ABC702 Mornings is celebrating the career of Yusuke Aso, the longest serving producer with the ABC in Sydney. Yusuke will retire at the end of June after 38 years with Sydney local radio.

Yusuke started his Sydney local radio career with the ABC in 1988 producing Bob Hudson’s night-time radio show back when the radio studios were in a basement at Forbes Street in Kings Cross.

He found his way to morning radio in 1990 when producing for the late Andrew Olle, a time he more or less stuck with for 36 years.

He’s produced for over a dozen presenters including Phillip Clark, Angela Catterns, Sally Loane, Virginia Trioli, Deborah Cameron, Linda Mottram, Wendy Harmer, Robbie Buck, James Valentine, Cassie McCullagh, Sarah Macdonald and currently Hamish Macdonald.

Over the years he’s built a famously extensive contact book with 40,000 entries. He remembers when he saved too many contacts for his iPhone to handle.

702 ABC Sydney Mornings presenter Hamish Macdonald describes him as an “absolute rockstar” whose contact book is like “having the keys to the world of making radio”.

“There is rarely a contact he doesn’t have and his joy and enthusiasm for landing the best possible guest is unmatched,” Macdonald said.

Macdonald paid tribute to Yusuke as a colleague and friend who was a master of what Yusuke calls “flow radio”.

“Rather than just moving through a daily rundown, he wants the listener to feel a sense of flow between all the subjects and pivots so that it feels organic and comfortable,” Macdonald said.

This extensive contact book has been a secret weapon of ABC Sydney radio presenters for decades. Angela Catterns, whose breakfast show he produced from 2000–2003, said Yusuke could always “sniff out” the best stories.

“Whenever I presented a radio show with Yusuke producing I know I was in safe hands,” Catterns said.

Just about every presenter agrees with Catterns’ assessment.

“He’s diligent, he’s hard-working, he knows where all the bodies are buried,” presenter Robbie Buck, who Yusuke worked for between 2018 and 2021, said.

Former 2BL station manager Peter Wall remembers hiring Yusuke well before he built his reputation as a story wrangler.

He remembers Yusuke, who had arrived in Australia from Japan in 1985, as a “young Japanese guy who loved Australia”.

He remembers at the end of this job interview Yusuke saying the expression “she’s apples”, although Yusuke recalls saying “good as gold”.

As well as his deep knowledge for news stories and extensive contacts, Yusuke made himself known for his personal style of vests and love for music.

He intends to continue his occasional translating work, but he’s also hoping to spend more time being a different kind of rockstar, at home with his rock music collection, after he puts his last show to air.

“I go away from this place with a pretty profound sense of accomplishment,” Yusuke said.

“I never thought I’d be in a place like this, doing things like this. And I feel so humbled and honoured and flattered to have served and played a role in this kind of organisation.”