Hey Haters, STFU: The Hottest 100 Hasn’t Always Been Held On Australia Day
Time for a history lesson.
Yesterday, triple j made the very big announcement that from 2018 onwards, they’ll be moving the date of the Hottest 100 away from Australia Day. For the most part, the response to the news has been positive — but as ever, there are a few vocal critics who Just Don’t Get It.
Which makes now a good time to point out that the Hottest 100 hasn’t actually always been held on January 26. In fact, it wasn’t until 1998 that Australia Day became synonymous with the poll.
As triple j presenter Dom Alessio pointed out last night on Twitter, the Hottest 100 has been held on range of different dates since its inception.
For those who are interested, here’s a short thread on the history of the date of @triplej‘s Hottest 100. (1/7)
— Dom Alessio (@domalessio) November 27, 2017
The first ever Hottest 100 was broadcast on March 5, 1989. It was the brainchild of a radio producer called Lawrie Zion, who had the idea of polling triple j’s listeners to determine their 100 favourite songs of all time. It was a ramshackle process, with people scribbling their entries on the back of envelopes to send to the station.
In 1990, the poll was held on May 20. It skipped a year in 1991, returning under the name The Hottest 100 on February 9, 1992. In the mid-’90s, it was held on various dates in early January.
Then — finally — in 1998, the Hottest 100 was held on Australia Day, where it remained until 2017.
From 2018 onwards, the poll will take place in the last weekend of January. So shifting the date ever-so-slightly to spare considerable pain for many listeners? Really not a big deal.
Funny tweet, though:
[first ever jjj hottest 100, botany bay, january 26, 1788]
you cannot erase history we will never forget pic.twitter.com/lTbxZ9YuvY
— jess wheeler (@wheelswordsmith) November 27, 2017