As most knowledgeable people would appreciate, the eastern suburbs of Melbourne (Australia) is at the heart of quality radio and internet broadcasting. At the epicentre of the region is 3WBC - Whitehorse Boroondara Community Radio.

In early 2008, station management were searching for a regular fill-in program - an "off-the-shelf" program to use whenever regular presenters were unavailable. And so, Radio Ga Ga was born.

After a few shows, a permanent time slot became available - the program now goes to air once per month (fourth Sunday of every month at 3:00pm till 5:00pm, Melbourne time). As a bonus, where station management looks a bit desperate, Radio Ga Ga can be found providing relief cover to other programs during holiday periods and weekends.

The show always starts with our signature tune - Radio Ga Ga by the brilliant Freddie Mercury and Queen. 109 minutes and 19 seconds later, Mark Knopfler closes our show with the appropriately titled Going Home (Theme for a Local Hero).

In between times, we play an array of first class music and introduce several of our regular segments. It's fair to say that the majority of the music comes from the 1970's and 1980's but where we can find some other stuff that sounds good, we'll give that a spin as well! There are massive hits, there are some songs that have been long forgotten (often with good reason!) ...

If you want some specifics about the songs we've played in the past, please visit our playlists page. After each program, we'll post a list of what we've played ... it'll no doubt save a lot a "what was the name of that song he played?" conversations.

The show is all about enjoying Sunday afternoons ... we look forward to having you on board!

Neil Butler is the presenter of 3WBC's Radio Ga Ga. This all started when station management asked Neil to sit in the presenter's chair for New Years Eve in 2007 (everyone else was out with their friends). As well as Radio Ga Ga, he has now wormed his way into a regular Saturday night gig - about every six weeks on the presenter's roster on 3WBC's Saturday Night Party (9:30pm - midnight every Saturday night on 94.1FM, 3WBC).

In a recent hard-hitting interview, Neil was pressed on a number of big-ticket issues - here are his responses: Favourite music 70's & 80's (not surprising, I guess) Favourite 3WBC program Apart from Ga Ga? Saturday Night Party Football team Brisbane Lions Ideal Radio Ga Ga guest Mark Knopfler - he could play Going Home live to close the program Favourite food Secret pasta dish that I cook Favourite drink Red wine Is that enough questions? Yes When he's not preparing or presenting radio programs, Neil works as a business consultant. He has two teenage children, both of whom have been presenters on 3WBC. He also has a significant interest in sport. By the way, in case you are wondering, the signpost he is leaning against is in Reims in northern France, just outside Le Domaine Pommery (champagne) and yes, it's an AFL Auskick shirt. A nice blending of the two cultures, we think.

Believe it or not, some level of research is performed going into each program.

There are two very excellent resources that are used extensively in our research. Here at Radio Ga Ga, we are very happy to recommend them as very useful and entertaining books to have in your collection.

	The Book: Top 40 Research (7th Ed) - Jim Barnes & Stephen Scanes This book focuses on the years 1956 to 2005 and contains: Chronological listing of all songs to make the Australian Top 40 (by entry date) Alphabetical by artist - each artist and the songs that recorded that made the Top 40 Alphabetical by song title - when did Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz enter the charts (July 1981) Chronological number 1's Yearly top 20s In short an absolute must for all music lovers and researchers for mildly successful community radio programs. To find out how to purchase your copy of this limited edition book, please visit www.top40book.com.au
	The Australian Top 20 Book David Kent This book is one of five books compiled by one of Australia's foremost music historians, David Kent. It is a fantastic complement to the Barnes & Scanes book. In this book, the top 20 chart for every week from 1940 to 2006 is listed, along with commentary about the year in music and some other specialty charts (annual charts, decade charts, etc). To find out how to purchase your copy of this or any of David's other books, please visit www.austchartbook.com.au