Radio Active in Wellington 30 years on and still kicking

Firty fckn years and still kickin'

Radio Active 89FM, Wellington's bestest, oldest and most independent radio station, turns 30 years-old in 2007 and to celebrate it's throwing a party.

Radio Active 89FM – the first station in New Zealand to broadcast on the FM frequency – presents RetroActive, a 30-hour on-air party to commemorate and commiserate 30 years of glorious original radio.

RetroActive begins a continuous live on-air party 6pm, Friday December 7 through to midnight Saturday night, climaxing in a live outside broadcast from the RetroActive celebrity bowls tournament on Saturday night.

The bowls will be held at the Workingmen's Bowling Club, 177 Owen Street, Newtown from 4pm. In addition to celebrity teams, the competition is open to supporters of Radio Active 89FM who register with the station.

Plans are currently afoot to reunite the originators of the Alternative Rugby Commentary, Sparky Plug and Friendly Brains, for a special edition of liquid lawn bowling commentary.

The station that launched the careers of the likes of John Campbell, Maggie Barry, Samantha Hayes, Bill Hastings and a shitload of others has invited its stars of years past to join them to host segments of the 30-hour broadcast.

Each hour of the broadcast will feature music and memorable soundclips from the Active archives corresponding to each year of Active's history.

The clips will revisit the more colourful moments of Active's history, including office brawls, office sex, drunk DJs, offensive ads, phone calls from complete nutters and the brief but spectacularly unsuccessful closure of the station by then-owners Victoria Students Association, at the time controlled by stupid bastards.

DJs on duty include former Active staffers Barnaby Weir (Black Seeds), Mu (Fat Freddys Drop), Sam Hayes (TV3 Nightline), current hosts Liam Luff, Carlito, Lotion, Miles Buckingham and Prof Ezy – and Active's first ever DJ, Roy host of Roy’s Time Machine.

Live performances include The Upbeats & Trei, Dekline, Grand Prix, Hot Swiss Mistress, Sam Scott (The Phoenix Foundation), the Thomas Oliver Band, and MaltyMedia (Jet Jaguar and Aquaboogie)

RetroActive: Thirty Years in Thirty Hours Radio Active 89FM's 30th Birthday Party broadcast live on 89FM and www.radioactive.fm

Party and lawn bowls tournament: 4pm, December 8 Workingmen’s Bowling Club, Newtown, Wellington