Fred (XM)

Fred was the classic modern rock/alternative channel on XM Satellite Radio. It was the parent channel of both Ethel (ch 47), which covered alternative music from the late 1990s through today; and Lucy (ch 54), which played only the most popular alternative hits from the 80s through 90s. Fred on 44, as it is alternately known, played alternative music from its earliest days in the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. The channel was scrapped as part of the Sirius XM Merger in November, 2008. It was replaced by the Sirius channel 1st Wave.

Fred was mostly DJ-free, but ran scheduled one-hour shows Tuesday through Friday. Rick Lambert [1] was the channel's programmer and the host of Tsunami, a program of New Wave music, and Club Retro, an hour of alternative remixes. Other shows included Surface Noise, where Bill Kates hosted music, interviews and performances, and One Revolution (Around the Sun), which covered the events of a specific year in Fred's alternative history. Each show was broadcast three times daily, at 4:00am, noon, and 11:00pm eastern.

Fred was located on channel 44 on XM Satellite Radio and channel 839 on DirecTV.

Program Schedule