Triple J At 50: The Best Complaints, Controversies & Straight Up Excellent Moments

On January 19th 1975, at 11 am, a little group of rebels started a revolution. Coming out of an AM radio in Sydney, using a signal so patchy there was often more chance of hearing it with a good wind in Canberra than at the nearby posh Eastern Suburbs, triple j was born. Over time, the station’s presenters, artists and audiences have annoyed all the right people.

Some of the best are below, in no particular order.

Legendary complaints

As part of a public service broadcaster, triple j is held to account when it comes to complaints. In the late 1970s, 2JJ was sued for $1m by the NSW Police Commissioner for broadcasting allegations of illegal activity by police. In the day, that would have definitely broken the bank, but it also got a lot of listeners onside. 

In the late 1990s, again, those in power came after the station, this time Pauline Hanson and the broadcasting of satirist Pauline Pantsdown’s song I’m a Backdoor Man. Although Hanson got a ban on the broadcast, it went on to make it to the Hottest 100. 

By the mid-2000s, under “Matters of fairness”, the ABC received an official complaint that then-triple j Breakfast presenter Wil Anderson “jokingly” referred to Senator Alston as a "right-wing pig-rooter”. The response was that the remark was “intended as political satire rather than opinion” but still “inappropriate during a newsbreak.”

Legendary (apparent) fistie cuffs

As 2JJ in the 70s, the station hosted lots of concerts around Sydney. Although beloved by many, at least one local councillor was so put out they took to the press with disgust. Claiming that “Women clapped their hands over their ears and carried young children away while these animals [on stage] carried on with this unimaginable filth”, the Mayor of Liverpool, Alderman W. Sadler, clearly wasn’t a fan. 

In the 1980s, it seems Dire Straits’ management were scared by a bunch of school kids from Wollongong, as triple j was ordered to stop playing a parody of Money For Nothing. Instead of their MTV, the students just “Want their HSC”, but after some legal strong-arming, the station had to cease. Let’s hope at least a few graduated to be copyright lawyers.

In 2002/3, the fabulous Adam Richard, as Mr Bitch and Hooray for Everything as he was known then known on the Charlie Pickering and Mel Bampton afternoon show, decided Savage Garden lead singer Darren Hayes deserved more time on the Jays. Rather than play his music, Richard read out his online journal (or ‘blog’ - it was the oldy-timey internet). Initially an affectionate pisstake, not only did Hayes hear about it, he started trolling Richard back by deliberately writing the blog to be read by Richard. Despite publicity’s hope of an epic feud, instead, it seemed there was was nothing but love from both sides.

Legendary audience engagement(s) - Beating the Drum, everywhere

In the 90s and naughties, the ABC marketing team decided to let the people take it away with brand exposure. The Beat the Drum competition was an epic game of dare, with listeners trying to get the ABC Drum logo exposed in weird and wonderful places. 

While local school halls, sporting fields and billboards were the usual fare, one pair went as far creating a huge Drum crop circle, and another got the logo behind Keiren Perkins collecting his double world record medal at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria. 

More simply, another winner won by simply painting some bum cheeks. Whatever gets the message across, eh?

Legendary releases

While everyone loves an Unearthed or Like a Version release, let’s not forget some of the other legendary releases. For example, one of the first then 2JJ releases was Dr Poo, a comedy record from 1980 as a copyright-challenging Doctor Who parody. It was basic and a bit scatalogically silly, but also, for its time, not bad.

For their 10th anniversary, the station threw an epic Oils on the Water concert at Goat Island in Sydney Harbour, an incredible display of local music, fantastic 80s fashion in the crowd, and proof that a man can wear a bright pink jumpsuit and still look steaming (Rob Hirst, you legend).

In the 1990s, the Hottest 100 really took off, and the Hottest 100 compilation was the item to ask the birthday or pocket money fairy for. The collections started in 1994 and ended in 2021 and were guaranteed to include the ‘who’s who’ and ‘who’s that’ of the year just past. 

While Denis Leary’s Asshole was a legendary first win, big props to Spiderbait with Buy Me A Pony, the first Australian group to make it to the top. Supported, of course, by crossovers with icons of TV like Rage and Recovery, it was a ripper of a track with a subtle ‘fuck you’ to the music industry.