Christos Tsiolkas

How did you first connect with Triple R?

I was in high school in suburban Melbourne and someone at school must have been talking about this weird new station that played strange weird music. It was just when 3RRR started. I went home that night, searched for it on the fm dial and eventually found it. It was a transformative moment, like when the lightning strikes in an old Bible movie and the world is torn asunder. I knew I could never go back to MMM and the top forty. I also knew that I was no longer the only (fag/weirdo/pinko – tick where applicable) in the village.

What/when was your first show?

I did a few graveyard shifts in the early eighties. Badly.

What's your favourite Triple R story?

Every time I have gone into the Breakfasters I leave with a big smile on my face and feel good for a week. 

Your favourite other Triple R program and why?

The left/right knockout punch of Filmbuffs Forecast and Twang on Saturday morning. Muchas gracias, Denise Hylands, for all the great music you’ve introduced me to. A tú tambien, Mr. Harris, for all the good films you’ve led me to. It’s one of my favourite things in the world, cleaning the house on Saturday afternoons and having Filmbuffs and then Twang blasting from two radios.

What does Triple R mean to you?

Following the white rabbit down the hole.

The studio door has accidentally jammed shut with you stuck inside. If there was only one CD in there with you what would you want it to be and why?

Astral Weeks, Van Morrison. Because “Sweet Thing” always brings me peace (which you need when trapped in a confined space) and maybe I’d finally work out what “Madam George” is really about.