21 Facts About Stan Rofe

Stanley Rofe was an Australian rock'n'roll disc jockey and music news reporter.

In 2015, Stan Rofe was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.

Stanley Rofe was born on 30 May 1933 in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne.

Stan Rofe's father was an Essendon footballer and his mother was a former Tivoli dancer and show girl.

Stan Rofe was a student at Faraday Street State School in Carlton and later at Collingwood Technical School.

Nevertheless, as a young child, Stan Rofe was a fan of radio station 3KZ.

Stan Rofe commenced work at sixteen and a year later he was teaching ballroom dancing and was a member of the Victorian Square Dance Championship Team that was third in their national competition.

At eighteen Stan Rofe was called up for three months national service training, which was followed by four years in the Citizens' Military Forces.

Stan Rofe recalled attending parties at Frank Thring's family home.

Stan Rofe took up an afternoon trial slot combining popular music with listener's requests; he presented "Call up KZ", which required listeners to identify recordings.

Phil Gibbs, 3KZ's program manager, had Stan Rofe call night football games at South Melbourne's home ground.

Stan Rofe copied Laws idea and incorporated the latest singles into his show, where they were inter-mixed with tracks by Perry Como, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra.

Stan Rofe worked at 3KZ broadcasting from the Trades Hall building in Carlton for eight years, then moved to 3UZ, before returning to 3XY as music director in the 1970s.

Stan Rofe became a gossip news columnist and adviser for teenage popular music newspaper, Go-Set, in February 1966, while still at 3UZ.

Stan Rofe was extremely critical of the development, or lack of development amongst Australian pop and rock musicians.

Stan Rofe's popularity peaked in February 1968 when he was appointed King of Moomba, a local festival.

Stan Rofe helped expand Johnny O'Keefe's popularity: he was the first Melbourne DJ to play the artist's debut single, "You Hit the Wrong Note Billy Goat".

Morris recalled that "[Stan Rofe] was an exceptional, warm man", and credits him for suggesting he do a cover of "Hush", the first hit for his band, Somebody's Image.

Stan Rofe died on 16 May 2003, aged 69, after being diagnosed with cancer.

At his funeral service on 21 May 2003, more than 200 people attended the Trinity College chapel in Parkville, Victoria and they heard Stan Rofe eulogised as a friend, a brother, an uncle, a mentor, a passionate supporter of Australian artists and of the Essendon Football Club.

Ed Nimmervoll, another Go-Set journalist dedicated his book, Friday on My Mind to Stan Rofe, who had inspired him to become focussed on music.