Remembering Brad McNally: Friends and colleagues pay tribute to radio great

Sad news over the weekend as the media industry lost another radio great. This time it was Brad McNally. Growing up in Canada, McNally worked in Canada, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Australia. His years in radio in Australia included successful tenures at 96FM in Perth and in more recent times at the Gold Coast’s Hot Tomato until his retirement in 2016.

A friend of Brad’s wife Margaret McNally posted this message on social media on the weekend:

I wish to advise former radio colleagues and friends of the passing of Margaret’s beloved husband, Brad McNally. Brad enjoyed a stellar 45-year career in the radio industry in Australia and abroad. Brad passed away peacefully last night, Saturday 6 November 2021, in St John of God Hospital, Subiaco. Courageous to the end.

Among some of the first tributes posted:

Gold 104’s Gavin Miller:

I absolutely adored Brad McNally. I met him when I was 20. He was my boss to start with, and later on he became one of my favourite friends. I’ll always smile when I think of how he would start every phone call. “Hey man, checking in…!”

He was a quirky guy who knew how to live a big life, which he did. He used to say stuff to me like “…you’ve only got one kick at the can, so make the most of it”. He also introduced me to a tonne of great music, made me laugh a lot, and he always cheered me on no matter what.

Gold 104’s Craig Huggins:

I was blessed to work with Brad at 3XY when l first started radio, and again as my PD at Gold104.3 in the mid 90s. A wonderful giving man who I've always loved chatting with. I'll always remember his whispering haunting Canadian accent on his show "The Hour Before Midnight". Most know Brad as Ninja, way back then we called him Gunner.

Read more about Brad: Radio Today – Brad McNally – the Exit Interview