Retro Hit Radio streams a wide-ranging mix of 80s and 90s dance, new wave, post-punk, ska, and reggae from Auckland, New Zealand, built for Gen X and Gen Y listeners under the tagline "c60 c90, be kind, rewind." Press play on Radio Shuffle and it streams instantly, free, with no account or download required.
Eight years of building a music library before going live
Retro Hit Radio's story starts long before its first broadcast. According to its station history, the idea took shape in 1996, when its founders began building the music library that would eventually become the station's playlist. Trial broadcasts followed in 2001, and the station finally launched properly on Waitangi Day, February 6, 2004, on 106.9 FM out of Otahuhu, before moving to 88.1 FM from a transmission site at Goodwood Heights later that same year to reach Manukau City.
The FM signal kept moving after that. Auckland's Manukau transmission went off air in October 2007, and the station relocated to Kohimarama on the same 88.1 frequency, broadcasting there until February 2008. Rather than chase another FM site, Retro Hit Radio pivoted to become a dedicated internet radio station based in Grey Lynn, streaming online until it went quiet in April 2010. It stayed off air for years before a planned relaunch, announced through its social media accounts, brought it back at 10am on December 11, 2013, this time built as a purely digital station from the ground up.
A soundtrack and a cause
Today the station runs licensed through One Music NZ, a division of Brown Stuff Limited, and reaches listeners through its own app alongside TuneIn, Spotify, and Apple Music. Its schedule mixes shows like Bottomless Brunch and Club Retro with dance classics, new wave and post-punk cuts, reggae compilations, and even new releases from artists who built their careers in the decades the station is named for. Retro Hit Radio also uses its platform to support New Zealand causes, including the Cancer Society NZ and the Mental Health Foundation of NZ, alongside in-person gatherings like The Retro Event for its listener community.
Listen free on Radio Shuffle
Retro Hit Radio streams around the clock, and Radio Shuffle carries the feed live with nothing to install and no subscription required. Press play for a station that spent eight years building its record collection before it ever went on air.