Local radio stations

[PaulC1309]

In my previous job the radio was tuned into our local station Northsound and it's the same set of songs played on all the Bauer stations with perhaps the odd Scottish song thrown in. I think it's only the breakfast show that is local now. For anyone in the Aberdeen area, Original 106 still has the "local" chat that Northsound is missing and "Mearns fm" was our community station broadcast from Stonehaven.

In my experience local stations (Northsound, Heart) offer so little localisation and so many adverts they're not worth bothering with any more. BBC Radio Bristol had some good local programming but sounds like the local BBC stations are being cut back too and so we tend to stick with Radio 1/2 and Absolute 80s/90s.

All the local Scottish stations - Clyde 1, West FM, Northsound, Tay, Moray Fifth all have the same programming apart from breakfast shows which are still local.

 

[sor]

This is the nearest any of you have got to understanding what is happening here.

For commercial radio the key factor is advertising revenue. If a commercial radio station can't sell advertising air time at appropriate rates then it is not financially viable. Much of what used to advertise on commercial radio, especially local stations, has now migrated to the internet.

I don't listen to much commercial radio, a bit of Greatest Hits and Gold. One thing I notice is the indirect government subsidy via buying up advertising time. This was huge during Covid but continues now with advertisements on, for example, how to use the NHS 111 helpline.

How much of this becomes self fulfilling though. If I want to listen to national radio, why wouldn't I just listen to the BBC and not have to put up with ads? Why would I listen to a "local" station that comes from an industrial estate hundreds of miles away? The BBC is of course now the only true "local" station too, since their studio is normally within the county

I say this as someone who grew up with Pirate FM (and for a brief time, locally originated Atlantic FM too). I can't say I listen to Heart Cornwall when I'm back down there and I doubt I will bother with Hits Radio or whatever it will be called now.

Comparable to the state of local newspapers really. Again I'm not very interested in trawling through their god awful websites when the news is either pure fluff or not remotely local.

 

[Richardr]

Same in Lancashire. Preston’s Red Rose Radio, more recently Rock FM, is now amalgamated with Liverpool’s Radio City. Writing was on the wall when Bauer closed the Preston studios a couple of years ago and moved the one non syndicated morning show to Manchester.

Radio City is about to become a Hits Radio station from April.

 

[Mogster]

Do they not realise that some people actually like DJs chatting (witness what happened when Ken Bruce left the BBC and when Steve Wright died)?

The mistake they make is thinking they can put anybody on to chatter.

Yes. Good radio isn’t easy, it’s an art.

I like Joel Ross (ex of JK and Joel) who’s been presenting the Preston Rock FM Breakfast show for the last 4 years. Unfortunately his solo show has been cancelled by Bauer as Rock FM has been amalgamated with Liverpool Radio City. I can see City going the same way in due course.

Radio City is about to become a Hits Radio station from April.

Not surprised.

 

[Kite159]

Do they not realise that some people actually like DJs chatting (witness what happened when Ken Bruce left the BBC and when Steve Wright died)?

The mistake they make is thinking they can put anybody on to chatter.

Some DJs are better than others at idle chit chat.

 

[Typhoon]

Some DJs are better than others at idle chit chat.

True. Some people, particularly lonely people, tune in because they think of the presenter as a friend - and can make seemingly idle chit chat relevant. Others believe they are the next Radio 1/2 breakfast presenter when they are strictly in amateur hour.

 

[david1212]

I have just looked up and the independent 'local' radio I have on in the car is now part of the Bauer / Planet group.

In the morning it is regional, I'm not sure of the area covered now but certainly bigger than years ago and well beyond what I would call local. At some point it then switches to the same as broadcast nationally until the start of regional programme the next morning ( for 'traditional' FM rather than DAB or internet if not nationally certainly several regions are the same ). All that is local/regional is adverts and traffic news. I can't say if outside the broadcast time of the morning regional programme if the general news is regional or the same as across the country.

 

[Richardr]

If you take what is for their last few weeks called Radio City, their licence now says that they have to produce 3 hours within the North West during weekday daytime. The North West includes Manchester and Preston / Blackpool. The remainder of weekdays and all weekend can be networked programmes with local news slotted in "at least hourly during daytime weekdays and weekends. At other times UK-wide, nations and international news should feature".

 

[SteveP29]

Obviously I'm biased, but I grew up listening to this station and its presenters:
https://metroradio261.blogspot.com/p/memories-of-metro-radio.html

Growing up with stars (some local, some national) like Giles Squire, James Whale (yes, him) Charles Harrison's dulcet tones commentating on football, Paddy MacDee, Laurie Giles, Nicky Brown, Steve Colman's breakfast show and latterly Tony Horne and of course, Night Owls with Alan Robson 'hello Alan, I'm a first time caller and I'm a bit nervous'

Once I left the North East in 1989 and returned in 1992, it had changed.
From then on, I only listened to it for the coverage of Newcastle United away games (pre internet, pre illegal streaming), then they stopped and commentary moved over to BBC Radio Newcastle.
Since then, which I believe was 1996, I think I've listened to about 3 minutes of Metro Radio

Now it's also part of Bauer and plays only around 5% local content so I'm told.

Unfortunately, my now favourite radio station (Planet Rock) is also a Bauer station. I only get to listen to about an hour a week of them these days, I just don't have time for radio any more and I guess others feel the same

 

[Richardr]

I'm sure you won't be shocked to hear that Metro Radio is also about to rebrand to Hits Radio. It too is only required to have a three hour programme per weekday locally, and that can be shared with the Teesside licence.

Bauer are converting most of their local stations outside of Scotland into either Hits or Greatest Hits stations, depending on the demographic they are aiming for.

 

[GusB]

All the local Scottish stations - Clyde 1, West FM, Northsound, Tay, Moray Fifth all have the same programming apart from breakfast shows which are still local.

This is certainly not a welcome development; the last time I listened to MFR, the drive-time show was still locally produced, so it's disappointing to know that it's only the breakfast show that comes from Inverness these days.

MFR was fairly close to being a community radio station and that was its appeal for me. It had some good presenters, many of whom were there for a long time, although inevitably some ended up being poached by bigger stations.

 

[Bevan Price]

Obviously I'm biased, but I grew up listening to this station and its presenters:
https://metroradio261.blogspot.com/p/memories-of-metro-radio.html

Growing up with stars (some local, some national) like Giles Squire, James Whale (yes, him) Charles Harrison's dulcet tones commentating on football, Paddy MacDee, Laurie Giles, Nicky Brown, Steve Colman's breakfast show and latterly Tony Horne and of course, Night Owls with Alan Robson 'hello Alan, I'm a first time caller and I'm a bit nervous'

Once I left the North East in 1989 and returned in 1992, it had changed.
From then on, I only listened to it for the coverage of Newcastle United away games (pre internet, pre illegal streaming), then they stopped and commentary moved over to BBC Radio Newcastle.
Since then, which I believe was 1996, I think I've listened to about 3 minutes of Metro Radio

Now it's also part of Bauer and plays only around 5% local content so I'm told.

Unfortunately, my now favourite radio station (Planet Rock) is also a Bauer station. I only get to listen to about an hour a week of them these days, I just don't have time for radio any more and I guess others feel the same

I also listen to Planet Rock sometimes; it is far from perfect, but for me, it is better than anything else on UK radio. My favourites are the blues/rock shows by Bernard Doherty, and the Sunday evening show that includes long rock tracks, but I wish it would include a bit more "non-mainstream" rock content.

(And I suppose we should thank Bauer for letting it survive, so far; I gather at one time, several years ago, its survival was looking a bit precarious.)

 

[Typhoon]

I also listen to Planet Rock sometimes; it is far from perfect, but for me, it is better than anything else on UK radio. My favourites are the blues/rock shows by Bernard Doherty, and the Sunday evening show that includes long rock tracks, but I wish it would include a bit more "non-mainstream" rock content.

(And I suppose we should thank Bauer for letting it survive, so far; I gather at one time, several years ago, its survival was looking a bit precarious.)

It is those type of programmes that are being squeezed out on both commercial and BBC radio. You listen and from time to time you hear a track by someone you have forgotten about or maybe never heard. You might even invest in their music. Niche programmes, maybe a couple of hours a week, just something that differentiates that station from the rest and keeps you loyal to that station. Instead we get more and more inoffensive background music. From the posts in this thread it is clear that others feel the same. I just wish someone was actually listening.

 

[Bevan Price]

It is those type of programmes that are being squeezed out on both commercial and BBC radio. You listen and from time to time you hear a track by someone you have forgotten about or maybe never heard. You might even invest in their music. Niche programmes, maybe a couple of hours a week, just something that differentiates that station from the rest and keeps you loyal to that station. Instead we get more and more inoffensive background music. From the posts in this thread it is clear that others feel the same. I just wish someone was actually listening.

Accountant / management types don't listen or care. All they bother about is can they get enough advertising revenue at minimum possible operating costs ?
And if they think they can achieve that by endlessly repeating a fixed playlist, that is what we will be lumbered with.

 

[adc82140]

There's always us lot in community radio. We're not going anywhere, and OFCOM rules state we can't be sold

 

[Richardr]

The main change is that when these stations started, they had monopolies of [non BBC] stations in their areas. Now, with over 70% of listening being digital, the same stations face at least 40 competitors, including all the national brands such as Capital, Kiss, Heart, Magic, Absolute, Virgin and their offshoots, etc.

Secondly, local advertising has fallen - not so much as newspapers - but in that it still exists can, like news and travel, be slotted in an otherwise national programme.

 

[Typhoon]

Accountant / management types don't listen or care. All they bother about is can they get enough advertising revenue at minimum possible operating costs ?
And if they think they can achieve that by endlessly repeating a fixed playlist, that is what we will be lumbered with.

Earlier this morning I tuned to as many music stations as I could find covering popular music (including 'hits' ones but not those dedicated to individual decades) on my digital radio. Most were just playing some form of upbeat music, completely indistinguishable from the others. In many the music was just that, no idea who it was and it didn't seem like anything special (I'm sounding like my dad did, now. I know I should have migrated to Radio Quiet some years ago ). As the stations sound indistinctive, one from another, I would have thought it might be worth putting on a couple of specialist programmes, out of peak times. like those you point out, to try to get some brand loyalty. The danger with some of these is that it just becomes background music, in which case the ads will be too.

A few redeeming points - when I accessed Absolute, it was Frank Skinner, so worth a listen, 5 Live played something different - certainly hadn't heard before, my local community station were playing a Pet Shop Boys track I can't remember hearing (before spoiling it by playing the usual Madness track), and BBC Radio Kent were playing Joy Division (OK, it was the obvious but beggars can't be choosers). All the other commercial channels - national, regional and local were playing fairly bland, up-beat music. At times it may even have been the same track.

 

[cjmillsnun]

Thought I’d start a topic on this, as it was announced yesterday that one of the most popular radio stations for my local area, Wave 105 (covering Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight), is to be amalgamated into Greatest Hits Radio

https://planetradio.co.uk/wave-105/station/on-air/wave-105-changes/

Wave 105 is changing

Most of my family members are regular listeners to Wave 105, so this will come as a surprise to them. While I used to listen to it regularly several years ago, my interest in it has faded in favour of more niche radio stations such as Radio 1 Dance, but I imagine this goes to show how audiences are changing in today's world of on-demand music playlists and Spotify. Most people of today will want to listen to a particular selection of music genres that they appreciate, rather than have to listen through a few songs that they don't like. It's even evident in my family as we tend to skip to a different radio station whenever a song that we don't particularly like comes on.

Even so, I don't think that discontinuing Wave 105 is the best idea since I think it is good to have an "all-rounder" radio station for a particular region, particularly if an audience can be built up around it. There can't be that many radio stations that play a whole range of genres spanning right from 60s rock and roll all the way to today's chart topping hits, with a bit of new wave, disco, house, indie and R&B in between. Narrowing down to the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s will just lead to the same songs being played on repeat at least once a week, if not more frequent, which will alienate those people looking for more variety. In my experience, as much as George Michael, Whitney Houston, Elton John and David Bowie are legendary singers, there's only so many times you can listen to all of their songs on repeat before you eventually get bored.

I guess the fundamental issue with local radio is that unless you want to appeal to absolutely everybody (which is impossible), you have to draw a line somewhere whether that be musical genres, periods, or local coverage. On the latter point, Wave 105 is good for local news and weather if your life mostly stays within Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight (like me for example, I frequent all three), but for someone living in those regions who regularly commutes to Surrey or Berkshire for example, you're going to want a radio station that covers those regions instead. It's a bit like with the BBC local news regions that put Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the South, despite some people feeling that they might be better suited to the Midlands or East. On another note, ever since the advent of online streaming, you don't even need to be in your home region to listen to your local radio station anymore, so one could argue what the point is of differentiating by region these days.

What are your thoughts on this decision, and local radio in general? Do you believe that more widespread coverage of the internet and better personalisation tools, such as a car touchscreen displaying travel and weather updates for all your frequented locations, will further diminish the case for local radio?

So Bauer Media is doing what Global did years ago.

There used to be Power FM and Ocean FM in the solent area. They became Capital and Heart respectively.

 

[Jimini]

It's all a bit bleak these days isn't it? When I was a younger man, we had from a local perspective (searches memory banks):

95.8 -- Capital FM
97.3 -- LBC
100.0 -- Kiss 100
102.2 -- Jazz FM
104.9 -- XFM
105.4 -- Magic
106.2 -- Heart

As is well documented upthread, I think all of these have been nationalized now, so the days of local London radio is sadly no more.

 

[nw1]

Thought I’d start a topic on this, as it was announced yesterday that one of the most popular radio stations for my local area, Wave 105 (covering Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight), is to be amalgamated into Greatest Hits Radio

https://planetradio.co.uk/wave-105/station/on-air/wave-105-changes/

Wave 105 is changing

Most of my family members are regular listeners to Wave 105, so this will come as a surprise to them. While I used to listen to it regularly several years ago, my interest in it has faded in favour of more niche radio stations such as Radio 1 Dance, but I imagine this goes to show how audiences are changing in today's world of on-demand music playlists and Spotify. Most people of today will want to listen to a particular selection of music genres that they appreciate, rather than have to listen through a few songs that they don't like. It's even evident in my family as we tend to skip to a different radio station whenever a song that we don't particularly like comes on.

Even so, I don't think that discontinuing Wave 105 is the best idea since I think it is good to have an "all-rounder" radio station for a particular region, particularly if an audience can be built up around it. There can't be that many radio stations that play a whole range of genres spanning right from 60s rock and roll all the way to today's chart topping hits, with a bit of new wave, disco, house, indie and R&B in between. Narrowing down to the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s will just lead to the same songs being played on repeat at least once a week, if not more frequent, which will alienate those people looking for more variety. In my experience, as much as George Michael, Whitney Houston, Elton John and David Bowie are legendary singers, there's only so many times you can listen to all of their songs on repeat before you eventually get bored.

I guess the fundamental issue with local radio is that unless you want to appeal to absolutely everybody (which is impossible), you have to draw a line somewhere whether that be musical genres, periods, or local coverage. On the latter point, Wave 105 is good for local news and weather if your life mostly stays within Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight (like me for example, I frequent all three), but for someone living in those regions who regularly commutes to Surrey or Berkshire for example, you're going to want a radio station that covers those regions instead. It's a bit like with the BBC local news regions that put Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the South, despite some people feeling that they might be better suited to the Midlands or East. On another note, ever since the advent of online streaming, you don't even need to be in your home region to listen to your local radio station anymore, so one could argue what the point is of differentiating by region these days.

What are your thoughts on this decision, and local radio in general? Do you believe that more widespread coverage of the internet and better personalisation tools, such as a car touchscreen displaying travel and weather updates for all your frequented locations, will further diminish the case for local radio?

Speaking as someone (Gen Xer with a pretty broad musical taste, from rock to dance) who lives in the Wave area and listens to it (along with Radio 2 and formerly BBC local radio at certain times of day, but not since last autumn) it's somewhat unfortunate.

Greatest Hits Radio doesn't sound too bad, there are some presenters I recognise from R1 and R2, but I do like the "local" feel of local stations and I worry about the variety of the playlist.

Also Wave does have some good shows that I like, especially "Teenage Kicks" on Sunday night, also the dance/party show in Saturday night. Also Mark Collins in the morning, and the "Golden Hours" which can sometimes play some relatively rare stuff.

For a local radio station I do feel that they are a little more "experimental" with their choice of oldies than some others. You do hear some rarer 80s and 90s hits at times, OTOH examples that spring to mind include Furniture's "Brilliant Mind", Heaven 17's "(We Don't Need No) Fascist Groove Thang" or Classix Nouveaux "Is It A Dream". Even something like "Jack Your Body", which was a number one but rarely heard these days. Plenty of others too if I think about it. Will Greatest Hits play these sorts of tracks or will it stick to well-known hits? I don't know, I haven't really listened.

Round here the other radio stations seem to have rebranded to "national" names. Ocean FM is Heart (and seems to be targeting a much younger demographic than Ocean did; Heart seems very much like a 20s and early 30s oriented station while Ocean FM always seemed to be a "mature adult" station back in the day). Power FM (remember that from the late 80s and 90s?) is now Capital. Not sure about Isle of Wight Radio but its programming also seems to have changed compared to pre-Covid.

I get the impression the big groups are aiming more at minimising costs than growing listenership. It seems a slightly strange idea to mess with what works (shows like Teenage Kicks get a lot of positive feedback) and potentially turn off listeners, but perhaps like the railways, the aim is to cut costs, not attract/retain punters. Seems to be very much the business model of the 2020s in general.

I'll still listen to Greatest Hits at times (albeit less than Wave) and some of the presenters interest me, but I will miss things like "Teenage Kicks" and I do wonder whether those rarer 80s and early 90s tracks that Wave is very good at will still be heard.

Same goes with BBC local radio. There were some specialist shows in the evenings, like Alex Dyke at the weekends, which I used to enjoy. These also disappeared last autumn despite being very popular. So in perhaps a little over 6 months we'll have lost many more specialist and much loved shows in the South Hampshire area.

So in this area are there any independently-owned local radio stations left I wonder? Or even ones owned by a big group but allowed freedom to decide the playlist? Will the "gap in the market" that will result encourage enterprising locals to setup one?

It's all very well saying the internet can generate your ideal playlist but it's not just about that. Listening to radio is not just about the music, it's about the presenters.
You don't get that with something like Spotify. Indeed as I get older I seem to be valuing the presenters more and more, providing they play decent tracks.

Wow sad to hear this as I listen to Wave 105 quite often but I knew it was owned by Bauer so this was likely only a matter of time. They seem on a quest to destroy all local radio and I think one of the Wave 105 transmitters already became Greatest Hits radio. I certainly still listen to the radio but I think that is the last local radio station left in the area. Sadly I doubt anyone will take their place, it seems local radio is pretty much dead now. As an aside I'm pretty sure Greatest Hits Radio is already transmitted in the area so is this just going to be another frequency broadcasting the same very limited playlist?

What I don't get (see above) is that a lot of people seem to like local radio and like the idea of varied playlists. So why mess with something that works? Surely the aim must be to retain the listeners, isn't that the prime metric that radio uses to measure success?

Will there be any station where you can listen to the rarer 80s Top 40 hits, for example? You struggle to hear these on R2 these days (outside of specialist shows), which seems to be moving towards less 80s (with the 70s and 60s almost completely abandoned) and more 21st century stuff. The prospect of the R2 offshoot covering the late 20th century does sound interesting though, hope that comes off.

Incidentally, is there a date for Wave? The website is very vague about it, it says "spring" so presumably by the end of May.

If anyone does have any recommendations for alternative stations reachable from South Hampshire (either DAB or FM) it would be good to hear about it!

 

[Busaholic]

Bring back Radios Caroline, London, Scotland, 390, City, Sutch etc etc. I'm sure lots of dodgy things went on with and on them, but at least they were interesting and innovative with a hell of a lot of good music. Imo it was uncoincidental that the period from 1964 to 1968 saw some of the most glorious pop music ever produced here and in the USA with so many (then) independent radio stations in the States too. Corporatism is the antithesis of truly local radio. Boo to Bauer!

 

[Kite159]

I will miss the "non-stop" dance music Wave play on Saturday evenings, for that has kept me company a few times over the years when driving home from Salisbury/Romsey etc.

I just wish my DAB radio in my car didn't break last year (I suspect a wire got broke when my windscreen got replaced) to give me more options to listen to music when driving.

 

[Travelmonkey]

True. Some people, particularly lonely people, tune in because they think of the presenter as a friend - and can make seemingly idle chit chat relevant. Others believe they are the next Radio 1/2 breakfast presenter when they are strictly in amateur hour.

I am both , tbh after being roasted by industry professionals by the big groups it took the wind right out my sails, it is a shame that its all being so diluted, although when I did Liverpool's radio tower I was more interested in the studios than the veiw of Merseyside, I have accepted radio is a lost cause so now am working on other projects but I do still miss the buzz being live in the studio.

 

[Phil56]

It is those type of programmes that are being squeezed out on both commercial and BBC radio. You listen and from time to time you hear a track by someone you have forgotten about or maybe never heard. You might even invest in their music. Niche programmes, maybe a couple of hours a week, just something that differentiates that station from the rest and keeps you loyal to that station. Instead we get more and more inoffensive background music. From the posts in this thread it is clear that others feel the same. I just wish someone was actually listening.

Same has just happened with BBC Radio Lancashire. They used to have a Sunday evening show lasting 3/4 hours called "unforgettables" which covered basically anything from the past, ranging from the "big band" orchestras to Judy Garland, to Olivia Newton John, and even "novelty" songs and children's TV program songs. It really was anything goes, all dictated mainly by listeners requests. The host would pick a few to do a more in-depth analysis of their careers, mention other songs by them and various interesting facts. It was a really good thing to just sit back, chill out and listen to, especially for us oldies who've forgotten a lot of the songs of our younger days which have disappeared from modern play lists.

We don't seem to have any "request" style radio shows these days, whether BBC or independent. All the same regurgitation/rotation of the same playlists that, frankly, get incredibly tedious. Why play the same couple of hundred songs constantly when there are thousands of top 40 hits out there that never get played. There are even lots of number 1's that never get played, and not even just those that only lasted a week at the top - plenty of hits have been completely forgotten by radio.

It's all so sad.

 

[Ashley Hill]

We don't seem to have any "request" style radio shows these days, whether BBC or independent. All the same regurgitation/rotation of the same playlists that, frankly, get incredibly tedious. Why play the same couple of hundred songs constantly when there are thousands of top 40 hits out there that never get played. There are even lots of number 1's that never get played, and not even just those that only lasted a week at the top - plenty of hits have been completely forgotten by radio.

Absolutely. I used to send in requests to try and get unusual records played or those by well know bands that are beyond their playlist. Some got played others didn’t get a mention. It infuriated me that a request for Being Boiled by the Human League became a request for some Human League and Don’t You Want Me got played instead . It’s like they don’t try! I did manage See Emily Play by Pink Floyd by saying I had a neice called Emily and it was her birthday,it pays to be creative.

 

[nw1]

I will miss the "non-stop" dance music Wave play on Saturday evenings, for that has kept me company a few times over the years when driving home from Salisbury/Romsey etc.

I just wish my DAB radio in my car didn't break last year (I suspect a wire got broke when my windscreen got replaced) to give me more options to listen to music when driving.

Same with me, that's one of my go-to shows, particularly before 9pm when there are no adverts.

Looking at Greatest Hits there is a show that looks like it "might be" a dance show on Saturday evenings, but I suspect it won't be advert-free.

On a related matter does Greatest Hits play genres such as rock, dance and indie pop? I like some "pure pop" but also like variety and really want to hear some of these other genres too.

Same has just happened with BBC Radio Lancashire. They used to have a Sunday evening show lasting 3/4 hours called "unforgettables" which covered basically anything from the past, ranging from the "big band" orchestras to Judy Garland, to Olivia Newton John, and even "novelty" songs and children's TV program songs. It really was anything goes, all dictated mainly by listeners requests. The host would pick a few to do a more in-depth analysis of their careers, mention other songs by them and various interesting facts. It was a really good thing to just sit back, chill out and listen to, especially for us oldies who've forgotten a lot of the songs of our younger days which have disappeared from modern play lists.

We don't seem to have any "request" style radio shows these days, whether BBC or independent. All the same regurgitation/rotation of the same playlists that, frankly, get incredibly tedious. Why play the same couple of hundred songs constantly when there are thousands of top 40 hits out there that never get played. There are even lots of number 1's that never get played, and not even just those that only lasted a week at the top - plenty of hits have been completely forgotten by radio.

It's all so sad.

Very much the same with BBC Radio Solent. The Alex Dyke show (late night, weekends) would do requests and he was very knowledgeable about the music he played, often playing some distinctly rare stuff. The genres were quite mainstream (disco, late 70s/early 80s soft rock) but the tracks were often not the ones you hear all the time. Perhaps like your Lancashire example it had a very chilled-out and laid-back feel, perfect for late nights.

For reasons of cost-cutting (the blight of the 2020s) - doubtless - BBC local radio seemed to axe all of the late-evening programmes last autumn across the whole country - and, in my opinion at least, the late-evening programmes were the ones most worth listening to!

A sadly topical further example was of course Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

I do find it hard to understand why those in control of radio, whether BBC or private, seem to be so keen to mess with what works. Isn't radio's aim to attract listeners? If so, why pull shows that work and are popular? Whether it's Bauer or the BBC, they seem to be all guilty of the same thing.

Is the number one rule of radio not "please the punters and keep them listening"? And is it not a bad thing for the radio stations if they lose listeners, which I suspect will be the result of all these changes?

 

[Kite159]

One minor thing I don't like is the likes of some of the Absolute Radio DJs whom encourage listeners to text in about anything when at the same time charging around 50p.

"Text us what you think of band X's new song" etc

On a related matter does Greatest Hits play genres such as rock, dance and indie pop? I l

I suspect they do, but it will probably be locked away on the premium version of the online streaming.

 

[nw1]

Absolutely. I used to send in requests to try and get unusual records played or those by well know bands that are beyond their playlist. Some got played others didn’t get a mention. It infuriated me that a request for Being Boiled by the Human League became a request for some Human League and Don’t You Want Me got played instead . It’s like they don’t try! I did manage See Emily Play by Pink Floyd by saying I had a neice called Emily and it was her birthday,it pays to be creative.

Those two tracks are such perfect examples of the subject under discussion. Both top 10 hits, but both rare these days.

Being Boiled is precisely the sort of track that gets played on Teenage Kicks. Again, Bauer, don't mess with what works.

Wave has been very good at playing rarer big hits. Currently listening to a Golden Hour from 1980 and some of the tracks are relatively rare. And as others have said, it's not just the really obscure tracks that are hard to track down on other stations. It's many top 10 hits, big at the time. too.

See Emily Play reminds me of late-00s era Radio 2. I have a very distinct memory of hearing it one summer afternoon in that period on R2, during the distinctly wet summer of 2007. R2 in the late 00s and early 10s was "just right", a mix of 60s to 90s with a few carefully-selected current tracks and you'd hear relatively rare stuff.

To be fair R2 does still play some fairly rare tracks but I'd move its period of coverage back around 15 years.

Maybe I'm getting old and GenX-ers and baby boomers don't matter anymore.

Corporatism is the antithesis of truly local radio. Boo to Bauer!

Indeed, these big corporate groups seem to want us to recognise them (witness "Global Player", a proprietary app to listen to any Global station) but truth of the matter is the punters don't give a flying fig about Global, Bauer or any other of these anonymous corporations and really wouldn't care if they went bust as long as someone was offering good music and good presenters on the radio and a genuinely local feel.

The other station currently advertising themselves on large electronic hoardings in the Solent area is "Nation Radio". Not sure what this used to be, but sadly it appears to not be some new local ILR station but another of the big groups.

My one hope is that many of us want to listen to the kind of thing that Wave has been providing and that perhaps the market will drive the foundation of new and independent local radio stations?

 

[Typhoon]

Bring back Radios Caroline, London, Scotland, 390, City, Sutch etc etc. I'm sure lots of dodgy things went on with and on them, but at least they were interesting and innovative with a hell of a lot of good music. Imo it was uncoincidental that the period from 1964 to 1968 saw some of the most glorious pop music ever produced here and in the USA with so many (then) independent radio stations in the States too. Corporatism is the antithesis of truly local radio. Boo to Bauer!

I was very much a 'London' listener. It was a 'playlist' station, mainly playing the Fab-Forty. It was just that the Fab-Forty bore only a passing resemblance to the charts. The chart No.1 would be number 28 in the Fab-Forty and going down. The No. 1 on the Fab-Forty might only have been released the day before and had hardly registered in the charts. It would also feature obscure oddities (anyone else remember TW playing 'Il Silenzio' to death - I think that was a Fab-Forty No. 1). Particular tracks either hit the right note or they didn't, and if they didn't, they were normally dumped from the playlist pretty quickly. A long time ago so much of the average-to-mediocre has been forgotten (and some of the presenters certainly best forgotten) but the standouts were 'Kenny and Cash' and 'The Perfumed Garden', the latter only coming about because Peel was given the late night programme and played some of his favourites instead of those on the playlist (knowing no-one who mattered was listening). The management saw that it was working - the word had got round, listenership was up - so allowed him to develop it (so the story goes). It is that approach which is missing now.

Caroline was fine provided you didn't mind anything on the MajorMinor record label! Also 'Playlist' but different one to London so, with those and 'Pick of the Pops', there was quite a variety.

For reasons of cost-cutting (the blight of the 2020s) - doubtless - BBC local radio seemed to axe all of the late-evening programmes last autumn across the whole country - and, in my opinion at least, the late-evening programmes were the ones most worth listening to!

Exactly - minority interest but surely that is the point of the BBC. Put on the programmes that appeal to some listeners/ viewers that no-one else is doing. Who else would have risked programmes about ballroom and similar dancing, baking, doing up homes, restoring heirlooms - and snooker owes the BBC a great debt! All sorts of radio programmes have been junked, I gather there was one called 'Songs from the Shows', certainly 'Harmony Nights' - neither to my taste, neither was 'Big Band Special' on Radio 2 but there were devoted fans and why shouldn't they get some enjoyment from the radio. There is no shortage of inoffensive music and inane chatter, why do we need more?

 

[nw1]

There's always us lot in community radio. We're not going anywhere, and OFCOM rules state we can't be sold

Do tell more (genuinely interested - community radio is something that has passed me by). Might be a consideration to switch to after Wave ends.