Line Dance History Australia
Line Dance History Australia
Line Dancing & Country Music Radio
Line Dancing and its Relationship with Country Music Radio
Kelvin Dale, popular radio presenter, instructor, choreographer and line dancer, takes a historical look at country music radio and the huge impact local radio stations and presenters have had on line dancing throughout Australia.
"It is common knowledge that any dance form requires music so that performers, students, instructors and choreographers have a basis for styling. Line dancing is no different. In its earliest form, this genre of music was country and so our dance style was often referred to as country line dancing or bootscooting". Kelvin Dale.
Community Radio
Country music was not common on commercial radio 30 or so years ago but could be found on regional and on a variety of community radio stations, including:
2SER with Barbara Mossison and Bazza, 2RRR with Robyn Skinner and Ken Date, 2CCC with Mike Kennedy, Caroline Carr, Ian Lovegrove, Ian Betteridge, Lyn McKenzie, Ted Kale and Ray Ekins, 2SWR with Greg & Dawn, 2RDJ with Sheryn Wakeling, 2GLF with Trevor Chandler, 2VOX FM with Trevor Green, Lee and Greg, 2AIR FM with Kelvin Dale, 5UV with Rob Tillmouth, HKR 100.1FM, 2TM Tamworth and 4WK Darling Downs, just to name a few.
Whilst there were varying degrees of licencing and regulation in the radio broadcasting industry, Australia's first community radio station to be licensed was 5UV (now Radio Adelaide) in 1972 in Adelaide. Since then, the sector has seen rapid development, with over 75% growth in permanently licensed stations in the last decade. Community radio stations operate nationwide, with 76% in regional and remote areas and 24% in metropolitan areas.
Community Radio in Australia Celebrates 50+ years
Each week, nearly 5 million Australians tune in to over 450 not-for-profit, community-owned radio stations across the country. These stations deliver programming tailored to the interests and needs of their local communities, reflecting Australia's open society, strong democracy, and vibrant culture, playing a crucial role in serving groups once overlooked by mainstream media.
Thanks to our Community Radio Volunteers
Barbara Morrison, with 43 years behind the microphone, is just one of Community Radio's many presenters. As one of 2SER’s longest serving volunteers, Barbara has become a renowned figure in Australian Country Music. Host of All Kinds of Country, she was the winner of the Country Music Association of Australia award for Legacy Industry in 2024 – a huge honour!
Adapting to a Line Dance Audience
In the early days there were many community radio stations in place across Australia with radio shows presented by line dance personalities including Trevor Green, Bill Larson and Jon Peppin. As line dancing's popularity increased, a number of community radio stations and their DJs began to run shows that were dedicated solely to a line dancing audience, and if allowed by their station they would play a variety of music genres that were line dance relevant. I was part of the Community Radio Network on a station based in the Penrith area (NSW) called AIR FM and the show I assisted on before taking over, was called “Red Hot & Country”. We played country music whether there was a dance choreographed to it or not and that was the theme of the show.
Programs Dedicated to Line Dance
Trevor Chandler's 2GLF FM show however, had an entire "request program" dedicated to line dancing where dancers could ring in and ask for any particular music. One of Australia's most prominent and popular DJ's Grizzly (Adam) Parker and myself were regular guests on Trevor’s program, updating audiences with all the latest news and dance tracks. Grizzly also hosted popular socials that were broadcast live to radio networks such as Cool Country Radio along with hosting the Kick AM1269 Dance Ranches with Julie Talbot.
As choreography developed to encompass all music genres (pop, rock R&B, etc), radio stations could be playing “line dance” music at any time without even realizing it.
Enter Internet Radio
As time moved on and technology improved, internet radio programs began to cover a wide range of both music and dance needs. Linedancer Radio, based in the UK, soon met the needs of international listeners broadcasting line dance music 24/7 around the world with live shows interwoven in its structure.
Darren Mitchell, instructor, choreographer and DJ was the first Australian to have a live program on Linedancer Radio broadcasting Australia's impact on line dancing to a wide international audience. When Darren retired from his show, I was invited to do what Darren had started and that was to give the overseas listener an insight to what was new & hot on our Aussie dance floors, relive classic Australian choreography and interview guests involved in our industry. This show broadcasts from an app on your phone or an app on your device and listeners can “talk” with DJs broadcasting live through a Facebook chatroom. Australian content is played on many of the shows.
Radio Stations Dedicated to Playing Country Music
From near non-existant 30 years ago, today there are around 40 radio stations across Australia dedicated solely to country music. Together with your local community radio station or internet program, the country music choice has never looked better. Do you have a favourite radio station or DJ? Let us know at linedancehistoryaustralia@gmail.com
