[Newsbuff]

I wouldn't mind the rebranding so much if they hadn't show such scant disregards for previously great stations by not even attempting to change any of the programming that was getting them poor listening figures before.
RIP Beacon, BRMB and Wyvern, all run for years by people who knew how to make good radio, unlike Orion.

[trevgo]

Originally Posted by Choccy Boy

You may enjoy this scoped aircheck just added to www.aircheckdownloads.com

Mike Baker & Jay Oliver count down the American Hot 100 on Independence Day July 4th 1976.

http://www.aircheckdownloads.com/Bea...er_04Jul76.mp3

Hahaha! That was a gem. I'm sure they wanted to call the station WABC but the IBA said it was too American sounding. That should have given them a clue!

All that work up for a bottle of "Savvingyon"

[LaurelandHardy]

Originally Posted by Newsbuff

I wouldn't mind the rebranding so much if they hadn't show such scant disregards for previously great stations by not even attempting to change any of the programming that was getting them poor listening figures before.
RIP Beacon, BRMB and Wyvern, all run for years by people who knew how to make good radio, unlike Orion.

Agreed 100%

[Ennerjee]

Originally Posted by trevgo

For some reason the Emison package has found it's way onto my iPod and sometimes comes blasting out in the car, much to the bewilderment of any passengers I may have at the time.

I was 16 in 76 and in the 4th form at school in Northampton, spending most of my spare time at the local hospital radio station. I listened to Beacon on 303 a lot, and the reception was "mercurial" - about as good as 208 was at the time. My bike ("Triumph Twenty") was covered with 303 stickers. I loved the station, which seems odd seeing how I spend my days slating the tight formatting of commercial stations these days. Of course the American sound was sooo sexy, and the music was like an all-day Johnnie Walker Radio 1 show. And all the presenters sounded like Roger Scott - which we were all trying to at the time

Yeah, it was unique and a lot of fun to listen to. The music policy was refreshing. They played a lot of American bands and music, and fringe UK bands - they even played Cado Belle.

It was strictly formatted, but back then there wasn't necessarily the "playing safe" formatting that exists today. There was a lot of risk-taking (well look at the programming), but it was based on being different, not the same as every other station.

[mikebullock9ww]

Got some clips - the first of many - on You Tube.
Cop a load of this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D66y-mAppy0

[crusher19860138]

Originally Posted by mikebullock9ww

Got some clips - the first of many - on You Tube.
Cop a load of this!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D66y-mAppy0

I totally forgot about this show!it sounds like they were inviting calls from an asylum!

[RiderOnTheWheel]

I well remember the test transmissions from Beacon Radio and in particular the very lengthy "Believe in Miracles" by Jefferson Starship. I have a cassette tape recording of test transmissions and some of the first day on air somewhere in the attic.

Other records I remember very well from this time are Eric Carmen's "All by myself", "Overnight Sensation", Raspberries, "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band, "Moonlight feels Right" by Starbuck, Darrell Hall and John Oates' "Sarah Smile" and American folk-rock records by the likes of Playa and a band call Firefall(?) and of course, the "Sunshine" song.

If I recall correctly, the Beacon Radio consortium were the only bidders for the franchise. BRMB had already been going a couple of years and was very well established across the West Midlands. I think the IBA were a bit concerned at only one bidder but decided to award it anyway.

As soon Beacon came on air I was a regular listener. I did rather think the americanised presentation was rather at odds with the station's hinterland - a collection of old smoke stack industrial towns but for all that the station seemed to reach across the generations and I know many 'older' people used to listen to it - but then radio didn't target such narrow age bands then as it does today.

I loved the main music policy, American Top Forty (I had been a listener to AFN's chart show from one of the German Transmitters that I could hear at night), KKJ's disco show but also remember the variety of speech and music programmes you got on a commercial station in those days. Speech output included local history features with the Black Country Society, news and local community stuff, and I even remember something called "Sex Topic" which was a discussion but a bit racy for the day. Initially, Beacon didn't bother much with sport which actually provided an alternative as BRMB were dominant with Tony Butler covering the six West Midlands football teams - including Wolves who are based in Beacon's HQ town.

There was a programme on Sunday evenings presented by intitially Roger DeFreitas (who I think was mainly a news man) and then Munro Jack that played anything from big band to Handel's "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba". I owe my love of the work of Frank Sinatra to this programme.

I particularly remember that over the 1976 August Bank Holiday they did a marathon called "The Last Summer of 76". This was long before 'gold' was a mainstay of music radio and it was fantastic to hear non stop classic sounds when oldies were usually a single record spot in a top forty format - it was way ahead of its time.

The presenter names I remember from this time are Mike Baker, Mark Williams, Mick Wright, Dick Fisher, the aforementioned KKJ, Roger DeFeitas and Munro Jack, and Dave Owen. I always thought that Dave Owen, who had not long come ashore from Radio Caroline, didn't fit the format quite so well.

The signal on medium wave was rubbish in the evening - blocked by continental interference - you probably couldn't get a decent signal in Sedgley. I bet the local electrical stores made a fortune selling FM radios. However FM was superb and could be received quite clearly 50 miles away in Stoke-on-Trent.

A feature I loved from the very early days was "Beat the Intro" but alas, with no telephone, I never got to play.

[Ennerjee]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

I well remember the test transmissions from Beacon Radio and in particular the very lengthy "Believe in Miracles" by Jefferson Starship. I have a cassette tape recording of test transmissions and some of the first day on air somewhere in the attic.

Other records I remember very well from this time are Eric Carmen's "All by myself", "Overnight Sensation", Raspberries, "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band, "Moonlight feels Right" by Starbuck, Darrell Hall and John Oates' "Sarah Smile" and American folk-rock records by the likes of Playa and a band call Firefall(?) and of course, the "Sunshine" song.

If I recall correctly, the Beacon Radio consortium were the only bidders for the franchise. BRMB had already been going a couple of years and was very well established across the West Midlands. I think the IBA were a bit concerned at only one bidder but decided to award it anyway.

As soon Beacon came on air I was a regular listener. I did rather think the americanised presentation was rather at odds with the station's hinterland - a collection of old smoke stack industrial towns but for all that the station seemed to reach across the generations and I know many 'older' people used to listen to it - but then radio didn't target such narrow age bands then as it does today.

I loved the main music policy, American Top Forty (I had been a listener to AFN's chart show from one of the German Transmitters that I could hear at night), KKJ's disco show but also remember the variety of speech and music programmes you got on a commercial station in those days. Speech output included local history features with the Black Country Society, news and local community stuff, and I even remember something called "Sex Topic" which was a discussion but a bit racy for the day. Initially, Beacon didn't bother much with sport which actually provided an alternative as BRMB were dominant with Tony Butler covering the six West Midlands football teams - including Wolves who are based in Beacon's HQ town.

There was a programme on Sunday evenings presented by intitially Roger DeFreitas (who I think was mainly a news man) and then Munro Jack that played anything from big band to Handel's "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba". I owe my love of the work of Frank Sinatra to this programme.

I particularly remember that over the 1976 August Bank Holiday they did a marathon called "The Last Summer of 76". This was long before 'gold' was a mainstay of music radio and it was fantastic to hear non stop classic sounds when oldies were usually a single record spot in a top forty format - it was way ahead of its time.

The presenter names I remember from this time are Mike Baker, Mark Williams, Mick Wright, Dick Fisher, the aforementioned KKJ, Roger DeFeitas and Munro Jack, and Dave Owen. I always thought that Dave Owen, who had not long come ashore from Radio Caroline, didn't fit the format quite so well.

The signal on medium wave was rubbish in the evening - blocked by continental interference - you probably couldn't get a decent signal in Sedgley. I bet the local electrical stores made a fortune selling FM radios. However FM was superb and could be received quite clearly 50 miles away in Stoke-on-Trent.

A feature I loved from the very early days was "Beat the Intro" but alas, with no telephone, I never got to play.

Wow ! Amazing memory you have ! It's true that they played a lot of oldies and always had themed Bank Holiday weekends.

[RiderOnTheWheel]

I guess that it was just a vivid period in time and that the station was so different. I don't remember much about Beacon Radio in the 1980s - it seemed to turn into just another top 40 pop station - and by then I had drifted back to BRMB in the evenings and was listening to the more specialist programmes on Radio 1 or Radio 2. In the daytime I was listening to Radio 2 or Laser 558 or Caroline, peppered with a fair bit of Radio 4.

1970s Beacon was great while it lasted. There was a moment of deja-vu when a fair number of the 70s guys turned up on Saga Radio around the turn of the millennium.

[Ennerjee]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

I guess that it was just a vivid period in time and that the station was so different. I don't remember much about Beacon Radio in the 1980s - it seemed to turn into just another top 40 pop station - and by then I had drifted back to BRMB in the evenings and was listening to the more specialist programmes on Radio 1 or Radio 2. In the daytime I was listening to Radio 2 or Laser 558 or Caroline, peppered with a fair bit of Radio 4.

1970s Beacon was great while it lasted. There was a moment of deja-vu when a fair number of the 70s guys turned up o Saga Radio around the turn of the millennium.

There's a lot been written about the Beacon phenonemon - even a thesis comparing its setting up and running with BRMB.

[crusher19860138]

The Medium Wave signal was loud and clear in Sedgley,and always has been,as the transmitter is in Gospel End!i live 7 miles away,and at night there is some interference from foreign stations,but not enough to spoil listening.Stoke on Trent is a bit optimistic for a station with only 90 watts output on 990/303!

[RiderOnTheWheel]

In the very early days Beacon was completely drowned at night. I lived about 7 miles from the transmitter. Then some time later (could have been months or maybe a year) it became audible in the evening on MW - I think can only be due to the strong continental station reducing power or perhaps moving frequency. BRMB was always fine on 261m day and night.

I spent some time in Stoke-on-Trent and listened to Beacon regularly on FM 97.2.

Actually, you'd be surprised how far 90 watts will go on MW. Before Beacon came on the air I sometimes listened to Radio Trent from Nottingham on 301m using a table top portable transistor set. I don't know what power Trent ran but it probably wasn't that great.

[LaurelandHardy]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

In the very early days Beacon was completely drowned at night. I lived about 7 miles from the transmitter. Then some time later (could have been months or maybe a year) it became audible in the evening on MW - I think can only be due to the strong continental station reducing power or perhaps moving frequency. BRMB was always fine on 261m day and night.

I spent some time in Stoke-on-Trent and listened to Beacon regularly on FM 97.2.

Actually, you'd be surprised how far 90 watts will go on MW. Before Beacon came on the air I sometimes listened to Radio Trent from Nottingham on 301m using a table top portable transistor set. I don't know what power Trent ran but it probably wasn't that great.

In it's first two years of broadcasting, Beacon Radio suffered from a very bad heterodyne howl on 989 khz at night. I did live in North Shropshire at the time well out of the stations coverage area, but this interference could be heard quite clearly in places like Shifnal, Albrighton and Telford.
This interference stopped after the 1978 Frequency reallocation doo-dah when Beacon moved to 990 khz and that station causing the heterodyne obviously moved elsewhere.
In daylight hours I could get a lovely mixture of BRMB and Piccadilly Radio on 261 metres at the time. Both used to get swamped by Radio Clyde and whatever foreign station was on there at night!

[crusher19860138]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

In the very early days Beacon was completely drowned at night. I lived about 7 miles from the transmitter. Then some time later (could have been months or maybe a year) it became audible in the evening on MW - I think can only be due to the strong continental station reducing power or perhaps moving frequency. BRMB was always fine on 261m day and night.

I spent some time in Stoke-on-Trent and listened to Beacon regularly on FM 97.2.

Actually, you'd be surprised how far 90 watts will go on MW. Before Beacon came on the air I sometimes listened to Radio Trent from Nottingham on 301m using a table top portable transistor set. I don't know what power Trent ran but it probably wasn't that great.

97.2 was a tricky signal in many parts of the Black Country due to the hilly nature of the area,dropping down from Sedgley into Wolverhampton on the A459 you would loose Beacon altogether,as well as on the Penn Rd and around Compton and ironically,Tettenhall where Beacon's studios are!

103.1 was and still is a better signal,but back then was Shropshire and had different news and travel,but a great many people listened to it in Wolverhampton due to the superior signal

[Shrewn]

Originally Posted by crusher19860138

97.2 was a tricky signal in many parts of the Black Country due to the hilly nature of the area,dropping down from Sedgley into Wolverhampton on the A459 you would loose Beacon altogether,as well as on the Penn Rd and around Compton and ironically,Tettenhall where Beacon's studios are!

103.1 was and still is a better signal,but back then was Shropshire and had different news and travel,but a great many people listened to it in Wolverhampton due to the superior signal

Also 97.2 had Asian programming in the evening on a Sunday, I know people who would listen to the album chart on 103.1 after the Network Chart.

Ps, what ever happened to Wayne Bodkin??

[crusher19860138]

Unfortunately,the Beacon Radio 303 Memories website appears to be down this morning

[Ennerjee]

Originally Posted by crusher19860138

Unfortunately,the Beacon Radio 303 Memories website appears to be down this morning

It hasn't been updated since March, but a FB page by Chris Harper has some good stuff on.

[crusher19860138]

So many memories for me,Beacon Radio will never die,it may not be on the air,but the station will live on in our minds,and i love to drive around with old Beacon shows playing away in my car,while other people have to put up with the dreary radio nowadays!

[RiderOnTheWheel]

As a quite prominent and long serving radio DJ said to me not so very long ago about today's radio landscape:

"So many stations - so little choice."

[radio nut]

Originally Posted by Ennerjee

It hasn't been updated since March, but a FB page by Chris Harper has some good stuff on.

ive looked for this page on facebook cant find it

[crusher19860138]

Originally Posted by LaurelandHardy

Agreed 100%

Well,i would rather Orion run the stations as Free Radio from the Midlands,rather than loose it all to Heart like other areas!

[crusher19860138]

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheWheel

As a quite prominent and long serving radio DJ said to me not so very long ago about today's radio landscape:

"So many stations - so little choice."

Very accurate,could not have described it better myself!