Bill Armstrong AM (24 June 1929 – 7 August 2026) was an Australian music producer.
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Life and career
Armstrong grew up in Melbourne and began his career recording his friends' bands onto wire, before being hired to record court proceedings and civil ceremonies. These included recordings of Robert Menzies opening Geelong's Shell Refinery. He recorded live jazz performances, including the 1949 Australian Jazz Convention, and created acetate copies for the performers to purchase.
He started Bill Armstrong Sound in December 1949, and in the early 1950s began releasing local jazz records on his own record labels, Paramount, Magnasound, and Danceland. He worked for ABC Radio producing broadcasts and was in charge of the PA system at the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956.
From 1956 to 1960, Armstrong worked for W&G Records and recorded musicians such as Graeme Bell and the Seekers, and commercial jingles.
After sound engineer Roger Savage arrived from England, he and Armstrong set up Armstrong Studios in 1965 and recorded artists such as Russell Morris, Daddy Cool, John Farnham, Skyhooks and Graham Kennedy. They were credited with recording 80% of the music in the Australian charts at the time.
In 1977, Armstrong left the studio to work for SBS Radio, before starting EON FM, Australia's first commercial FM radio station where he worked as managing director.
Armstrong left EON in 1986 and set up the jazz label Bilarm Music, where he continued to work into 2015. The label released compilations of old 78 RPM recordings, co-curated by Barry Humphries. In 2015 Armstrong purchased Swaggie Records.
Armstrong died in August 2026 at the age of 97.
Awards
1995 – Advance Australia Award
1995 – Audio Engineering Society (of USA) Australian chapter, Lifetime Achievement Award
1995 – Australian Sound Recording Association award for "Outstanding Service to The Australian Recording Industry"
1999 – ARIA Special Achievement Award
2006 – APRA Ted Albert Award
2011 – National Film and Sound Archive's Cochrane-Smith Award
2015 – Member of the Order of Australia
2015 – The Age Music Victoria Hall of Fame