Today marks the 10th anniversary of Retro 105.9, also known as its full name Retro 105.9 DCG FM. DCG stands for Domingo C. Garcia, one of the owners of DCG Network. It was the first station in Metro Manila playing Classic Hits, spanning from the 70s to …
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Retro 105.9, also known as its full name Retro 105.9 DCG FM. DCG stands for Domingo C. Garcia, one of the owners of DCG Network. It was the first station in Metro Manila playing Classic Hits, spanning from the 70s to the 90s.
HIGH TRANSITION
At the beginning of March 2014, Radio High 105.9 discontinued its segments, but retained its playlist. It was revealed that Francis Lumen subleased the station to DCG Network, which owns Kiss FM in Lucena, in order for the station to regain its losses. JJ Sparx and Jimmy Jam would handle the station's programming. Throughout the month, Jimmy Jam posted on social media several hints regarding the station's profile and the DJs who would be part of the station.
Radio High quietly went off the air on the night of March 27.
RETRO MANILA
During the early morning of March 28, 2014, the station went Retro. The first line-up consisted of JJ Sparx (who was also the station manager), Rudolph Rivera, Joey Pizza, Jimmy Jam, The Triggerman and Andy Tuna, each of them handling 4 hours of boardwork almost everyday, with Joshua as the pinch hitter. A month after, The Triggerman brought back his Top 20 @ 12, this time as a categorical countdown. Retro also introduced SRO: Saturday Retro Onstage, where it featured live performances.
In September, their boardwork was reduced to 3 hours on a Monday to Saturday basis, except for Joey Pizza and Jimmy Jam, who boarded from Sunday to Friday. JJ Sparx, along with newscasters Anjanette and Karen, became The Breakfast Club, while Johsua was promoted to late mornings. Unfortunately, this schedule lasted for less than 2 months.
MASS DESTRUCTION
On October 20, 2014, with the departure of JJ Sparx from Retro, King DJ Logan and Sgt. Pepper joined the station, with Cris Cruise as consultant. As a result, the schedule was revamped, with the DJs going back to 4 hours of boardwork. Rudolph Rivera, The Triggerman and Joey Pizza were relegated to the Weekends and therefore collectively known as the Weekend Warriors. This weekend lineup remained intact for the next few years.
By this time, Retro ditched its classic stingers in favor of stingers provided by Joshua. It also introduced its new tagline It's more than just music, It's a lifestyle. Retro introduced Discoteria, featuring live mixes from abt. djs.
In March 2015, King DJ Logan left the station, with Karen taking over his morning timeslot, and Sgt. Pepper followed suit a few months later, leaving the station in a mess. It was this time where Retro launched an audition called Be A Retro Jock. The winners had their share of boardwork on Sunday evenings.
MORNING FLIGHT
On October 12, 2015, the entry of Hillbilly Willy (who also served as the station manager) marked minor changes in Retro. Bruce Romano and Bobby Ante (initially a Sunday night DJ who was promoted to Weekend evenings in less than a year) joined the station. Guest DJs, notably veterans, were featured every Saturday night. Retro Discoteria became Club Retro, this time featuring live mixes from various DJs. Retro introduced Retro Romance, a Sunday late night program featuring easy listening songs with Maxine as host.
A few months later, with Hillbilly Willy's efforts in putting the station back on track, Retro emerged as the top station for the upscale market.
LOSING STEAM
2017 was a tough year for Retro, especially with the emergence of 104.3 FM2 come February. After Holy Week of 2017, Retro reduced its terrestrial airtime from 24/7 to 19 hours a day, continuing its operations online during graveyard shift. By this time, music automation was extended to late nights, dubbed as Retro After Dark.
In June 2017, Hillbilly Willy left the station due to creative differences. Left with no station manager, Retro began losing steam. Karen took over his morning timeslot. In August, The Mole, who was a gust DJ during its first year, became the recent addition to the station.
DRIVE TIME
At the beginning of November 2017, all the Retro jocks, except for Karen and Joshua, were dismissed. The namesake stopped funding the station, leaving the station's future plans, including the return of some of its DJs with a new contract, up in smoke. By this time, Retro was in survival mode.
In November 20, the DCG FM was dropped from the brand, now simply called Retro 105-9, and a new set of stingers were introduced. By this time, Retro introduced a daily show called Drive Time, where it features a certain category each day for 4 hours in the morning and another 4 hours in the evening. 80s (We Love the 80s) on Monday, 90s (Living In the 90s) on Tuesday, Easy Listening (Feel Good) on Wednesday, New Wave on Thursday, Disco on Friday & 60s on Saturday.
Come December, Karen boarded on Weekday mornings once again, with The Triggerman returning on Weekend noon the following month only for his Top 20 @ 12.
RETRO EXIT
On the afternoon of May 25, 2018, Retro 105.9 quietly went off the air. The next day, it went back on air, this time as Like FM 105.9, with an Adult Top 40 format. It was revealed that DCG Network had debts to pay to Francis Lumen and the owner of the frequency, Bright Star.
During the time when RJFM was the only station airing variety hits, Retro 105.9 came into the picture. Retro delivered a vast variety of classic hits and pulled some of the veteran jocks out of retirement. The only problem in its playlist was its inconsistency due to each of the DJs having their own music bias. It was during Retro's automation era when its music direction improved, with its playlist becoming consistent. Regardless of the direction, the station was worth the listen while it lasted and therefore stayed true to its tagline that Retro is more than just music, it's indeed a lifestyle.
During most of its existence, Retro didn't have a permanent line-up of DJs, with some of them lasting for less than two years. There may be internal problems within the station's management, but it's understandable. It could've helped if the succeeding management retained the retro format though. As of this writing, the station now known as Neo Retro is slowly shifting back to its retro format.
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