3AW breakfast host John Burns will sign off the airwaves, but he says he won’t disappear
After waking up Melbourne for the past 19 years with Ross Stevenson, John Burns will sign off the airwaves with a tinge of sorrow but no regret.
Fiona Byrne
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John Burns has declared he is “not ready to wander off into the wilderness and disappear” as he steps down as co-host of 3AW’s dominant breakfast show.
Burns has helmed Ross And John For Breakfast alongside Ross Stevenson since 2001, and the pair has emassed an extraordinary 147 consecutive rating survey wins. They are Melbourne’s undisputed breakfast kings.
Now, after 19 years of waking up Melbourne, Burns will farewell the show on Friday, saying the day will be emotional and nostalgic.
“It will certainly be a great feeling of satisfaction of what we managed over that period but naturally there will be a tinge of sorrow and not regret, but nostalgia,” Burns, 74, said.
“There will be a new chapter in my life and I am ready for that. I am not ready to wander off into the wilderness and disappear.”
He described his departure as a “mutual decision” between himself and the station, coming after his comments last year that he was prepared to work on forever and would not be voluntarily leaving his post.
“It has been a great ride and all good things must come to an end. I am comfortable with it. There are no bad feelings in any way,” he said.
“There is still life in the old bloke yet and, as I said, it is a mutual decision. I have had to come to terms with it. It is great to be getting out on top.
“There is probably still room for me at AW doing other things and I am happy with that.”
Burns said it was his love of a long lunch that led him to meet Stevenson in 1988 and eventually leave his legal career to join 3AW full-time.
“It all started with an invitation from Ross to do an interview with me on Lawyers, Guns And Money way back in the days of Triple R, because I had a little bit of a reputation as a barrister, a reputation of going out to lunch every day,” he said.
“Ross heard about my Sir Lunchalot nickname and thought it was worth an interview.”
He jumped at the chance to join AW Breakfast as co-host in 2001.
“It was like a new life and it has been a wonderful ride,” he said.
Burns is now ready for another career change as Russel Howcroft joins 3AW breakfast on August 3.
His advice to Howcroft is simple: “Look after Ross.”
“The advice I got from Dean Banks, who was my predecessor, was, ‘enjoy the ratings, look after Ross and don’t believe the bulls--t’,” he said.
“It is the relationship with Ross that is the important thing and my relationship with him has been terrific.”
Burns’ sign-off was supposed to come after he and Stevenson had broadcast from the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics. Instead the pair will celebrate their extraordinary success over a long lunch once the COVID-19 lockdown relaxes.
“One of the best things that ever happened to me was meeting Ross,” he said.
“When I write my autobiography the title will be ‘Lucky’. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time when this job came into being and it has been fabulous.”