Galaxy
radioGalaxy
radio
The history of Galaxy Radio started in
1990, in Bristol, when the ex-pirate FTP (For The People) won
the community radio licence to broadcast to the Bristol area. Within a
few years, however, FTP had run into financial
difficulties and was taken over by the Chiltern Radio
group.
The Chiltern group
re-named the station Galaxy, and moved the format
to a more commercial dance music format. For this reason Galaxy
was often slagged off at the time, but the new format has obviously
been popular enough to not only keep Galaxy going -
but also to allow it to expand considerably.
The next big step forward came in 1994,
when Galaxy won the IRR licence to broadcast to a
much wider area around Bristol and also South Wales, on 101.0
FM. Even during the test transmissions for this IRR licence, Galaxy
was heard with proper programmes and even (unpaid) adverts. In summer
that year, Galaxy 101 officially launched with a
party in Barry Island, near Cardiff in south Wales.
I used to listen regularly to Galaxy
101 in 1994 and 1995, when I was on work attachment in
Cardiff, and was sorry to leave Cardiff in spring 1995. Not least
because I thought it was the last time I would hear Galaxy.
Yet parallel developments were taking place "up north", which would
lead to Galaxy massively expanding its coverage
area.
On October 16th 1994, Kiss 102 won a local
licence to broadcast to the Manchester area. In early 1997, Kiss
105 won the IRR licence for Yorkshire and Humberside - a
situation which itself had parallels with Galaxy's
beginnings. Indeed, the format of Kiss 105 seemed
closer to that of Galaxy 101 than to their namesake
in London !
In mid-1997, the parent group of Kiss102 and
Kiss 105 sold both stations. These were bought by the Chrysalis
Radio group, and re-named Galaxy 105 and Galaxy
102 respectively. Interestingly, the format did not change
significantly, despite the take-over and name change.
The march north of Galaxy
did not stop there, however. In early 1999, Galaxy 105-106
won the North-East England IRR licence, serving the Newcastle and
Middlesborough areas. In late May 1999 test transmissions started, and
full broadcasts commenced on Tuesday 1/6/1999. Galaxy 105-106's
powerful signal on 106.4 could for a while be heard
here, in Clowne (weakly) ! At certain times, especially in the evening,
Galaxy 105 and Galaxy 105-106
link-up and broadcast the same programmes.
It's not only in coverage area where Galaxy have made their mark.Their DJs often broadcast in clubs (possibly inspired by the city pirates) and at outdoor festivals. Sometimes at night, live broadcasts from clubs are heard on Galaxy.
In August 1999, as the Solar
Eclipse approached, Galaxy certainly got into the
spirit of the occasion with regular promos for the Eclipse coverage in
the days leading up to the 11th August. I was not to be disappointed
...
On the day, coverage was heard of the Voodoo
Eclipse festival in Cornwall. As the Eclipse itself happened,
Galaxy 105 had an "Eclipse party" on the roof of
their offices in Leeds.
The eclipse itself was a spectacular
occasion, with 95% sun coverage here in Clowne. Me and some friends
were watching the Eclipse from a school field in Clowne, and I had my
radio - tuned to Galaxy. As the moon almost totally
blocked the sun, making the sun look like a thin crescent moon, the
temperature dropped considerably and it seemed more like evening than
11 am! The local wildlife went eerily quiet, and only the radio could
be heard ... the DJ seemed just as "awe struck" as I was.
Following the peak of the Eclipse, Galaxy
105 had a game called "Total or Partial", an eclipse-based
"True or False" game in which the crowd had to shout "Total" for a true
statement or "Partial" for a false one.
For
those (like me) not lucky enough to have been in Cornwall at the time,
part of the Voodoo Eclipse festival was broadcast
the following Sunday night across the Galaxy
network.
Late in 1999, Galaxy got its own website (although some of the station's DJs had previously had their own websites, and programme details were sometimes available on dance music sites. There was also an unofficial Galaxy 101 website in Bristol). On Thursday 23rd September 1999, their new website was officially launched on their breakfast show. The Galaxy website also includes a live audio relay of the station
Back to the rise and rise of Galaxy; let's
go back to early 1995. In Birmingham, Choice FM 102.2
- a sister station of Choice FM in Loondon - won the
licence to broadcast to the Birmingham area. In late 1999, this was
taken over and re-named Galaxy.
When you consider that both Galaxy
102.2 and Galaxy 105 can be heard as far
as Derby, and Galaxy 101's signal almost
reaches Birmingham; this means that Galaxy now has
virtually continuous coverage from south of Bristol to north of
Newcastle ! Not bad for a station which started out broadcasting to a
small area around Bristol !
And it's pretty well deserved. Galaxy
105 is certainly one of the most popular stations locally,
especially among young people. Whatever people may say about Galaxy
being "too commercial", in some areas not served by pirate stations, Galaxy
is virtually the only dance music station on FM.
Links
Back to Anthony's Radio Pages