Xfm Manchester

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**Xfm Manchester**

Broadcast area	Manchester
First air date	15th March 2006
Frequency	97.7 MHz
Format	Alternative music
Owner	GCap Media

Xfm Manchester is a commercial radio station broadcasting "alternative" music to Manchester in North West England.

It builds on the brand and format established by Xfm London. Some programming is shared but the majority is produced specifically for Manchester.

The station launched at 8am on Wednesday 15th of March - the first song to be played was the iconic Manchester anthem "I am the Resurrection" by The Stone Roses, followed by "Song 2" by Blur.

Many presenters were formerly members of iconic Manchester bands and institutions. These include the Inspiral Carpets' keyboard player Clint Boon, The Smiths' bass player Andy Rourke, Factory Records boss Tony Wilson, and the Hacienda's Dave Haslam. Elbow's Guy Garvey is the only presenter to still be a member of his most famous band. DJs Adam Cole, Gareth Brooks, Mark Kaye and comedian Paul Tonkinson complete the initial presenter line-up.

Long-time local radio presenter Terry Christian was cited in the licence application document alongside Boon but he remains at the relaunched BBC Radio Manchester.

Wigan Casino founder Russ Winstanley also presents a Northern Soul themed show on Sundays.

Xfm's studios are in Salford Quays.

The transmitter is located on the roof of City Tower, formerly known as the Sunley Building, overlooking Piccadilly Gardens in the city centre. This is in the same location as that of another Manchester radio station, Galaxy. However, Xfm Manchester covers a slightly smaller area, with coverage particularly limited in parts of North Manchester. Xfm's expected service area encompasses around 2 million people.

[edit] Launch

Xfm Manchester was awarded an FM radio licence on June 9, 2005.

The channel was chosen over other rock station formats such as The Arrow - Rock, Virgin Radio Classic Rock, Kerrang! Radio and sister channel The Storm (which has since closed down).

On February 20, 2006, Xfm Manchester commenced sporadic technical tests (consisting of a playlist of songs chosen to appeal to its audience) prior to its launch on 15th March 2006.