Joe Augustin began his radio career when he was just 18 years old in Brunei on a Saturday afternoon as a guest DJ. He was subsequently invited to perform as characters on RTB’s children’s radio show.
In 1988, Joe joined the Australian College of Entertainers to study acting, comedy, music, scriptwriting and of course radio. The following year he enrolled in the Melbourne Radio School and studied under Gary Mac.
In 1990, Joe was hired as a producer-presenter for SBC’s (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) Perfect 10. Before he even got on the air, Joe was redeployed to a new radio station that was about to be launched. And on 1st April 1990, Joe hit the Singapore airwaves on Class 95 FM.
By 1992, Joe was presenting the morning show where he pioneered the style of traffic reporting that is still heard today. Joe also changed the way TV trailers were voiced, introducing a more emotional and dramatic style to what was previously a matter-of-fact announcement of shows to come.
In the years to come, Joe would welcome many co-hosts on the show, including Melissa Hyak, Vera Lim and Jessica Soo.
In December 1996, radio veteran The Flying Dutchman joined Joe on the Morning Express on Class 95 FM. After a tentative start, the show evolved into what is still regarded by many as the best radio show Singapore has ever produced.
In October 2000, Joe took up the role of Senior Programming and Promotions Manager at Safra Radio – which also saw him presenting the morning show with Hamish Brown, VivienTan and later Denise Tan.
Two years later, Joe decided it was time to take a break from radio.
It wasn’t long before his dissatisfaction with the state of radio lured him back onto the radio – rejoining Power 98 as the co-host of The Morning Jam with Maggie Lim.
In 2006, Joe was invited to be part of the relaunch of Unionworks WKRZ 91.3 FM. The search for a new on-air partner led to the birth of the now infamous Petrina And Joe Show with Petrina Kow on the rebranded Radio 91.3.
In 2008, the on-air partnership came to an end when Petrina decided she needed to spend more time with her family. Management decided to terminate their contract with Joe, which led to Joe being picked up immediately by his former radio station.
This began another famous partnership with Shareen Wong on Power 98′s Morning Jam. And then suddenly in February in 2009 a misunderstanding with management led to the departure of both.
The partnership has continued with a podcast – The Shareen And Joe Show (available at MorningJam.com) which has had over 300,000 downloads.
Most recently, Joe Augustin has been on the radio once again on Lush 99.5 anchoring the morning show weekdays from 7 to 10.
Joe was also be heard on the Easy Listening Channel, as part of Kris World, Singapore Airline’s award winning in-flight entertainment. The channel is their most popular.
Among his commercial clients, Joe has also developed a reputation for his marketing savvy, improving the way companies communicate to their customers. He has spoken at engagements, including the Singapore Business Congress and Singapore Ad Congress, on topics such as customer service, branding and of course radio advertising.
As an actor on national television, he has appeared on the popular local sitcom “Under One Roof” and “3 Rooms” as well as featured as a guest on programs like “At Home With”, “Bringing Up Kids” and “Pyramid Game”.
His standup comedy show “Just Joe : What He Can’t Say On Radio” ran for 4 sell-out nights at Raffles Hotel’s prestigious Jubilee Hall. He was also the only local performer in the Singapore International Comedy Festival.
