The Rock is a New Zealand
mainstream rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
music
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
. The station targets 25–44 with a male skew, but has a significant female fan base. It plays rock music and showcases up-and-coming New Zealand bands.
The Rock has unpredictable features and countdowns, most notably The Rock 2000 (formerly The Rock 1500, 1000 & 500), an annual music countdown based entirely on songs voted for by their rock listeners.
Some of its broadcasts have been controversial, and the
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA; mi, Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.
The main ...
has upheld many complaints against it.
History
The Rock began broadcasting on 1 December 1991 in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
as ''The Rock 93FM''. The very first ever song to air on The Rock was
Are You Ready? by
AC/DC. The Rock was formed by Joe Dennehy GM, Grant Hislop PD, and Martin Dempster.The original line-up included Chris Clarke on breakfast (replaced by Mark Bunting after 2 months) and Roger Farrelly on Drive. Originally, The Rock 93FM was based in the basement of
Radio New Zealand Broadcasting House in Hamilton, headquartered in the studios for
ZHFM. The transmitter was originally located on the top of Waikato Hospital. In 1993 The Rock moved to new premises at 564 Victoria Street in Hamilton.
The station purchased a collection of FM frequencies from the Christian Broadcasting Association and transferred them to Nevada. Using the first of these frequencies a local version of The Rock was started in Taranaki in 1993, this station was originally broadcast on 100FM but after Nevada Resources Ltd and Energy Enterprises merged, the station moved to 95.6FM. A third The Rock station was started in the Bay of Plenty in 1996 with local programming. In 1997 The Rock created a regional network by replacing the Taranaki and Bay of Plenty stations with the Hamilton-based The Rock station and also networked into
Rotorua.
[The Rock Internet Archive](_blank)
/ref>
Nationwide expansion
In 1998 The Rock began networking to other regions in the North Island. In 1999, The Rock moved to Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
, and began broadcasting from there. Later that year, Energy Enterprises and Radio Otago
Radio Otago was a radio company that operated a group of local radio stations in radio markets around New Zealand from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Radio Otago was started in 1971 when Dunedin station 4XO was started, 4XO was originally branded a ...
merged to form RadioWorks; as a result, the station was networked into the South Island. In Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
, Radio Otago had already been operating their own rock station called C93FM and this station was networked to Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
and Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
, C93FM actually played a classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
format similar to Radio Hauraki
Radio Hauraki is a New Zealand rock music station that started in 1966. It was the first private commercial radio station of the modern broadcasting era in New Zealand and operated illegally until 1970 to break the monopoly held by the state-o ...
. RadioWorks replaced C93FM in Dunedin and Invercargill with The Rock and kept C93FM operating in Christchurch, but changed its format to Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
and launched The Rock on a separate frequency. C93 no longer operates as the station failed to attract listeners after the format change. Christchurch C93FM listeners were gutted that their local Classic Rock station had a format change and had to give way to a Network station, the phones rung for weeks with upset listeners not liking the format change to Adult Contemporary. Today The Rock broadcasts in almost every market in New Zealand.
The only remaining original member of The Rock crew is Rog. Other DJs left, including Greenman, who went on his OE to the UK, Beachy (Christopher Beach) who moved into sales and Julie Moffett, who now works at RNZ.
Programmes
The Morning Rumble
The morning radio show is known as The Morning Rumble, the members of which are currently Roger Farrelly ("Rog", "Big Dog"), Bryce Casey (2020 Broadcaster of the Year), Andrew Mulligan ("Mulls") and Mel Abbot. Rog has been a co-host on the show since its inception. Simon Doull spent several years as a co-host, left and returned in 2015. In March 2011 Andrew Mulligan joined but left for Radio Sport
Radio Sport (previously Sports Roundup) was a New Zealand sports radio radio network, network and the talk radio, talkback sister network of Newstalk ZB. It held commentary rights for most cricket matches, international and domestic rugby uni ...
a few years later and returned in 2017.
Bryce has attempted to break two world records during his tenure on the show, his most notable attempt being to break the record. He fell short by only a few hours, In June 2019 Bryce not only broke the world record for the longest time ten-pin bowling continuously, he also raised over $350,000 for the charit
I am hope
Hosts
Roger, or Rog as he's known, joined the Morning Rumble in 1994. Prior to that he had worked the afternoon shift at The Rock. Rog serves as a leader of sorts for the Morning Rumble crew, and his ongoing banter and power struggles with Bryce provide a lot of the show's entertainment. Mel provides the female perspective on the show and reads the news, while Andrew Mulligan reads the sports news. The producers are Ryan Maguire and Mitch Farr.
Features
On Fridays a section of the show was called 'Do Stuff To Jono Fridays'. This formed a large part of the entertainment value and was an early distinguishing feature of The Rock. Jono was made the victim of stunts such as 'The Human Slushy', 'The Pyramid of Fire', 'Human Coleslaw', 'Sleigh of Fire', 'The Skater Ramp of Doom', a full body wax, and giving Jono a tattoo on his bottom but not telling him that it was a love heart with the other DJs names.
In 2006 when Jono got his own slot with Robert on weekday afternoons, the show then became "Do Stuff To Jimmy". Stunts included putting electrodes on his nipples, and other assorted painful and humiliating acts. Jimmy is no longer working at The Rock, and there is currently no 'Do Stuff' segment. A one-off 'Final Ever Do Stuff To Jono' stunt was planned and executed in September 2009, during which Jono performed a 'Mega Stunt' - riding a BMX bike down a steep slope, through pyrotechnics and a pane of glass, and finally scaling a ramp to jump over a parked ute.
The Rock organised a 'win a wife' competition in early 2011. The winner would travel to Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
to meet a girl via the "Endless Love" dating agency. In response the Ukrainian group Femen organized a topless protest
Nudity is sometimes used as a tactic during a protest to attract media and public attention to a cause, and sometimes promotion of public nudity is itself the objective of a nude protest. The use of the tactic goes back to well published ph ...
against this competition (in March 2011). A Femen activist advised: "Femen warns the 'lucky' winner of the New Zealand competition that he can expect an unhappy ending in Ukraine".
Rock Workdays
Mel Abbot takes over on-air from 10am – 1pm fronting ''The Rock Workdays'' show which also features a legends of rock hour between 12-1pm. Mel is followed by Caleb Greaves, who is also the technical producer of The Rock's drive show, from 1pm – 3pm.
Rock Drive
The Rock's drive show is hosted from 3pm – 7pm by Duncan Heyde ("Dunc"), who is also the executive producer of the show, with co-host Jay Reeve, technical producer Caleb Greaves and executive producer Tiegan Lilley ("Show Boss").
Rock Nights
Lee Weir ("Westie Lee") hosts Rock Nights.
The Rock 2000
The Rock 2000 is an annual countdown feature, counting down the 2000 biggest rock songs
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alterna ...
ever, as voted by listeners in an online poll. The chart order, including which bands and songs feature on the countdown, is determined by listeners via a voting system on the station's official website. The countdown runs on weekdays over a four-week period and is broadcast throughout New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. In 2016, the list expanded by 50% as The Rock 1000+500, it was previously called The Rock 1000. Previous to that it was The Rock 500. From 2017 to 2019 it was known as The Rock 1500. Since 2020 it has been known as The Rock 2000.
Winners
*2022 – Lynyrd Skynyrd - " Simple Man"
*2021 – Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
- "Killing in the Name
"Killing in the Name" is a protest song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, and appears on their 1992 self-titled debut album. It was released as the lead single from the album in November 1992. It features heavy drop-D guitar riff ...
"
*2020 – Foo Fighters - "Everlong
"Everlong" is a song by American rock group Foo Fighters. It was released in August 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, ''The Colour and the Shape'' (1997). The song reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Alternativ ...
"
*2019 – Pearl Jam - "Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
"
*2018 – System of a Down
System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
- "Chop Suey
Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery a ...
"
*2017 – Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name"
*2016 – Metallica - "Master of Puppets
''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last albu ...
"
*2015 – AC/DC - " Thunderstruck"
*2014 – Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
- " Stinkfist"
*2013 – Tool - "Sober
In cryptography, SOBER is a family of stream ciphers initially designed by Greg Rose of QUALCOMM Australia starting in 1997. The name is a contrived acronym for ''S''eventeen ''O''ctet ''B''yte ''E''nabled ''R''egister. Initially the cipher wa ...
"
*2012 – Metallica - " One"
*2011 – Metallica - "One"
*2010 – Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name"
*2009 – Metallica - "One"
*2008 – Metallica - "Enter Sandman
"Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist an ...
"
*2007 – AC/DC - "Back in Black
''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album to feature lead singer Brian Johnson, following the death ...
"
*2006 – Guns N' Roses - "November Rain
"November Rain" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. Written by the band's lead vocalist Axl Rose, it was released as a single in 1992 from their third studio album, ''Use Your Illusion I'' (1991).
"November Rain" peaked a ...
"
*2005 – Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
*2004 – Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
*2003 – Pearl Jam - "Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...
"
*2002 – Metallica - "One"
*2001 – Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled ''Neve ...
"
Frequencies
North Island frequencies
South Island frequencies
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, The