Our Patron:

Hello everyone, my name is Dave Faulkner and I was honoured when Ivan Miles invited me to become patron of 107.3HFM, an invitation I am glad to accept. My family originally came from the Belmont area but later in life my Mum and Dad lived for many years in the Armadale area, a community where I still have strong ties.

My Dad was a proud World War II veteran and got involved with the Armadale RSL, and my mother devoted much of her life to community work. Both of them also served in local government. For the past 34 years I have been lead singer and principal songwriter for the Hoodoo Gurus, a band I started with three other friends in 1981.

Though the band formed in Sydney, three of us were originally from Perth having met in the late 70’s as part of the local punk scene. Back then, my band was The Victims and it also included first Gurus drummer, James Baker. Other notable musicians to come out of the Perth punk scene were Kim Salmon (The Scientists) and Dave McComb (The Triffids) and the musical reverberation from that feisty little underground movement still resonates around the world today.

Even before I was a punk rocker, music was an enormous part of my life, right from an early age. Even now, after all these years, I still get a thrill out of playing concerts and writing songs.

As chairman of the judging panel for the Australian Music Prize I am happily exposed to a lot of new Australian music every year and I am constantly amazed at the talent that flourishes across the country, often springing from “underground” musical scenes, the same way it did with punk.

In these days of centrally-programmed commercial radio networks and their rigid playlists it is often left up to the community radio stations like Heritage FM to discover and nurture our new musical talent. Without your grass roots support many of our musical success stories, artists like Tame Impala and Gotye, might never have gained a foothold let alone gone onto become global success stories.

The passion and dedication of the many volunteers at community radio stations like 107.3 HFM is the lifeblood of Australian music. It certainly played a crucial part in helping both The Victims and, later, the Hoodoo Gurus. I know that 107.3HFM is a great supporter of the local Perth music scene, including artists from your local community. I am proud to be involved as patron and I look forward to hearing all the great new music and artists you discover.
Best wishes Dave Faulkner