Former Triple J Music Director Arnold Frolows Passes Away, Aged 74

Influential Australian music figure Arnold Frolows has passed away, aged 74.

As ABC reports, Frolows, a long-time triple j music director, passed away in Sydney on Sunday morning following a short battle with pancreatic and liver cancer. 

A key player at ABC for decades, Frolows departed triple j in 2003, when Richard Kingsmill took over the role of music director. 

Frolows got his start at ABC in the mid-‘70s, joining 2JJ before it launched, and has been credited as a key player in establishing the sound of triple j during his time overseeing the station.

In the early ‘80s, after a stint overseas, Frolows worked as a presenter and producer on various shows on triple j, most notably Ambience, before he assumed the role of music director in 1993.

He continued to appear on various triple j programs until he departed the station, and also produced Helen Razer and Mikey Robins’ breakfast show in the ‘90s. 

Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald upon his departure from the station, Frolows said the “build-up to the announcement was very strange”.

"It's been a long time and when people start throwing words around like 'legend' and 'institution' you do think, ‘Wow.’

"You ask yourself each year ... am I still excited? That's something you can't fake. You either love the music or you don't."

He continued to work at the ABC after his departure from triple j, focussing on digital radio in the 11 years that followed, and was a driving force behind the launch of Dig Radio in 2009, which became Double J in 2014.

Double J will celebrate triple j’s 50th anniversary this Sunday, Jan 19, by rebroadcasting highlights from 2JJ’s first day on air.