vale Ken Sparkes

For decades, he was one of the best known voice-overs in Australia on both radio and television.

Ken Sparkes died, aged 76, of a heart attack while on a cruise in France, September 11.

Sparkes began his radio career in 1956, aged just 16, as an announcer at 2MG Mudgee.

His talent was soon discovered by metro stations and was still only 19 when he landed a job at 2GB becoming Sydney’s youngest announcer. 

His voice was so strong and hosting abilities so polished that they soon had him presenting a wide variety of programs on the Macquarie Network.  From “The All Australian Hit Parade”, to a live show called “Music Man” that featured Australian acts, to “The World of the Motor Car.” Sparkes was a passionate petrol head.

By the mid 1960s Sparkes had taken over Nights on 3UZ which was the top station in Melbourne at the time. 

After a visiting US radio consultant Ted Randall heard Ken on 3UZ and got him a job at KGBS AM/FM in L.A. where he worked from 1969 to 1971. At one stage was posted to Vietnam where he reported for a US radio syndicate with the Screaming Eagles 101st Airborne Division.

After returning to 3UZ, he went on to workat a number of stations including 5KA and 5AD Adelaide, 3AK Melbourne, 2UW, 2WS, 2SM and finally 2UE Sydney – all the while doing voice-overs for both the NINE and TEN television networks.

In 1969, Ken founded the record label “Sparmac”. Its first signing was Daddy Cool with the hit ‘Eagle Rock. Sparmac also launched the solo career of Rick Springfield (Speak To The Sky) and had hits with Healing Force (Golden Miles, 1971) and Gerry & The Joys Boys (Oingo Boingo Man, 1972). Read more in Paul Cashmere’s column on Noise 11.

Listen to Ken Sparkes as he joins Gary Hardgrave on 4BC in 2012 to reflect on his career in radio and television and his new television show, Jukebox Saturday Night reliving the classic hits of the 70s , 80s and 90s.

 

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