At the end of last year, it was announced that Gold FM Drive host Gavin Miller was leaving the station after a decade in the slot. He left big shoes to fill, but stepping into them seamlessly has been Dave Higgins, who took over the show in January.
Mediaweek spoke to Dave Higgins about the success he’s found on the Drive Show and what he loves about broadcasting in Melbourne.
“I’m feeling awesome,” says Higgins. “It’s a brilliant place to be, I’m settled in really nicely and finding my groove again. I’m absolutely loving it.”
In the most recent radio ratings survey, Higgins came in with a share of 11.4% – tying for highest rating Drive show with 3AW’s Drive with Tom Elliott.
“I didn’t expect it to go so well! I was pretty lucky coming into this Drive Show, Gavin Miller had been there 10 years and had got it to number one FM, and I’ve inherited his excellent work – and luckily improved on it a little bit to go equal number one with 3AW. That’s something I didn’t think would happen at all, let alone that quickly.
“But the game plan going forward? Knock them off! We want to go number one overall, that’s the dream.”
When it comes to keeping things fresh, Higgins says that he tends to just roll with whatever comes his way.
“That’s the beauty of radio, every day is something different. Every day there’s another angle that you didn’t expect to see – it could just be something in the news, it could be something in the music world, it could be the weather, it could be anything. I just like to go with the flow.”
There are limits to what Higgins will cover on the show, however.
“We just stay away from politics, because there’s just too much of that going on at the moment, so I don’t I don’t dive into that world at all. I try and stay away from the other C-word because we’ve all had enough of that in the last two and a bit years. We just talked about anything else.”
After a rough few years full of lockdowns and other bad news, Higgins says that he believes there is one major thing that audiences are looking for – although, he admits, “if I knew the answer for sure I’d be running the radio station!”
“People want escapism, and I think that’s always been the case – maybe you’ve had a crappy day at work, you get in the car, you turn on the radio, you want to have a bit of a laugh, you maybe want to learn something. It’s one of those things where you just want people to enjoy themselves and have a laugh.
“In my case, I just hope that people want a bit of irreverence and enjoy the music.”
Broadcasting in one of the most competitive markets in Australia, Higgins says there are a lot of factors that make the Melbourne market special – aside from the fact that it’s his hometown.
“The Melbourne market is can be very footy centric, and I think that’s a very passionate driver in a lot of people. Across the summer months, we all barrack for the same teams because it’s usually cricket, but then comes footy season and everyone hates each other again. So it’s a great divide, but I think that’s the main thing that makes it special.
“We’ve always got so much going on here as well. There’s just so much culture and things to do, especially now as the city’s opening up again – we’re being reminded of how great Melbourne is.
“Live music in Melbourne is an absolute passion of mine, and that’s another thing that makes Melbourne fantastic. It’s something that I will always try and mention on air – gigs that are going on that people should perhaps go and see. Our music is world class, and I think Australian music in particular needs a bigger spotlight on it.
“You’ve got so much to reflect on in Melbourne radio. It’s a passionate city, it’s a vibrant city, and you’ve just got to tap into that. People do really turn to radio in Melbourne to get all of that and more – it’s a pretty strong radio landscape.”