Sounds Like Teen Spirit

Triple J isn't just a radio station, it is the national voice and thumping heartbeat of Australian youth culture.

Before the birth of Double J, Australian radio was created for conservative adults. The youth were to be seen and not heard. But in 1972, Gough Whitlam transformed all that. With a new freedom (and a spirit to break the rules), a group of journalists, DJs and music lovers laid the foundations for a groundbreaking radio station that would change everything.

On Sunday 19 January 1975, Double J went to air for the first time . . . the countdown for the Apollo 11 take-off was the first thing that was heard and Skyhooks' 'You Just Like Me 'Cos I'm Good in Bed' played. It was like somebody opened a window to the outside world: music and ideas flooded in with attitude.

And from that moment, mayhem and magnificence was broadcast. Captain Goodvibes, George Wayne, Andrew Denton, Angela Catterns, Tom Tilley, Roy & HG, Helen & Mikey, Sandman, The Doctor, Richard Kingsmill, Adam & Wil, Karla Ranby, Silverchair, Gretta Ray, Dylan Lewis, Concetta Caristo, Dee Salmin, Dr Karl, Charlie Pickering, Nikki Gemmell, Robbie Buck, Zan Rowe, Myf Warhurst, Nooky, Abby & Tyrone, Hack, Unearthed, Like a Version, The Hook Up, Hottest 100, Blak Out, Home and Hosed, Requestival . . . the list of talent is huge. It has been the launch pad for many. From the city to the country, the Jays have educated, entertained, disrupted and amplified.

Music industry legends Stuart Coupe and Toby Creswell have seen the evolution. In Sounds Like Teen Spirit they are bringing to life the unauthorised, unfiltered story of Double J and Triple J. It's time this life-changing, life-affirming radio station had its story told.

About the Author

Stuart Coupe is an author, music commentator, independent artist publicist and radio broadcaster who has been involved with music all his life. Amongst the books he has written, edited or collaborated on are The New Music (1980), The New Rock 'n' Roll (1983), The Promoters (2003), Gudinski (2015), Tex (2017), Roadies (2018) and Paul Kelly, the Man, the Music and the Life In Between (2021), which was shortlisted for Biography Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards and Saffron Incorporated (2025).