Have a Go News ambassador John Burgess reflects…
My relatively new gig, doing talkback at 6PR on Sundays, got me thinking about the difference in radio between when I first started and now.
I knew nothing about radio or television in my formative years. From the time I was around nine years old and throughout my teens tennis was my whole life – and I was pretty reasonable at it – even representing New South Wales, but by the time I was around 18 years old I realised I’d reached the point where I couldn’t go any further.
I wasn’t good enough. I was 18 and a bit and there were kids 14 and 15 hitting the ball better than I was and that’s when the equipment started to change, so it all just swept past me.
I thought I’m wasting my time here. Then it was just a fluke that I went bowling one night at Enfield Bowl in Sydney where I met two American executives who were setting up in Australia.
They introduced me to John Laws and a casual conversation led from one thing to another and I got my start in radio.
And it was pretty much in at the deep end.
It was a different world to today. While some people had a panel operator, I didn’t. I used to do everything myself, run the program, play the records – yes there were records in those days.
In the 80s and 90s, I’d be queuing up the 45s and playing cassettes. I used to run the whole program myself. I’d be on the air, play the commercials, and answer the phone. I was a one-man band.
And I loved it. The three or four hours you’re on the air went past in a flash, because you’re preoccupied. I’d talk to people on the phone, run competitions and take the winners’ calls.
It was a full-on exercise, and it was terrific, I was involved right from the get-go.
Working at a top 40 radio station, which most of them were back then, meant we just played the top 40 songs that were going around and the songs from 1 to 10 were more prevalent than the others.
I don’t recall any real stand out favourite songs from those early days, I enjoyed all the music. I met a lot of the people who I was compering concerts for, the likes of Elton John and The Who, The Small Faces and PJ Proby. I was always a fan of Elton John and we kept in contact for many years, but my main mate in those years was Roy Orbison for whom I introduced most of his concerts.
The radio world is very different now. When I go into a studio, I’ve got someone playing the songs and the commercials for me.
I run the program, but I’m relying on other people. It’s a matter of pointing your finger at somebody and something gets played.
I’ll plan what’s going to happen with the panel operator before we actually do something. I’ll say something like ‘I’m going to say this stupid line’, or I’ll tell him what the ad cue is and when we get to it, he will play what we’ve arranged. It’s very different to the days when I was on my own.
The talkback at 6PR on a Sunday afternoon is also something very different to what I’ve done in the past.
There’s a lot more talk, a lot more preparation goes into every program and you have to be entertaining and ask the right questions to the guests that you have on, to keep it interesting for everybody that’s listening.
I also get to play some music so I’m picking out the number one songs from different eras and in most cases I’m able to tell a bit of a story about the artists that listeners may not be familiar with.
It seems to be going extremely well in the first few weeks, and I’m getting used to it now, and things are flowing more smoothly, but at first it was a bit of a culture shock.
Talkback is something new for me. While I’ve interviewed plenty of people in the past, they have mainly been musicians, so this is a little different.
Fortunately, we have a producer and somebody answering the phones for me, as well as a panel operator. So there are three people and myself now involved in putting out Sunday afternoons with Burgo.
I talk to Isaac, my producer and we nut out who we’re going to talk to.
We try to find interesting people to talk to and to cover the news of the day. I’ve spoken to the Premier and the Deputy Premier and the Minister for Ageing, along with people like the AMA president.
We try to keep it as topical as possible and a little different than the other sessions on 6PR. It’s just Burgo asking some questions that I think people would like answers to – and getting the right response. I’m really enjoying it.
It’s been a wild ride. I started in 1965 and it’s now 2025 and I’m still engaged in doing the same job, which I find remarkable.
I don’t know why but I still get approached in the street with people saying I’m doing a great job or asking me what on earth I was doing, which is great. Fortunately 99 per cent are complimentary.
I take it as an absolute compliment that people would take the trouble to come up and talk to me, whether I’m in the supermarket or walking down the street or stationary at the traffic lights, when someone winds their window down in the car next door and say, ‘good day, Burgo, how are you going?’
It’s been quite a ride.
Until next time, Burgo.
