Triple J’s 40th Birthday Celebrations Expand

In addition to the forthcoming huge Beat The Drum birthday concert, triple j has announced it will also celebrate its 40th anniversary of existence with a TV documentary exploring the stations’s history, a free exhibition and some very special radio content.

The documentary Sounds Like Teen Spirit will air on the ABC at 8.45pm on Monday 19th January and will explore some of the station’s defining moments from its beginnings in 1975 to its controversial rebranding as it went national in the ’90s.

Key moments include Jen Oldershaw’s infamous interview with Nirvana and the controversy surround the station’s decision to air N.W.A.’s Fuck the Police, complete with its explicit lyrics. Musicians and past presenters like Roy & HG, Gotye, Missy Higgins, Daniel Johns, Wil Anderson, Adam Spencer, Myf Warhurst, Hilltop Hoods, Peter Garrett, Mikey Robins and Helen Razer will feature.

Monday January 19th will also see the launch of triple j’s Beat The Drum Exhibition: Celebrating 40 years of triple j, hosted in the ABC Ultimo foyer. The exhibition will feature photos, artwork, articles, video, audio and memorabilia from four decades of triple j and will be open to the public from 7am-7pm Monday to Friday until mid April.

As previously announced, Beat The Drum will take place in The Domain in Sydney on Friday, 16th January as part of Sydney Festival, and will be broadcast live on triple j. Acts on the lineup for the now sold out event include Hilltop Hoods, The Presets, Vance Joy, Ball Park Music and The Preatures.

Birthday celebrations will also continue with some special radio content. Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett will join triple j Breakfast’s Matt & Alex on Monday 19th January to play songs and interview extracts from the triple j archives.

Similarly, over at Double J past presenters Mikey Robins and Helen Razer, Roy & HG, Adam and Wil, Chris and Craig, plus Angela Catterns, Chris Winter, Jaslyn Hall, Tim Ritchie and Scott Dooley will return for the day. As a special treat the station will re-broadcast the first hour ever played on Double J in 1975 as well as Midnight Oil’s iconic 1985 Oils on the Water concert on Goat Island in Sydney Harbour.

Finally, throughout February the J Files will dive deep into triple j history and present a decade by decade exploration of the triple j soundtracks including interviews and audio files from triple j’s archives. See the J Files schedule and the Sounds Like Teen Spirit trailer below.

Watch: Sounds Like Teen Spirit: triple j at 40

http://youtu.be/7ZU5YAmmOB8

J Files February schedule

8pm Thursday 5 February: 1975 – 1985 presented by Mark Colvin

8pm Thursday 12 February: 1985 – 1995 presented by Tracee Hutchison

8pm Thursday 19 February: 1995 – 2005 presented by Francis Leach

8pm Thursday 26 February: 2005 – 2015 presented by Zan Rowe

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