Asia 1

Asia 1 is a privately owned pan-Asian commercial radio station currently headquartered in. The original aim of the station was to deliver Western pop and rock music to, , and  via shortwave and longwave signals, but it was also well-heard in , , the , and , where it became legendary.

Currently owned and operated by and  as a 50-50 joint venture, Asia 1 is one of the leading English-language radio broadcasting stations in Asia, with programming available in much of the  region, South Asia, Hong Kong, and. Asia 1 produces a television chart program, Asia 1 Chart Toppers, which airs on several networks including MTV Free in the Philippines.

Early history
The idea for Asia 1 was first proposed in 1977 when the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of caused many foreign companies to leave the country. Former American radio pirate Joseph E. D. Barton suggested creating an all-Western music station for listeners in Southeastern and Southern Asia, as he felt the regions had a lack of stations playing Western pop and rock music, especially in India due to the enactment of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. To circumvent the troubles of establishing a station in the region, Barton's company, Barton Radio International of, teamed up with the (ABC) and  to form Asia 1 Pty. Ltd., trading in and, with the intentions of establishing a Asia-wide pop music station broadcast from an Australian coastal area.

In March 1979, the ABC commenced construction on the station's AM longwave transmitter station in, each of the masts used a specially built pair of air and water-cooled 300 kW solid-state transmitters (which could be combined to give double power). Studios were set up in a converted department store in near Perth, with all programming sent via microwave to the shortwave and longwave transmitters in Port Hedland. Some programs were live disc-jockey presentations by the team of "resident announcers" from the studios in Rockingham, while others were voice-tracked presentations recorded at the studios of Asia 1 (USA) Inc. in Downtown and then air-freighted to Australia. Ad sales were made in Australia and, and bills were paid by Asia 1 (USA) Inc. in Texas with most business being conducted by telephone and telex. Asia 1 (USA) Inc. also was in charge of receiving reception reports, acknowledging all reports with cards postmarked "Allen TX". The station cost US$5 million to set up.

At 8:00 AM Perth time (1200 UTC) on January 2, 1980, DJ Wyoming Goodwyn announced on Asia 1's 153 AM Longwave signal "I am the first voice you are hearing... on Asia 1." This was followed by a specially produced pre-recorded introduction tape that introduced everybody employed by the radio station on its launch day, as well as Barton and various ABC higher-ups. The official "first record played" was ' "". Asia 1 used jingle packages and the initial slogan of "Hot Hits Radio - on Asia 1".

Although the station's shortwave and longwave transmitters were within Australian borders, they were used to beam Western rock and pop music to an intended target audience of 18-to-30-year olds from one Asian country to another. Major advertisers supporting Asia 1 included, , , , , , and. Indian advertisers on Asia 1 included, , and.

Mid-1980s peak
Initially, the station only broadcast on AM longwave from 8:00 AM Perth time to 8:00 PM Perth time, but starting in March 1982 the AM longwave transmission hours were expanded to 24 hours, but the broadcast time from 11:00 PM Perth time to 8:00 AM Perth time was automated and was branded as "The Night Shift".

Multiple Asian broadcasting corporations, including 's and the ', initially objected to the station, seeing it as a commercial "border blaster". and began jamming the shortwave signals of Asia 1, while both  and  began jamming the longwave signal, with South Korea's  claiming that Asia 1 was "stealing listeners" from their music stations. Nevertheless, Asia 1 (USA) Inc. received reception reports for Asia 1 from such locations as, , , , , , and. The longwave signal had even been received in at night-time.

In 1983, Asia 1 held two concerts in and  - named the Asia 1 Super Concerts. The Manila concert at and the Hong Kong concert at, combined, were among the highest-grossing concerts of the year.

Presenters
The presenters included the following: ( D marks a personality voice-tracked from Dallas)


 * Paul "Dr. Drink" Drinkwater
 * Keith Clowers
 * Uncle Ricky K. (former DJ)
 * Tommy Sturge
 * Helen Bulatovic D
 * Grace Folwell D
 * Drake Alan
 * Sven Granheim
 * Courtney Mogg
 * Sasha Ryan
 * Kurt Helgemo D
 * Henry Dermott
 * Wyoming Goodwyn (former DJ)
 * James Jacklin
 * Ian Vale
 * Katie Q (former DJ)
 * Spaghettini D
 * Elvira Clarke
 * Captain Josh D
 * Howard Gaudé
 * Cynthia Jacklin (James' wife)
 * Hugh Kleshchenko D
 * Kevin Debney
 * Howard Loch

1990s
In 1995, Barton sold his stake in Asia 1 to, who then bought out North Limited's stake as well. During the 1990s, Asia 1 was the longwave/shortwave home of several shock jocks, such as Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus, and Tom Leykis.

In May 1998, Asia 1's studios were relocated from Rockingham to to be "closer to the heart of Asia". The move was completed on May 24, the last song played from the Rockingham studio was "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men while the first song played at the Hong Kong studio was "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys (with Asia 1 presenters shouting "ASIA 1'S BACK!" over "Backstreet's back").

Presenters
Presenters who worked at Asia 1 during the 1990s included, but are not limited to:
 * MC Brad
 * Sven Granheim
 * Sasha Ryan
 * Wyoming Goodwyn
 * Frankie Banks
 * Mark Carden
 * Nick Eisenmenger
 * Captain Kevin Paulson
 * Cliff Deeks

Current

 * Reid Andrew (Asia's Top 100)
 * Joshua Salling
 * Rebekah Min
 * Nathan Kristiansen
 * Pierre Gobet
 * Valerie Lightner
 * Antwaun Scott
 * Dylan Gautier