[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by crusher19860138

Reading all the replies to this forum depresses me,it reminds me how ILR has gone down the toilet in terms of quality of programming and entertainment.

For me personally, although Chiltern Radio was killed off by the Global steamroller that is the Heart brand, and desecrated in 2009, my own overwhelming fondest memories of Chiltern are only within the 1980's. The Chiltern of 1991/92 bore no relation to that of 1981/82 in my opinion.

[metal cassette]

Originally Posted by Rich Tea.

In summer 1982 I clearly remember listening to a Saturday chart show that was on a Saturday lunchtime, and seem to remember it being played by Paul Hollingdale much of the time at that point.

I used to regularly listen to the Top 30 countdown if I remember correctly on a Saturday in about 1982-83 but found that I got a better signal on 792 than 828 khz. Sadly these frequencies are now nothing more than a relay of Gold for that region.

[Simonjharrisson]

Originally Posted by 80sfan

Thanks for the replies fellas and if anyone can work out how to share the files, it would make my day

It always added to the 'big sound' of Chiltern that they proclamed to serve the 'East of England', above all when it was just a frequency supposedly to serve a medium sized town like Bedford!! In reality of course you could hear it pretty much across much of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire which was fine as it was a much better listen than alternatives

Even along the M1 from Northampton down to Luton I would choose 96.9 over the other frequencies to hear that top of the hour jingle... how sad!!

The 96.9 signal covered a massive area, from St Albans in he south to north of Peterborough, and from Buckingham in the west to East of Cambridge in the East. Not bad for 0.9KW

[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by Simonjharrisson

The 96.9 signal covered a massive area, from St Albans in he south to north of Peterborough, and from Buckingham in the west to East of Cambridge in the East. Not bad for 0.9KW

Very impressive when I consider that the BBC Radio Northampton FM signal on 104.2 has never been able to be picked up the short distance south in MK, only 12 miles away, unless you use a big aerial in the right direction.

[MooWow!]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before but an ex chiltern dj posted this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=_b0yap7JRPw

[Simonjharrisson]

Yes. right at the start of the thread, but thanks anyway lol

[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by MooWow!

I'm not sure if this has been posted before but an ex chiltern dj posted this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=_b0yap7JRPw

Thanks for your interest. It is a great clip to watch. I wish I knew what all these people looked like in the years when I was listening to Chiltern Radio. There is something rather weird about finding out what someone you listened to back in 1982 looked like, here in 2012 thirty years later. The only one I did know was "Fothers" as I think he used to be called on Chiltern, who later in the 80's or early 90's was doing late night in-vision continuity on Anglia.

[Simonjharrisson]

Originally Posted by Rich Tea.

Thanks for your interest. It is a great clip to watch. I wish I knew what all these people looked like in the years when I was listening to Chiltern Radio. There is something rather weird about finding out what someone you listened to back in 1982 looked like, here in 2012 thirty years later. The only one I did know was "Fothers" as I think he used to be called on Chiltern, who later in the 80's or early 90's was doing late night in-vision continuity on Anglia.

Phil Fothergill (fothers) recently turned up on St Neots based community station Black Cat Radio, just helping out by doing a couple of shows apparently.

[Martin_S]

Originally Posted by Harris Tweed

Phil's done this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b0yap7JRPw

Just watched that bit, "828 - 792 KHz - Stay on our wavelength in Milton Keynes". That would be the same for 97.6 and 96.9. Proof that Heart don't need the MK 103.3 transmitter and it could be put to better use eg MKFM for example... Or even a capital relay would be an improvement. Would give the region some choice rather than Heart on 6 freqs

[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by Martin_S

Just watched that bit, "828 - 792 KHz - Stay on our wavelength in Milton Keynes". That would be the same for 97.6 and 96.9. Proof that Heart don't need the MK 103.3 transmitter and it could be put to better use eg MKFM for example... Or even a capital relay would be an improvement. Would give the region some choice rather than Heart on 6 freqs

I absolutely agree. This area needs more commercial competition. I detest the whole concept of Heart, such a mis-named radio brand in my view, as they ripped the "heart" out of a good well named local radio station in Chiltern Radio, not to mention others around this country. I even get mad when I see a Heart car sticker stuck in someones rear window!

[80sfan]

Originally Posted by Martin_S

Just watched that bit, "828 - 792 KHz - Stay on our wavelength in Milton Keynes". That would be the same for 97.6 and 96.9. Proof that Heart don't need the MK 103.3 transmitter and it could be put to better use eg MKFM for example... Or even a capital relay would be an improvement. Would give the region some choice rather than Heart on 6 freqs

MK was already well served by Luton & Bedford frequencies so yes a 2kW transmitter does seem a waste.

Of course when Horizon was the 'Hotter Mix' it effectively gave Bedford & Northampton another station to listen to so did serve a purpose. Sadly that didn't last too long as we know who came along next

If ever an area shows what a mess was made when planning frequencies & transmitter sites, it's got to be round Milton Keynes!!

[Martin_S]

The Hotter Mix was great. If you think about it we have gone backwards not forwards in radio. Back when Chiltern opened, local radio was a new and exciting thing, the areas about to get their own station were crying out for their own local station to properly serve the area. 30 years later or so and we have the exact same thing again - people trying get their town a local station through a community licence.

Ofcom have failed everyone and have learnt nothing by allowing global to do what they did - put radio back 30 years. Its a total scandal but no MP's seem to know or care. But I suppose that's the UK generally - radio going down the toilet along with the rest of it...

[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by Martin_S

The Hotter Mix was great. If you think about it we have gone backwards not forwards in radio. Back when Chiltern opened, local radio was a new and exciting thing, the areas about to get their own station were crying out for their own local station to properly serve the area. 30 years later or so and we have the exact same thing again - people trying get their town a local station through a community licence.

Ofcom have failed everyone and have learnt nothing by allowing global to do what they did - put radio back 30 years. Its a total scandal but no MP's seem to know or care. But I suppose that's the UK generally - radio going down the toilet along with the rest of it...

I agree wholeheartedly. But even Chiltern Radio of the 1980's was not the Chiltern Radio of 5 years ago, shortly before the name vanished. Even when you had Chiltern Radio, and Horizon Radio, under two seeming separate identities, the same output was being played a lot of the time across both stations which was very annoying indeed as far as I was concerned. Plus in the later years a lot of the presenters/DJ's or whatever they like to call themselves, did not have the individuality and strong personalities in the way that Chiltern Radio did in it's beginning, many whom I recall to this day, even though I wasn't yet a teenager when Chiltern first aired.

[MikeBr]

Originally Posted by Harris Tweed

Well, not in Harpenden, maybe..but he then spent quarter of a century at his next gig on New Zealand's biggest national breakfast show, with telly alongside. The guy's like Wogan or Humphreys in NZ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Holmes_(broadcaster)

Paul has died aged 62, just two weeks after receiving a knighthood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10861073

[Simonjharrisson]

Originally Posted by MikeBr

Paul has died aged 62, just two weeks after receiving a knighthood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10861073

Terribly sad, I remember Paul on Chiltern when I was a teenage boy, and found him very funny to listen to, he was my favourite presenter, I am now nearly 46, just shows how time flies by.

RIP Paul and thanks for the memories

[Bee Cee Ex]

That video is great! The vocal harmonies on the jingle at 11:30 are shit hot, it's gotta be said.

[Rich Tea.]

Originally Posted by Simonjharrisson

Terribly sad, I remember Paul on Chiltern when I was a teenage boy, and found him very funny to listen to, he was my favourite presenter, I am now nearly 46, just shows how time flies by.

RIP Paul and thanks for the memories

I was just about to post this news myself, but nice to see it has not gone un-seen. I read it on the wikipedia running obituary, as Sir Paul Holmes, NZ broadcaster which made me delve to make sure it was Chiltern's former presenter, as indeed it is. I'm 43, and recall him well, and my oldest C-90 cassette tape I still have in existence features Paul Holmes on Chiltern Radio, along with other presenters like Fothergill and Tara Jefferies, on New Year's Eve 1981 into 1982, which I think was being broadcast from the Chiltern Hotel in Luton. His was the first voice on Chiltern after the stroke of midnight as 1982 began. I will have to give the tape another listen.

[radio nut]

sad loss,did he work on swansea sound? i have the opening 45 minutes on cassette