The time of Southern Cross

The '90s and new millenium saw some dramatic changes for 4BC, including the entrance of Southern Cross Broadcasting.

The Lamb Family
1991 paved the way for even more stirring developments. The contract with the TAB came to an end and we gained a new station manager, John Musgrove.

A new programming format was also born, awakening the station with a new sound and contemporary logo. The format was known as 'Variety & Entertainment' which proved unsuccessful, and after six months was again changed - this time to '4BC Brisbane Country' - becoming Australia's first 24 hour Country Music Station.


In September 1993, 4BC was sold to the Lamb Family, owners of Radio 2UE Sydney. A new General Manager, Karen Raisin, was appointed and two months later 2UE's successful News/Talk/Sport format was introduced to Brisbane on 4BC.

In January 1997, General Manager, Noel Roberts was appointed. One of the highlights of 2000 was 4BC's coverage of the Olympic Games in Sydney, with live and exclusive commercial commentary of the biggest sporting event in Australia.

Southern Cross Broadcasting 
On March 22 2001, 2UE, 4BC and SKY Radio were sold to the Southern Cross Broadcasting Network. Brisbane's 4BC is now part of the network of talk stations which also consists of Sydney's 2UE, Melbourne's 3AW and Perth's 6PR.

In July 2001, Peter McIntosh took the reigns at Brisbane's 4BC as General Manager, aided by the appointment of Paul Dowsley as Program Director - 4BC's first in almost 10 years. The station's breakfast program with John Miller also entered a new phase, with the addition of Ross Davie and their coupling has brought Brisbane a bright, informative and amusing way to start the day.

Ian Maurice joined 4BC a month later, replacing Anthony Frangi on our evening program and achieving extraordinary success, taking his program to Number One in Brisbane at night. Ian also started a series of successful Showstopper concerts at venues around Brisbane, attracting listeners to his cabaret shows.

2002 saw the return of live Rugby League calls to 4BC, and the addition of new programs including The Score (our local sports program) and Buy, Swap and Sell, plus the introduction of Chris Adams to our afternoon slot, taking over from Peter Dick.

In July 2002, David McDonald joined Brisbane's 4BC as our General Manager. Jim Johnston joined us as Sales Manager in January 2003, invigorating our sales team and taking them to new heights.

In September 2002, Brian Bury was added to the line-up, hosting the noon-3pm slot, while Chris Adams moved into Drive (3-6pm) and Greg Cary concentrated on his passion for sport, hosting Sports Today (6-8pm).

The two-storey 4BC building and land in Macrossan St Brisbane - one of the prime blocks in Brisbane with a superb riverfront view - was sold in May 2003.

Ron Collins, the larrikin presenter of Talking Fishing on weekends for almost 10 years until mid-2003, passed away in June 2003. A passionate and respected member of the 4BC team and Queensland's fishing industry, Ron bravely and admirably battled cancer for two-and-a-half years. He is survived by wife Sue and sons Ben and Tim.

Source: 4BC