Vale: Colin Stevenson

Pioneering audio director Colin Stevenson, a long time head of GTV9’s Audio Department, has died aged 81.

He died of natural causes last week.

Stevenson joined HSV7 in 1958 just two years after black and white TV started in Australia, following his start at radio 3UL Warragul.

After working in the UK he returned to Australia, becoming Audio Director of In Melbourne Tonight. The new studio had audience speakers hung high, but when the boom mic came back it would whack the boxes. He got Rola, a local Melbourne loudspeaker manufacturer, to build multiple small 100v line speakers positioned at chair level.

Roles followed as audio director on The Don Lane Show then Kerry Packer’s revolutionary World Series Cricket with innovations of microphones dug into trenches on the ground.

“We put them in the pitch. Kerry Packer came down to VFL park, and with two sets of headphones, we listened. Dennis Lillee was batting, then an Indian fast bowler hit his foot, and Kerry is nodding. Some fragrant language it was,” he said.

“Kerry said, ‘We got a bit of work ahead of us, son, haven’t we?’”

“I said I knew where the microphone has to go; right behind the middle stump. Packer said ‘Why?’ I said because the batsman is a good metre out there, facing away. So we don’t hear the cursing!”

His credits included Sunbury Music Festival, Neil Diamond Thank You Australia, Elton John Thank You Australia, and broadcasts of Dire Straits and Cliff Richard, the opening of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Royal Command Performances, Logie Awards, and the Sydney Olympics.

He also started Production Audio Services, joined by son Graeme, and established TCS Studios at Channel 9.

You can read more at CX Network.