When 2CC first went to air at 7am on October 31 in 1975, it was only the second commercial radio station in Canberra. In its first year, it quickly became must-listen radio, with an unapologetic emphasis on music, community and local news. The station was also a launching pad for a cavalcade of announcers and behind-the-scenes staff.
Many of The Originals, the people who worked at 2CC from day one, gathered on Friday in Canberra to celebrate the station's 50th birthday. The first general manager, Nick Erby, said the new station was primed to capture a Canberra market that comprised, at that time, mostly of young public servants.
Mr Erby said the secret to 2CC's immediate success, capturing more than half the listening public in Canberra virtually from the get-go, was that it wasn't going to be 'all things to all people'. 'Something like 60 per cent of the population was aged under 40, so we targeted the under 40s market,' he said. 'We branded ourselves as music radio, because 2CA and the ABC were not.'
While the programming was a hit, Mr Erby said the brand-new 2CC headquarters weren't quite finished by day one in 1975. 'The day we opened, it wasn't ready. We opened only with the studios operating,' he said. 'The rest of the staff were in Civic, trudging backwards and forwards.'
Radio station 2CC was where Canberra couple Bill and Pamela Slocum met in 1978. He was then the production assistant and she was a copywriter. 'I thought he was an absolute smart****. I thought, 'Oh, my god, who does he think he is?',' Pamela said. But it all turned out for the best. The couple also went on to acquire Paddywack Promotional Products in 1993.
The first breakfast announcer for 2CC was Paul Ramsden, who was always up for a challenge - such as broadcasting from a rowboat in the middle of Lake Burley Griffin. 'I broadcast from everywhere - anywhere ridiculous or stupid, I was there,' Mr Ramsden said. Canberra's Ron Shepherd was 2CC's first promotions manager, starting on the first day and staying for 11 years before setting up his own advertising company.
