Steve ‘Pricey’ Price to retire from radio in 2024
The man who became synonymous with the city of Townsville, Steve ‘Pricey’ Price has called time on his glittering radio career, which has spanned more than five decades. Check out the gallery of his career highlights.
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The man who became synonymous with the city of Townsville, Steve ‘Pricey’ Price has called time on his glittering radio career, which has spanned more than five decades.
Not everybody in his business has the opportunity to go out on their own terms, but that’s just what the living legend will be doing when he hangs up the microphone for the last time on Christmas Day.
Arguably Townsville’s most recognisable face, which features on a Bruce Highway billboard welcoming people home, Pricey has forged a strong connection with the community since making the move from Melbourne in 1982.
The 69-year-old host of Triple M’s highly-coveted breakfast shift for the past 32 mango seasons, he said it was one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs you could ever do.
“It’s an absolute privilege you know? I’m just so fortunate,” Pricey said with a tear in his eye.
He described his role as a “real personal thing”, unlike any other job, sharing “a part of life” with his listeners.
“The experiences I’ve had in this city from a radio point of view are unbelievable … you go through all the gamuts of emotion,” he said.
“I’ve heard the new born baby cry of listeners who have taken the phone in, (and) I’ve said goodbye to people as they pass away.
“Everything from traffic to kids’ celebrations at school, right through to cyclones, and in radio, I’ve had the absolute blessing of doing it in real time, or as I call it, ‘the precious present’.”
Pointing outside his studio, Pricey said, “to be successful in this … you can’t just sit here, you’ve got to get out and be a part of the people”.
Pricey visited Aussies deployed around the world, held countless fundraising and community missions across North Queensland, and was the first in the world to conduct an underwater radio broadcast.
In 1998 it was Pricey who flicked the switch from AM to FM.
He was there when the station became Triple M, when the Townsville Suns tipped off at the Furnace (1993), when they became the Crocs at The Swamp! (NBL – 1998) and when the Cowboys ran into Stockland Stadium for the first time in 1995.
He’s been on the ground for some of Townsville’s most tragic times too — including the Townsville Blackhawk crash of 1996.
In 2018 in recognition of his services to the community through his radio career, he was awarded the Medal of The Order of Australia (OAM) and last year he published his 200-page memoir, The Price of Paradise, which he describes as a love letter to NQ.
After originally handing in his resignation a year ago, and booking a big celebratory holiday with his partner, he accepted a request to stay on for one final year.
While he could have continued on radio “forever”, it was the deaths of his mother and three close friends that shifted his perspective on work.
“I’m being a little selfish I guess, and just wanting some time with me and my girl to find Steve, to look at new adventures, which could be just as simple as smelling the frangipanis,” he said.
“I also wanted to see friends. It’s not retirement, it’s rejuvenation.”
Pricey said he could not stay out of work and would find something else to do.
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) Chief Content Officer Dave Cameron said Pricey was not only a legend of Far North Queensland, but his legacy within SCA reverberated across all corners of the broadcast network.
“We will miss you on brekkie Pricey, and thanks for the multiple mango seasons of radio brilliance,” Mr Cameron said.
SCA General Manager of Townsville Shane Jurgens paid tribute to Pricey saying he had been part of the community’s fabric for a very long time.
“Over this time Pricey has educated me on the importance of connection to this amazing community with everything we do on and off the air,” Mr Jurgens said.
“He has played a huge part in our lives when we needed a laugh, when we needed a friend or when we needed someone in our time of need.
“Everyone needs a Pricey in their lives. You are a true legend of radio my dear friend and I look forward to many more long lunches … on you.”
Originally published as Steve ‘Pricey’ Price to retire from radio in 2024
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