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About UsYou are in: London > Radio > 94.9 Information > About Us > The History of BBC London 94.9  Tony Blackburn on BBC Radio London The History of BBC London 94.9Read the history of the BBC's station for London From pioneering the daily phone-in to creating some of the UK's best known broadcasters, BBC London 94.9 has been broadcasting the best radio to London for over three decades. BBC London 94.9 history
On the 6th October 1970, in a relatively small studio in Hanover Square, the BBC launched BBC Radio London, the BBC's local radio station for the capital. From the early 1960s the pirate stations had established a new and upbeat style of presentation on the London airwaves. Stations like Radio Caroline which began broadcasting off the Essex coast in 1964 where hugely popular in the capital so the new BBC Radio London took to the air with a lively sound.  Charlie Gillett on BBC London Radio Early on much of the stations output was provided by Radio 2 but over the years Radio London developed a mix of local news, travel bulletins and phone-ins alongside specialist and popular music. The phone-in is today a standard part of radio in London, but when BBC Radio London aired the first regular phone-in programme in 1977 it was a fresh approach to broadcasting and a brave attempt to involve its listeners. It goes without saying the idea caught on. The first BBC Radio London phone-in was nothing like the topical phone-in shows we have on the station today. 'Sounding Brass' was a phone-in devised and presented by the legendary religious broadcaster Owen Spencer-Thomas. The programme asked listeners to phone in and suggest hymns that would be played impromptu live on-air by a Salvation Army brass band in the studio. The programme was so popular it eventually moved to Radio 2 and was presented by Gloria Hunniford. The station had built up its listenership over the 1970's fending off competition from the emerging legal commercial London stations such as Capital Radio and LBC (who received licences in 1973). By the 1980s BBC Radio London had moved to the old Radio Times warehouse in Marylebone High Street where the station in all its forms has remained to this day. In 1981 the station was re-launched as an FM station on the 94.9fm frequency.  DJ Dave Pearce at BBC London Radio In the early 1980s BBC Radio London continued to create innovative programmes. 'Black Londoners' was a highly regarded programme devised by Ray Cruikshank who was a community relations officer for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The programme not only set the standard for community specific programming but also developed a generation of African-Caribbean on-air talent including Alex Pascall, Juliet Alexander, Syd Burke and Mike Phillips. In 1984 Tony Blackburn (who presents on the station today) moved from Radio 1 to present the best soul music programme in London. Another great music DJ who began presenting on BBC Radio London in 1972 after complaining in an article about the blandness of local radio stations, was Charlie Gillett.  Robert Elms In 1988 BBC Radio London re-launched as GLR. Keeping with a long tradition of innovative radio GLR was to bring a new style of irreverent speech/music radio to the airwaves of London. Danny Baker began his radio career on the station in 1989 presenting the Weekend Breakfast programme which was produced by one Chris Evans. After producing presenters such as Danny Baker and Emma Freud, Chris Evans went on to establish himself as a presenter on the mid-afternoon Saturday slot, the rest as they say is history. Anthony Denslow, Dotun Adebayo, Phil Jupitus, Chris Morris and Vanessa Feltz are just a handful of the amazing array of on-air talent developed by the station in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the mid 1990s a music journalist by the name of Robert Elms started to present regularly on the station. The Robert Elms show remains one of London’s most iconic radio programmes tapping in on listeners knowledge of the city with the hugely popular ‘Notes & Queries’. In 2000 the radio studios at Marylebone High Street where completely revamped in preparation for a digital future and in 2001 BBC London 94.9 along with BBC London TV and BBC London Online became the first BBC local tri-media service. last updated: 22/01/2009 at 16:37 SEE ALSOYou are in: London > Radio > 94.9 Information > About Us > The History of BBC London 94.9 PodcastPodcastNon League Football Show Download or subscribe to this programme's podcast   |
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