DO YOU have fond memories of a local or even national Non-BBC radio station that we haven’t got listed here? Can you say a couple of words about the character of its output that doesn’t just involve listing presenters and dates or waffling on about ‘airchecks’ (whatever they are exactly)?
If so, then please do exactly that in the comments below; even Radio Cream hasn’t heard every station in existence, so this is where YOUR memories come in… and if they’re good enough, you’ll get a namecheck (and not an ‘aircheck’) in the eventual entry!
I remember listening to Radio Clyde when Richard Park was still there, before he became the boss at Capital Radio.
Another DJ, I enjoyed listening to was Tom Bell on Forth AM, 1548.
They were the days.
essex radio which i remember most for the mr wishmore windows and doors jingle song played constantly,so much so that my mum phoned up mr wishmore to obtain a vinyl record floppy of the song.
essex radios first song was wired for sound by cliff,thats when i knew radio 1 was for me and essex for my mum.
also remember timbo in first years of bbc essex and rushing home from school to listen to his jingles and also plugging star trekkin by the firm every day which i loved,ahh memories :)
also loved listening to ceaser the geezer at invicta under the bedclothes finishing at 1am.no wonder i didnt do well at school,i couldnt stay awake.
The station of chocie for me in my student days in Newcastle in the 1980′s had to be Metro Radio, the original home of James Whale’s Night Owls phone-in program and the genius that was Alan Robson – initially at the weekends with his rock show on a Saturday and the Bridges show on the Sunday, but later taking over from Alan Bessant after his stint as James Whale’s replacement ended.
I’ve never found a radio station since that met my tastes as well as that station did…
Northants 96.6 – the Hot FM!
WGMS – the World’s Greatest Music Station (no hyperbole there, then).
KCBC – Kettering and Coventry Broadcasting Corporation.
Just adding to Mike’s post above: Metro Radio memories:
The great James Whale – Nightowls was essential listening in the late ’70s (once Peely had finished, of course). It was often said that Mr Whale was the North-East’s biggest cult – I said CULT! – and he’s still going strong, on LBC 97.3 in London. I live a long way from Newcastle now, and Alan Robson is still doing Nightowls, though when I last listened in over the ‘net, the subject under discussion was slang names for the penis. Dumbing down? Naaahh!
Bill Steel’s Breakfast Show – featuring a voice who’d call out “Divven’t be silly man!” in the middle of records (eg the end of the talky bit in Neil Sedaka’s ‘Oh Carol’ when Neil says ‘I will surely die’…);
Paddy Macdee – the type of radio DJ lampooned by Steve Wright’s Dave Doubledecks character in the 80s..every ‘s’ sound came out as ‘sh’, so you’d hear “that’sh a shuper shound, ishn’t it?”;
Jeff Brown – the original Saturday night rock show presenter, who introduced me to Motorhead, ELP, Thin Lizzy, and many more. As a 14-year-old, I visited the Metro studio, and met Jeff. He was the music librarian at Metro.
I remember Metro with great affection, particularly Alan Robson on Nightowls and also in the seventies they syndicated part of Kenny Everett’s show from Capital Radio. It regularly wiped the floor with Radio Newcastle, which was dominated by Frank Wappat and his thirties records, and rivalled Radio 1 for most popular station in the North East.
Everyone in Northampton can sing the Mann Egerton car showrooms jingle (YES, YES YOU CAAAAAN).
Also Manchester in 1989 had the very groovy Sunrise Radio, with a ‘personal problems’ section hosted by the two younger gimps from 808 State.
We used to listen to James Whale when he was on Aire FM in Leeds in the 80′s and ring in with various hilarious characters. (well we thought so!)
I listened to Radio Clyde’s medium wave service, the catchy named Clyde 2 (jingle – Clyde tooooo) during the summer months when I had a student job doing deliveries round Glasgow. Basically it was 50s, 60s and 70s records, which was quite good in a Heartbeat sort of way, but the main reason was the decent traffic reports, which you didn’t get on other stations (yes, Radio Scotland, I’M looking at YOU).
I did some work experience in an office where the radio was always on Key 103. Quite good to listen to, I could always get the Top 10 At 10 after a couple of songs, even if the standard playlist was limited.
Later I used to listen to Smooth FM before it became more national. It’s mix of soul / blues & current music was very good.