A former breakfast host on Auckland's Radio Hauraki, Black was once the highest-paid private radio DJ in New Zealand. His 12-year spell with Solid Gold between 1997 and 2009 was his last on-air role until he died in 2013, just short of his 70th birthday. Murray Inglis left the breakfast show in late 2010 and was replaced by Mark McCarron. From 25 December 2010 the station changed their positioning statement to "The Greatest Hits of all time", and no longer played only 1960s and 1970s music. Daytime announcer Macca, who had been with the station since 1998, had his last show with Solid Gold on 30 December 2011 and did not continue with The Sound. Afternoon host Rick Rennie and former night host Peter Dakin also left. As The Sound The station relaunched as The Sound at 9am on 1 January 2012. The last song on Solid Gold FM was "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. The first song played on The Sound, following a 5-minute profile intro, was Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding". Breakfast host Mark McCarron hosted the first show on The Sound. The Sound features a classic rock format, which broadcasts on all existing Solid Gold frequencies over the country. The change was made in response to competing stations Classic Hits and Radio Hauraki choosing to play newer music. The change fills the gap in 1970s and 1980s music no longer played by these stations. Mark McCarron left the breakfast show in June 2014, to make way for The Kennedy and Staufer Breakfast with Mark Kennedy and Mark Staufer. Kennedy and Staufer were well known to Auckland listeners as the breakfast duo on Auckland's 89FM during the 1980s hosting a breakfast show called The Top Marks. The show was cancelled in July 2014, after co-host Mark Staufer reportedly used foul language during a late-night talkback slot he was co-hosting with Ian Wishart on Radio Live. The talkback slot also included frank and explicit discussion about masturbation and teenage abortion, with his co-host blaming his poor choice of words on tiredness. He immediately lost his place on the late-night talkback slot. The situation was reviewed by MediaWorks New Zealand management and the breakfast programme was cancelled just five weeks after it had begun. Following the cancellation of The Kennedy and Staufer Breakfast show Mark McCarron was reinstated as breakfast presenter with co-host Leah