The media industry farewells ‘music guru’ and founding Double Jay announcer Chris Winter
One of the original Double Jay founding presenters and longtime supporter of triple j and Australian music, Chris Winter, has passed away.
Winter created the foundation for what Double J and triple j would become, through championing lesser-known music and pushing for the recognition of interesting and unique acts.
ABC head of music and creative development Chris Scaddan paid tribute to Winter in a statement, writing: “Chris was a giant of music radio in Australia, starting the ground-breaking Room To Move program in 1971 on ABC Radio.
“Chris’ musical curation influenced a generation of Australian musicians, as he broadcast the rock, blues, folk and ‘punk’ music that didn’t sit well within the highly-structured Top 40 formats of Australian radio at the time.
“Chris was a foundation presenter for Double Jay in 1975 and it was his free spirit and style that inspired the persona of the whole station. His passion for music outside the mainstream survives now in triple j and also Double J again on digital radio.
“Chris co-managed triple j for many years and enjoyed a broader ABC career with ABC Local Radio. From 2003, Chris worked with ABC New Media (later ABC Innovation) as the Manager of New Services, including the ABC’s first foray into digital-only TV broadcasting – ABC2. His influence across the ABC’s early-2000s digital work was just as pioneering as his early work in music broadcasting. In 2007, Chris received the AIMIA (Australian Interactive Media Industry Association) Outstanding Contribution Award.
Sad news today – the brilliant Chris Winter, one of the founding broadcasters at the original Double Jay and a fixture in the early days of @triplej, has passed away ?
Thank you Chris – your legacy lives on. Vale.
https://t.co/0Y1inuqxDd pic.twitter.com/9tMpD15AOL— Double J (@DoubleJRadio) June 11, 2019
“Chris’ entire career is a testament to his never-ending, forward-thinking ideas about music, culture and media. His inquisitive mind and ability to inspire others was rare and cherished.
“Thank you for everything Chris.”
Double J paid tribute to Winter online, calling him a ‘music guru’ and recognising his contribution to the outlets over the years.
Vale Chris Winter….the voice of a musical generation and innovator at the ABC pic.twitter.com/4p94kw9xid
— haymanfelix (@haymanfelix) June 10, 2019
As one of the founding announcers for Double Jay, Winter was behind the infamous first song aired on the station in 1975.
“We thought, ‘let’s play something that will make people really cross’,” he told Double J.
“So, an obvious thing to do was to pick a song that was famous for being banned on commercial radio: Skyhooks’ ‘You Just Like Me Cos I’m Good In Bed'”
Winter was also behind the infamous triple j 10th birthday celebration stunt of Midnight Oil playing on Goat Island in Sydney Harbour.
Vale Chris.
You made an indelible impression on my musical tastes since Room To Move on Sunday nights started in 1971 and your importance in Australian music can never ever be underestimated.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Farewell Chris WInter. I will always remember you for this earth shattering (to me) song you played on Room to Move…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joujh2jLL1A
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Sorry I missed your passing Chris,
Will you have a good chat to Rory Gallagher and pass on my felicitations, as you both helped me to love music I may not ever have found.
God bless you both.
Vince
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