Live from Harrop Edge; 75% music, 25% chat, 100% Tameside, and now 367 days old*
Some time between the 30th September 2007 and the delocalisation of the Piccadilly Radio stations, the radio landscape in Tameside was a most barren place. Aside from the formation of Revolution 96.2 (the FM station serving Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside), the CD player or MP3 file were the only sanctuaries from mechanical playlists and reduced local coverage.
Quietly happening between test transmissions and within the walls of Tameside Hospital were the pioneers of who were about to become Tameside Radio. Most of which cut their teeth on Eight Towns Radio, a hospital radio station founded on Sunday 22 October 1983 as ‘Heartbeat Radio’.
Just under 24 years after and numerous limited service licences later came our station. Not for two weeks, not for a month, not only for Tameside Hospital, but the whole area.
At Chez Vallantine, Tameside Radio has now taken over from all other stations for radio needs (except for one, Oldham Community Radio, which has a good brass band programme). For me, its main factors include: a less rigid playlist, the excellent ‘The Show That Time Forgot’ (hosted by Mike Wallbank) and (most importantly) its local bias. I would be interested to know what effect Tameside Radio has had on other popular stations in the borough, such as Key 103.
For a community station, it is hard to tell whether they are a commercial one or one ran by volunteers. This is down to its professionalism and experience with Eight Towns Radio and Tameside’s other local station Revolution 96.2 - with production values that can hold their own against other commercial stations. Unlike the other local stations, Tameside’s non league clubs are covered, giving much needed coverage to my beloved Stalybridge Celtic.
Since ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2 marked Tameside Radio’s first song, we have been hooked ever since. Though I could listen to the other stations, overseas SW stations and the national radio stations on my portable radio, it is firmly stuck to Tameside Radio 103.6FM.
Long may they continue.
S.V, 02 October 2008
Links:
Eight Towns Radio history: http://tamesideradio.moonfruit.com
Tameside Radio 103.6FM: http://www.tamesideradio.com
* At the time of writing this entry.
