4KQ has farewelled its breakfast program “Laurel, Gary and Mark”.
The Brisbane radio station will cease to exist from next week on June 30, after ARN sold it to SEN.
SEN will turn the legacy broadcaster into a sports-talk station, in line with its other offerings.
ARN said today marked the end of an incredible chapter in the history of radio, with Laurel Edwards recently celebrating 30 years with the station. Gary Clare, meanwhile, had two stints at 4KQ totalling 31 years, and Mark Hine has anchored the show for 16 years.
The station has been on air for 75 years, first as a rock ‘n’ roll station, before switching to the classic hits music format in the 1990s.
It will switch off at midnight on Thursday, June 30. The station’s final hours will celebrate its classic hits music format and will feature some familiar announcer voices.
Edwards had mixed emotions about the farewell.
“This has been my life for 30 years and while today is very emotional, I am so grateful for all the memories I am leaving with,” she said. “Today is a celebration of the success we have achieved and all the people who have helped along the way.”
Hine echoed this sentiment.
“We say goodbye with mixed emotions,” he said. “There are so many people we work with every day that we will miss, yet I am so proud of everything we have achieved and am looking forward to what is to come. I’m feeling really positive about the future.”
Clare added: “Part of our success is how close-knit we are as a team, but we must also acknowledge our listeners. We have been inundated with so many moving calls these past few weeks and would like to thank our loyal and passionate fans who have been waking up with us for so many years.”
Duncan Campbell, ARN’s chief content officer, thanked the team for making the station what it was.
“This truly is the end of an incredible era in radio history and, like 4KQ’s legion of loyal listeners, we are sad to be farewelling this iconic Brisbane station,” he said. “I would like to thank Laurel, Gary and Mark and the entire team at 4KQ who helped make the station such a success story.”
