Photos from http://instagram.com/chrissycurlz
Info first published in my Radio Websites column in Radio User, July 2013 (extract)
I have been listening to a variety of online radio this past month, and some of it was inspired by a few visits to Liverpool- real visits in person rather than virtual, that is. For most people the landmarks of this city are the cathedrals and the Liver Building with its famous birds on the top.
But for me it has always been the Radio City Tower that dominates the skyline and the centre of the city. It was opened in 1969 and Radio City broadcast from it on 96.7 MHz and online. http://www.radiocity.co.uk
They have a Twitter handle of @RadioCity967 and a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/radiocity967 which has promotional videos and interesting offshoots such as acoustic sessions. It’s a station that successfully juggles local sports coverage with local music. And for a fiver you can even go up the tower itself. http://www.radiocity.co.uk/near-you/tower-tours/
City Talk 105.9 covers all the bases too, with politics and sport sandwiched between news and phone-ins, which include Dr Mike’s City Surgery, offering health and welfare advice. Planet X investigates the paranormal while there is a smattering of mainstream music such as the Top 40 and oldies shows. www.citytalk.fm/
Juice 107.6 is another commercial station but one which concentrates on chart and contemporary music for the young at heart. www.juicefm.com/
BBC Radio Merseyside offers the usual tried and tested BBC local radio fare of personalities spinning discs, and a range of sometimes offbeat phone-in topics. www.bbc.co.uk/radiomerseyside
Recent phone-ins have included memories of days at the seaside and how audio cassettes are making a comeback in Canada as bands prefer their vintage sound quality.
The city has a healthy history of lively free radio as well. Central Radio Liverpool is a pirate station, online at www.centralradio.info/ if you are out of its frequency range. The Scouse House Shout Out Show is one example of programming. Merseyside Alternative Radio at http://www.mar.me.uk is a well-established FM and medium wave pirate and includes some welcome female pirates in the form of Jackie Frost and Kelley Collins, the latter is based in Philadelphia.
Liverpool stations that are also interest to me though are those based elsewhere in the world. County Community Radio is in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. www.qccrfm.com The station started in 2008 and tries to suit all of its older listeners’ tastes by “playing music from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's. Oldies, classic rock, big band, disco, old school R&B, country, and gospel are a few of the genres that share QCCR's airwaves. We take pride in being an eclectic station that serves the varied and discerning tastes of our Queens County audience.”
CKBW South Shore Radio on 94.5 also serves the area with a typical blend of modern pop and similar genres http://ckbw.ca/ It also produces “That East Coast Show” which is an interesting podcast.
There are a handful of Liverpools in the USA too. Liverpool in Texas only has a population of 500 so is not large enough to sustain its own station. However, Liverpool in Illinois has about a dozen FM stations in its reach, see http://www.radio-locator.com . These include Peoria Public Radio http://peoriapublicradio.org/ which has an array of interesting features and talk.
Suzanne Vega’s old song “In Liverpool” always pops into my head too- it’s a melancholic quiet Sunday wandering around deserted streets- she performed it well as part of a live set when I saw her many moons ago. The Daily Motion website includes it www.dailymotion.com/video/x1u2aq_suzanne-vega-in-liverpool_music#.UZ8at6LVCxo as does the official Suzanne Vega YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/SuzanneVega
City Talk 105.9 covers all the bases too, with politics and sport sandwiched between news and phone-ins, which include Dr Mike’s City Surgery, offering health and welfare advice. Planet X investigates the paranormal while there is a smattering of mainstream music such as the Top 40 and oldies shows. www.citytalk.fm/
Juice 107.6 is another commercial station but one which concentrates on chart and contemporary music for the young at heart. www.juicefm.com/
BBC Radio Merseyside offers the usual tried and tested BBC local radio fare of personalities spinning discs, and a range of sometimes offbeat phone-in topics. www.bbc.co.uk/radiomerseyside
Recent phone-ins have included memories of days at the seaside and how audio cassettes are making a comeback in Canada as bands prefer their vintage sound quality.
The city has a healthy history of lively free radio as well. Central Radio Liverpool is a pirate station, online at www.centralradio.info/ if you are out of its frequency range. The Scouse House Shout Out Show is one example of programming. Merseyside Alternative Radio at http://www.mar.me.uk is a well-established FM and medium wave pirate and includes some welcome female pirates in the form of Jackie Frost and Kelley Collins, the latter is based in Philadelphia.
Liverpool stations that are also interest to me though are those based elsewhere in the world. County Community Radio is in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. www.qccrfm.com The station started in 2008 and tries to suit all of its older listeners’ tastes by “playing music from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's. Oldies, classic rock, big band, disco, old school R&B, country, and gospel are a few of the genres that share QCCR's airwaves. We take pride in being an eclectic station that serves the varied and discerning tastes of our Queens County audience.”
CKBW South Shore Radio on 94.5 also serves the area with a typical blend of modern pop and similar genres http://ckbw.ca/ It also produces “That East Coast Show” which is an interesting podcast.
There are a handful of Liverpools in the USA too. Liverpool in Texas only has a population of 500 so is not large enough to sustain its own station. However, Liverpool in Illinois has about a dozen FM stations in its reach, see http://www.radio-locator.com . These include Peoria Public Radio http://peoriapublicradio.org/ which has an array of interesting features and talk.
Suzanne Vega’s old song “In Liverpool” always pops into my head too- it’s a melancholic quiet Sunday wandering around deserted streets- she performed it well as part of a live set when I saw her many moons ago. The Daily Motion website includes it www.dailymotion.com/video/x1u2aq_suzanne-vega-in-liverpool_music#.UZ8at6LVCxo as does the official Suzanne Vega YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/SuzanneVega
2 comments:
I'd always assumed that the Radio City Tower was bulit for the station but as it didn't launch until the early 70s and the tower opened in 1969 I guess that wasn't the case.
No wonder Online Tamil FM keeps you cool. It has skilled RJ's and Station Manager.
Post a Comment