Swindon 105.5
 | |
| Broadcast area | Swindon |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Daring to be Different |
| Frequency |
105.5 MHz, and Online |
| First air date | 15 March 2008 |
| Format | Community Radio |
| Owner | Community Radio Swindon |
| Website | www.swindon1055.com |
SWINDON 105.5 is a community radio station for Swindon, Wiltshire fully licensed by media and communications regulator Ofcom.[1] The station is run by volunteers and the Station Manager is paid part-time and is also a part-time volunteer. It obtains its funding through seeking grants, donations, fundraising events, training courses and support-in-kind, but is not permitted any form of on-air sponsorship or advertising under the Communications Act 2003 by virtue of its location entirely within the coverage of an existing commercial broadcaster, Brunel FM with that licence later being taken by Jack FM, part of the 13-station Celador Group.
History
The original project was founded by Ian Rowe, Johnny Robinson, Richard Grace & Greg Stevens in 2004, who were all presenters at Swindon FM at the time, along with Shirley Ludford a former employee of both BBC Radio Wiltshire and GWR FM and who was subsequently appointed Station Manager.
SCB Radio
Swindon Community Broadcasting was an RSL (Restricted Service Licence) set up in order to discover whether a community radio station could feasibly work in the area. After positive feedback about the station's success throughout the 28 day broadcast it was decided the project would proceed to the next step and apply for a full-time Community Radio Licence from Ofcom.
Community Radio Swindon
In 2006 a group applied for a community radio licence for the Swindon area. In total, two groups applied for the licence, Swindon FM Community Radio, which had run a local DAB only service in Swindon since 2002, and Community Radio Swindon, broadcasting as SWINDON 105.5
Ofcom decided in favour of Community Radio Swindon and was awarded a licence in February 2007.[1]
Swindon 105.5
Launch
SWINDON 105.5 was launched on March 15, 2008[2] with the Town Crier of Swindon, Fred Ferris. The inaugural show was presented by Shirley Ludford with former broadcasing colleague BBC Radio Swindon Peter Heaton-Jones.
The Station was launched at The County Ground, Home of Swindon Town F.C. and moved to its current location at The Bentley Centre, Stratton Road, Swindon in the summer of 2010. The move to much larger premises allowed the station to expand to three Recording/On Air studios and a large administration/training area.
Its transmitter was moved to the top of the 90m-high David Murray John Building (Brunel Tower) in the centre of Swindon on 15 March 2013 - coincidentally on the station's fifth birthday.
Community Radio Swindon, broadcasting as SWINDON 105.5, is managed by Shirley Ludford together with a number of Board members. It is run by volunteer presenters, admin and tech-ops. The original database was purchased and developed and in June 2009 DJ Ron Travolta took on management of the music database and successfully restored the system after it was hacked and Police failed to follow through on vital evidence. Ron managed the system until he died in August 2012.
Programmes
Most of the programmes between 7 am and 11 pm are live, with some repeats of certain shows in the daytime. Other programmes are repeated during the 'Nightshift' time - usually from 12 pm until around 7 am.
Pre-recorded programmes are also produced by local schools and colleges and community groups. SWINDON 105.5 was the first legal radio station to have a regular Drum & Bass show in the UK outside of the BBCand has pro-actively promoted live and local music and musical talent, including both it regular programmes as well as across the week's general broadcasting. The Station Manager has ensures this remains a key part of the Station's programming.
People at Swindon 105.5
Management
| Name | Title | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Shirley Ludford | Station Manager. Trainer | Shirley Meets |
| Ian Rowe | Chairman & Original co-founder of SWINDON 105.5 | |
| Martin Kerr | Technical Director | |
| Nick Stevenson | Finance Director | |
| John Flannigan | Board Advisor | |
| Martin Upfold | Volunteer rep on Board | |
Presenters
| Name | Role | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Lew Lawton | Presenter & Technician | It Came From Memphis |
| Deivi | Presenter | Latin Hot |
| Len Morphew | Presenter | Blue Notes |
| Ray Bewes | Presenter | The Ray Bewes Collection |
| Keith Vowles | Presenter | The Music Box |
| Mike Ganley | Presenter | The Crooked Road |
| Martin Upfold | Presenter | Touch Of Brass |
| Helen Penfold | Presenter | Girls About Town |
| Grant Barnes | Presenter | Where The Heart Is |
| Nick Stevenson | Presenter | Swindon Breakfast & Livin' the 80s |
| MC Ranks | Presenter | Caribbean Vibes |
| Marilyn LaMude | Presenter | The Good News Show |
| Al Burston | Presenter | Rolling Records Session |
| Nick Taylor | Presenter | Saturday Leisure Show |
| John Ratcliffe | Presenter | The Home Run |
| Ian Pugh | Presenter | Thursday and Friday mornings |
| Dave Woods | Presenter | Local News & FridayAtSix |
| Craig Anning | Presenter | The Video Games Show |
| Tim Saunders | Presenter | The Video Games Show |
| Bruce Clarke | Presenter | Wonderful World |
| Alan Britton | Presenter | Musical Lunchbreak |
| Lisa Kennet | Presenter | Feeling Good Show & Rhythm and Rhyme |
| Sam Loveless | Presenter | Rhythm and Rhyme |
| Mike Barrett | Presenter | Under The Covers |
| Aimee Applebee | Presenter | Girls About Town |
| Natalie | Presenter | Girls About Town |
| DeBo | Presenter | Ring The Alarm |
| Brian Keene | Presenter | The Late Gig |
| Jon | Presenter | The Late Gig |
| Danny D | Presenter | Bubbling Hot Show |
Late former presenters
Tom Himself Nightshift Rockshow passed away 2013 Ron Travolta Breakfast Show Presenter/Head of music passed away 14/8/12Trivia
- The station’s first officially played song was the 1964 Martha & The Vandellas single – Dancing in the Street
- The first regular show to air was The Johnny Robinson Show at 7-9 pm on Saturday 15 March. Robinson was apparently “tired and shattered” after helping out the rest of the Technical Team, and had gone without sleep for 36 hours before presenting the show.
- The station's appointed broadcast facilitation company, transplan UK, together with the station's own Technical Team, had worked continuously for two days to ensure that the station’s equipment was functioning correctly in time for the Official Launch at 10 am on Saturday 15 March 2008.
- The studios were situated at Swindon's County Ground, the football stadium for Swindon Town Football Club. The station formerly shared the studio with ITV Thames Valley until it vacated the building following the 'ITV Local' restructuring programme.
- Martin Upfold, who is a volunteer at the station appeared on a Sky News feature, focusing on the recession in Swindon. Martin created a video diary, and was also interviewed live by leading Sky News anchor Jeremy Thompson.
- Christina Strang, (co-presenter with Ann-Marie Stanford) of Health Matters attended an international scientific conference in Australia and presented a research paper on handwriting in disease.
- First accredited radio course for 9 year olds run by Station Manager with pupils at Drove multicultural school, 2011
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ofcom awards new community radio licences
- ↑ Perrin, Ben (March 16, 2008). "New radio station switches on". Swindon Advertiser.