In the early 80s Dave Ward and the B Team hosted the Piccadilly Radio breakfast show; a forerunner to the zoo format that became popular. One feature that appeared every morning was the every day tale of village life in Umbridge. I found some of these on a tape. I'm not sure some of them would air today but they are of a moment in time. It didn't run quite as long as The Archers.

Piccadilly Radio Breakfast Show

The Umbridge Tapes | Piccadilly Radio Breakfast Show | 1980s

On 14th July 1987, Wolverhampton's Beacon Radio launched an opt-out service for Shropshire. Initially, just the breakfast show (The Will Tudor Breakfast Crew) was specific to Shropshire. This was how it all started. However, I am unsure what possessed a hit music station to launch with Kenny G's Songbird.	

Recorded off-air in 1987.

14 July 1987 | Beacon Shropshire Launch

Uploaded initially on Piccadilly's 40th birthday and has now been recovered. 

It's Piccadilly Radio's 40th birthday, and I found a tape of Piccadilly audio from 1981. It brings back memories

1981 | The Sound Of Piccadilly Radio, Machester, England

This is, edited, how Capital Radio in London launched itself into 1995. I believe the "1995 point 8" line is the work of a jingle genius. They used the line for the first few months of the year. I don't think they'd slow the pace for the full Big Ben chime sequence and that version of Auld Lang Syne anymore, but it's audio from a different era. It's now 30 years old but I still remember hearing it for the first time.

1 January 1995 | Capital Radio, London | New Year Sequence (Edit) | 1995-Point-8

Country 1035, the UK's first country music radio station launched in London on September 1st 1994. The first song played was Brooks' Friends in Low Places. After various owners managed the station it ceased playing country in 2002 when it became the short-lived Easy 1035.

1 September 1999 |  Country 1035 | London, England | Launch Audio

Test transmission from BBC Radio Shropshire, 4th & 9th April 1985 (Diane Kept, Bob Platt, Colin Young)

Test Transmissions

4th & 9th April 1985 | BBC Radio Shropshire Test Transmissions (Edit)

Back in the early years of the UK's commercial radio, stations would often launch with a broadcast schedule that did not operate around the clock.  The audio here is from the IBA's contractor for Preston & Blackpool, Red Rose Radio. At launch the station would close at midnight (in their schedule this was "Midnight: news headlines and goodnight"). Later, hours were extended until 2am. Through the night, the frequencies would often be silent except for the occasional engineering announcement, claiming the frequency.

curns

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