Dom Nola, former bFM Programme & Music Director, discusses her time at 95bFM from the mid-80s to early 90s. During her time at 95bFM Dom was also the manager of Flying Nun's NRA and later The Jean Paul Sartre Experience. She was the co-producer of the first syndicated New Zealand music radio programme called Crashhot, which aired on the B.Net, & on College Radio Stations throughout the U.S.A. Currently, Dom owns an indie label - & since 2013 became one of the Co-Hosts of the 95 BFM Jazz Show. Dom also enjoys DJing around town, & babysitting visiting rockstars. (Episode 1)
At the age of 8, Rick built a fully-operational radio station that broadcasted from his treehouse to his family house. For the last 25 years, Rick has been in charge of every technical and sonic aspect of 95bFM, ensuring the quality of the sound which comes out of your speakers, sometimes even defying death by hanging upside-down from the 14th floor of city buildings holding a transmitter. He is also Rick Breeze, and did indeed build a scientific weather centre on the roof of his house. (Episode, 14 Part 1-2 of 2)
DJ Sir Vere 1991 to 97; 2002 Phil Bell found his way to b via punk rock, and from there to a lifelong record buying addiction. After producing a New Order fanzine in the early 1980s and learning the art of live DJing from his Dad, he became a renowned club DJ in the late 80s. Then, along with DLT, Slave & Base, he founded the "world famous" Trueschool Hip Hop Show, and branched out into careers in television and print media. "I don't want this episode to be all about punching people in the face, but..." (Episode 33, Parts 1-3 of 3)
Andrew Bishop arrived at 95bFM in 1981, around the same time as his friend Francis Hooper. They both went on to found fashion boutiques and labels, and their time at bFM coincided with a post-punk shift in sensibilities which affected not only music and fashion, but also the belief that bFM's kind of broadcasting could affect those outside of stereotypes. Also, he was in the band Sons In Jeopardy. (Episode 19 Parts 1-2 of 2)
Gemma Gracewood 1993 to 2000 During the 1990s, Gemma single-handledly reinvented the approach of 95bFM's News & Editorial, taking the station's news content from lifting from the NZ Herald and Time magazine to a fully-functioning, national class newsroom. A Pioneer of sorts, she championed women's roles at 95bFM and had a hand at producing the Breakfast show with Mikey Havoc. She also rethought the idea of how 95bFM threw parties. (Episode 34, Parts 1-3 of 3)
Could somebody with a background in commercial radio make it in the murky world of 95bFM without being laughed out of the building? Bill did. After radio experience in Whangarei, Hamilton, and Belfast in Northern Ireland, Bill arrived at bFM as Production Engineer, moved across to being Program Director during the mid-90s boom time, and was the breathing news radio voice of Vas Deferens. (Episode 17, Parts 1-2 of 2)
Greg Wood 1992 to 1997, Scott Kelly 1994 to 2000 Scott Kelly and Greg Wood were primarily 95bFM "creatives" -- ie they wrote advertisements -- but their contribution went much further. Sometimes too far. They were co-creators of "the fart bank" and "the fart button", and along with "Mystery Celebrity", were hosts of the reasonably-long-running and decidedly average radio show, "The Friday Night Allen". In this episode, you can hear examples of their (ahem) "work", a classic News injection from Vas Deferens, and they ask, "Do you like chicken?" (Episode 35, Parts 1-3 of 3)
Stuart was the sales representative for the short-lived 95bFM magazine Monitor, which succeeded the mid-80s incarnation as The Book of Bifim. He went on to be the manager of such 90s bFM stalwarts as Supergroove, Semi Lemon Kola and Thorazine Shuffle, as well as founding the AK venue now kniown as the Dog's Bollix. (Episode 20, Parts 1-2 of 2)
Chris Esther was part of the post-punk generation which transformed Radio b in the early 1980s. He steered the New Zealand Music Show into a territory where what he played was an accurate reflection of a new breed of young musicians, and became the programme director at the age of 19. He was also a co-conspirator in Auckland's first rave, Housequake. (Episode 36, Part 1-3 of 3)
Simon Grigg was involved in Radio b from 1975 until 2002. During that time, he started NZ's first punk group the Suburban Reptiles, launched Propeller Records, was instrumental in this nation's club and DJ culture, took How Bizarre to the world - and even turned down opportunities to license both Factory Records and Stock Aitken & Waterman. He hosted the long-running BPM show, introducing hip-hop, house and techno to the b airwaves. Finally, he reveals the truth: between 1977 and 1980, b was so conservative that NO punk or post-punk was on the airwaves. (Episode 21 Simon Grigg Parts 1-2 of 2)
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