Former radio king Kevin Hillier spills secrets on Molloy and McGuire

Melbourne’s former radio king Kevin Hillier has seen it all in 50 years of broadcasting, including sneak peeks into rising media stars Mick Molloy and Eddie McGuire.

Kevin Hillier (right) with John Farnham at radio station 3XY. Picture: Facebook.

He sent young Mick Molloy home on several occasions, and marvelled at baby-faced Eddie McGuire’s ability to break major footy stories, even after a big night at Chasers.

Former Melbourne radio king, Kevin Hillier, who celebrates his 50th anniversary as a broadcaster this year, has ruled the roost, seen it all, and, quite often laid down the law with Molloy.

“Mick was a wild young boy,” Hillier told Herald Sun. “He was an untethered brumby running across the wide open expanses of the media. He was a work in progress. He was funny as, but he was 20, being a 20-year-old.”

Hillier first worked with Molloy at Fox FM. He anchored the Morning Crew alongside Diane ‘Dee Dee’ Dunleavy, Peter ‘Grubby’ Stubbs, and Denis O’Kane from 1986 to 1989.

Molloy and Ian McFadyen were hired as comedy writers.

“You could see Mick was going to be a major talent,” Hillier said. “I had to send him home a couple of times. It was, ‘Mate, you’re in no fit state to be here. Why don’t you come back tomorrow and we’ll see how that works out?’”

Comedian star Mick Molloy started his radio career as a writer on Fox FM. Picture: Supplied.

Roving reporters Stephen Quartermain and Eddie McGuire.

Hillier started his radio career in Queensland, then moved to Melbourne’s 3XY to do the Drive show in 1982. Back then, 3XY talent included Peter Harrison, Mike Jeffries, Garry Suprain, Mike O’Loughlin and Peter Grace.

At Fox, the Morning Crew won the FM radio ratings from 1987 to 1989.

“It was massive, it was huge to be No.1,” Hillier said. “I won’t say it was more significant, but your time at No.1 lasted longer. There only four (ratings) surveys a year, compared to the eight or 10 they have today.”

Radio stars also maintained anonymity. “The extra visual part of radio now is something I never craved,” Hillier said. “Radio is almost like television now because you know what everyone looks like.

“Back then, I could stand in Safeway and no-one would know who I was. The celebrity nature of radio now has changed everything. Everyone knows what Ross Stevenson, Christian O’Connell or Marty Sheargold, or whoever, looks like.

“Back then, nobody knew what me, Grubby, Deedee or any of us, looked like. I preferred that.”

Fox broadcast out of the Channel 10 building in Nunawading. Hillier first met Ten’s cadet reporter McGuire there, and they later worked together at Triple M.

“I met Eddie and Stephen Quartermain out at Nunawading. They were legendary with their nightclubbing escapades,” Hillier said. “But I knew Eddie was an ambitious young man. He was driven. He put in the hard yards, and never shirked hard work.”

Peter ‘Grubby’ Stubbs and Diane ‘Dee Dee’ Dunleavy. Picture: Supplied.

McGuire and Molloy joined forces on Triple M Hot Breakfast, with Luke Darcy, from 2011 to 2014. Molloy now co-hosts a Triple M show in Sydney.

Triple M poached Hillier in 1989 to anchor a breakfast show with comedy troupe, the D-Generation, which included Molloy, Rob Sitch, Tony Martin, Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Jason Stephens.

McGuire also covered sport for the radio show.

“Eddie would roll in at a minute to six and read the back page of the Herald Sun,” Hillier said. “He was always out and about, compering every football club’s best and fairest events.”

Hillier said he knew his role alongside the D-Gen. “I wasn’t competing with them for laughs. I didn’t what a host does, which is spotlight the talent,’ he said. “It allowed them to perform their bits, and not worry about the time, temperature, traffic and throwing to the news.”
Hillier has also worked at SEN, RSN and currently hosts a show on Geelong’s 93.9 Bay FM.

He also produces podcasts including Life Of Brian, Food Bytes and Ruck ‘n’ Roll.

Hillier said radio shows today don’t do enough for the listener.

“I think an awful lot of radio today is being done for the people in the studio, and for the people in the building listening to the people in the studio,” he said. “Amusing yourself is fine, but at the end of the day, radio is about servicing the audience. It’s instant gratification — like, you know who this person is because they’re a comedian, or reality TV star, or a footballer or cricketer. But whether they have any broadcast skills is a different story.”