4ZZZ

4ZZZ are Queensland’s longest running FM radio station. As a not-for-profit community broadcaster, we have been reliably pumping out alternative music, news and culture since we began as 4ZZ on campus at the University of Queensland in 1975.

After being evicted from the University of Queensland by the conservative student union in 1988, our search for a new home led us in the direction of 264 Barry Parade in Fortitude Valley, then owned by the Brisbane chapter of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA).

264 Barry Parade was built in 1936 for Brisbane resident Clarence Beckingham, who operated his business Brisbane Spare Parts Co from the premises when he wasn’t busy organising socialist activities around town. Aside from being a spare parts shop and the headquarters for Brisbane comrades, the three storey brick-building on the border of Fortitude Valley and Spring Hill has housed a radical book store and been a rehearsal and venue space for Brisbane punks well before 4ZZZ called Barry Parade home.

When the CPA dissolved in 1991 they were looking for new tenants to occupy 264 Barry Parade, and 4ZZZ began leasing the premises with a view to making the building our long term home. In 1992 we decided to purchase the property and began the arduous task of building broadcast studios from scratch. The innards of the station have changed significantly in the intervening years, but we’ve been connecting and amplifying the voices of our community across south-east Queensland from the Valley since then.

4ZZZ is run by a small team of paid and volunteer staff, governed by the 4ZZZ Board of Directors and like many community radio stations, powered by volunteers. From the voices you hear on the radio, to the people who process your band’s CDs or run events with our name on it, everyone at 4ZZZ loves what they do. You’ll hear it when you tune into 102.1FM or listen to our digital channel Zed Digital on your DAB radio, both available to stream on our website.

Come and take a guided tour of 4ZZZ and find out how the cogs turn to produce Brisbane’s alternative for Brisbane Open House!