Piccadilly Magic 1152
Encyclopedia
NB Piccadilly Radio re-directs here. See also Key 103
Piccadilly Magic 1152 (also known simply as Magic 1152), began broadcasting as Piccadilly Radio, which was Manchester
's first commercial radio station.
It began broadcasting on 2 April 1974 as Piccadilly Radio on 261m (1151 kHz then) AM/MW and on 97.0 MHz FM. The station is named after Piccadilly Gardens
in Manchester, and Piccadilly Plaza was home to the station's first studios until 1996, when Piccadilly 1152 and Key 103 were relocated to the Castlefield area of Manchester.
Many of Britain's famous presenters started their careers at Piccadilly, including Chris Evans, Mike Sweeney
, Steve Penk
, Jeff Cooper, James H Reeve
, Andy Peebles
, Gary Davies
, Tim Grundy
, Timmy Mallett
, Pete Mitchell, Chris Tetley
, Geoff Lloyd
, Mark Radcliffe
, James Stannage
and Karl Pilkington
.
broadcast on FM
with a contemporary format, while Piccadilly Gold broadcast on AM
with a Gold format. In the mid-1990s Piccadilly Gold became Piccadilly 1152 as the playlist moved away from "golden oldies" to a mix of classic and current easy-listening music. The late-night phone-in with James Stannage
became the most listened-to talk show outside London, whilst the Dave Ward and Umberto breakfast show helped the station to become one of the biggest broadcasting on AM.
In 1994, a rival station, Fortune 1458
(later renamed 1458 Lite AM, today broadcasting as 1458 Capital Gold
) commenced on the old BBC GMR AM frequency. Despite heavy marketing, and many ex-Piccadilly presenters on the new station, Piccadilly 1152 remained Manchester's most popular station, other than sister station Key 103, until the late 1990s when new smaller FM stations in Oldham
, Warrington
and Bury
began to erode away Piccadilly's audience base. Clearly, a better quality of signal on FM was a major factor in Piccadilly 1152's audience decline.
). In 1999/2000 the parent company EMAP re-branded the station as Magic 1152, to fall in-line with the other 9 Magic Radio
stations they owned across London and the north of England. The idea of a "Magic brand" of stations was seen to be beneficial when selling air time to national advertisers. This change in name also coincided with the 25th birthday of Piccadilly Radio. The station was branded as "Piccadilly 1152 - the magic of Manchester" during the transition
Except for a short spell in 2000 (when Key 103 was briefly renamed Piccadilly Key 103), the name Piccadilly disappeared from the airwaves.
In December 2001, EMAP decided that it was more economical for the Magic network to share off-peak programmes. Magic 1152, in line with the other 7 Magic AM stations in northern England, began networking 10am-2pm, and 7pm-6am with the London station Magic 105.4 providing the programmes - during these hours it was simply known as Magic, although there were local commercial breaks, and local news on the hour.
In January 2003 after a sharp decline in listening, the station ceased networking with the London station, Magic 105.4, and a regional northern network was created with Magic 1152 at the hub at the weekend and the Newcastle station of the same name during the week. During networked hours, local adverts are aired, as well as a local news summary on the hour.
national news featuring on the hour between 7pm and 5am. Piccadilly Magic 1152 is the official station of Manchester City Football Club
and Manchester United, and broadcasts commentary of both team's home and away matches along with sister station Key 103.. Both Key 103 and Piccadilly Magic 1152 support and run funding events for the "Manchester Kids" charity, which aims to improve the lives of deprived children in Manchester.
The station is based in the Castlefield
area of Manchester, in Castle Quay.
Current weekday programmes:
Ian Roberts
at breakfast, Nick Wright, Dave Campbell, Richard Allen, Magic Moments with Norman Ashley
Only the breakfast show is presented locally. The remainder of programmes come from the Magic Gold Network. Dave Ellis and Chris Rick present the Saturday and Sunday breakfast shows respectively, and freelancer Matthew Rudd
acts as holiday relief for each.
Past Presenters
Phil Wood,
Dave Ward,
Umberto,
Chris Evans,
Roger Day,
Tony Emerson,
James Stannage,
Colin Cook,
Becky Want,
Mike Shaft,
Phil Sayer,
Mike Sweeney,
Pete Baker,
Pete Reeves,
Susie Mathis,
Stu Allan
Past Newsreaders / Sport
Henry Matthews,
Jim Hancock,
Tom Tyrrell,
Brian Clarke,
John Pickford,
Kay Burley,
Chris Roberts,
Juliet Bremner
Key 103
Key 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. Its output is principally contemporary pop and dance music. Formerly owned by Trans World Communications, EMAP and now by Bauer Radio, Key 103 is part of Bauer's Place Network of...
Piccadilly Magic 1152 (also known simply as Magic 1152), began broadcasting as Piccadilly Radio, which was Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
's first commercial radio station.
Early years
Piccadilly Gardens
Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, situated at one end of Market Street and on the edge of the Northern Quarter...
in Manchester, and Piccadilly Plaza was home to the station's first studios until 1996, when Piccadilly 1152 and Key 103 were relocated to the Castlefield area of Manchester.
Many of Britain's famous presenters started their careers at Piccadilly, including Chris Evans, Mike Sweeney
Mike Sweeney (DJ)
Michael Thomas Sweeney is a broadcaster and radio DJ, who was born in Rudman Street, Salford, Lancashire.He attended Mount Carmel School, after which he worked at AEI in Trafford Park, before becoming a platelayer at the docks, a labourer, a miner and then a computer programmer, while performing...
, Steve Penk
Steve Penk
Steve Penk is a British radio and TV presenter. He was born Stephen Penkethman on 28 September 1961, in Rusholme, Manchester and is renowned for his wind-up calls. Penk has worked for various national and local radio stations...
, Jeff Cooper, James H Reeve
James H Reeve
James Hengist Reeve is a cult UK broadcaster, journalist, raconteur and radio phone-in host based in the Manchester area. James has hosted shows on Piccadilly Radio, BBC GMR , BBC Radio Five Live, The New Hallam FM, talkSPORT, TeamTalk 252 stations and, up until July 2006, presented the late night...
, Andy Peebles
Andy Peebles
-Early life:The son of a head postmaster, Peebles attended Bishop's Stortford College, Hertfordshire before training in hotel management.After DJing at a college dance he was offered a job at Samanthas in Bournemouth.He worked at Chelsea Village,The Scotch of St James in London and at the Hardrock...
, Gary Davies
Gary Davies
Gary Davies is a British broadcaster. During the 1980s and 1990s he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and also a regular presenter of Top of the Pops.-Early career:...
, Tim Grundy
Tim Grundy
Timothy "Tim" Grundy was an English television and radio presenter. He was born in Manchester.-Biography:...
, Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett is a TV presenter and broadcaster in the UK. He achieved cult status on BBC Radio Oxford and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and later on TV-am...
, Pete Mitchell, Chris Tetley
Chris Tetley
Christopher 'Chris' Mark Bagshaw Tetley is a former English cricketer. Tetley was a left-handed batsman who bowled leg break...
, Geoff Lloyd
Geoff Lloyd
Geoff Lloyd is a British radio presenter. Lloyd presents Geoff Lloyd's Hometime Show, Monday-Friday, 5pm-8pm on Absolute Radio...
, Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
, James Stannage
James Stannage
James Stannage, born 22 February 1950, is a British late night talk show radio host. He is best known for presenting The Late Night James Stannage Talk Show on Manchester's Key 103...
and Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The...
.
FM/MW split
Piccadilly Radio split into two services in 1988, with Key 103Key 103
Key 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. Its output is principally contemporary pop and dance music. Formerly owned by Trans World Communications, EMAP and now by Bauer Radio, Key 103 is part of Bauer's Place Network of...
broadcast on FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
with a contemporary format, while Piccadilly Gold broadcast on AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
with a Gold format. In the mid-1990s Piccadilly Gold became Piccadilly 1152 as the playlist moved away from "golden oldies" to a mix of classic and current easy-listening music. The late-night phone-in with James Stannage
James Stannage
James Stannage, born 22 February 1950, is a British late night talk show radio host. He is best known for presenting The Late Night James Stannage Talk Show on Manchester's Key 103...
became the most listened-to talk show outside London, whilst the Dave Ward and Umberto breakfast show helped the station to become one of the biggest broadcasting on AM.
In 1994, a rival station, Fortune 1458
Fortune 1458
-History:The station began broadcasting in 1994 on the old BBC GMR medium wave frequency and was seen as a direct competitor to Piccadilly 1152.Following take overs, the station went through several name changes including Lite 1458, Big AM and Capital Gold. The frequency is currently used by Gold...
(later renamed 1458 Lite AM, today broadcasting as 1458 Capital Gold
Capital Gold
Gold is a network of oldies radio stations which was formed by the merger of the Capital Gold network and the Classic Gold Network in August 2007...
) commenced on the old BBC GMR AM frequency. Despite heavy marketing, and many ex-Piccadilly presenters on the new station, Piccadilly 1152 remained Manchester's most popular station, other than sister station Key 103, until the late 1990s when new smaller FM stations in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
and Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
began to erode away Piccadilly's audience base. Clearly, a better quality of signal on FM was a major factor in Piccadilly 1152's audience decline.
Magic 1152
In 1994, Piccadilly (Key 103/Piccadilly 1152) were part of the Transworld Radio Group, which was bought by present owners Bauer Radio (then EMAPEMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
). In 1999/2000 the parent company EMAP re-branded the station as Magic 1152, to fall in-line with the other 9 Magic Radio
Magic Radio
Magic is a music radio and a TV brand in the United Kingdom, run by the German publishing company Bauer.-Magic Radio in United Kingdom:...
stations they owned across London and the north of England. The idea of a "Magic brand" of stations was seen to be beneficial when selling air time to national advertisers. This change in name also coincided with the 25th birthday of Piccadilly Radio. The station was branded as "Piccadilly 1152 - the magic of Manchester" during the transition
Except for a short spell in 2000 (when Key 103 was briefly renamed Piccadilly Key 103), the name Piccadilly disappeared from the airwaves.
In December 2001, EMAP decided that it was more economical for the Magic network to share off-peak programmes. Magic 1152, in line with the other 7 Magic AM stations in northern England, began networking 10am-2pm, and 7pm-6am with the London station Magic 105.4 providing the programmes - during these hours it was simply known as Magic, although there were local commercial breaks, and local news on the hour.
In January 2003 after a sharp decline in listening, the station ceased networking with the London station, Magic 105.4, and a regional northern network was created with Magic 1152 at the hub at the weekend and the Newcastle station of the same name during the week. During networked hours, local adverts are aired, as well as a local news summary on the hour.
Present day
Since Easter 2004, the station has once again begun to be referred to as Piccadilly Magic 1152 in recognition of 30 years on-air. This also coincided with a new breakfast show. News is broadcast locally from 6am to 7pm with IRNIndependent Radio News
Independent Radio News provides a service of news bulletins, audio and copy to commercial radio stations in the UK and beyond.The managing director of IRN is Tim Molloy, who succeeded long-term MD John Perkins in November 2009...
national news featuring on the hour between 7pm and 5am. Piccadilly Magic 1152 is the official station of Manchester City Football Club
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
and Manchester United, and broadcasts commentary of both team's home and away matches along with sister station Key 103.. Both Key 103 and Piccadilly Magic 1152 support and run funding events for the "Manchester Kids" charity, which aims to improve the lives of deprived children in Manchester.
The station is based in the Castlefield
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and the Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester...
area of Manchester, in Castle Quay.
Current weekday programmes:
Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (DJ)
Ian Roberts is a British DJ. He currently presents breakfast on Piccadilly Magic 1152 in Manchester.-Biography:Roberts grew up in Wythenshawe, Manchester and started playing records at the Sharston Youth club...
at breakfast, Nick Wright, Dave Campbell, Richard Allen, Magic Moments with Norman Ashley
Only the breakfast show is presented locally. The remainder of programmes come from the Magic Gold Network. Dave Ellis and Chris Rick present the Saturday and Sunday breakfast shows respectively, and freelancer Matthew Rudd
Matthew Rudd
Matthew James Rudd is an English Radio Personality and disc jockey.-Early career:Rudd started his working life as a journalist, working for a news agency. He began his radio career as an amateur on the local hospital radio station in Hull, Kingstown Radio...
acts as holiday relief for each.
Past Presenters
Phil Wood,
Dave Ward,
Umberto,
Chris Evans,
Roger Day,
Tony Emerson,
James Stannage,
Colin Cook,
Becky Want,
Mike Shaft,
Phil Sayer,
Mike Sweeney,
Pete Baker,
Pete Reeves,
Susie Mathis,
Stu Allan
Stu Allan
Stu Allan is a British dance music DJ who worked for Piccadilly Radio and Key 103 in Manchester in the 1980s and 1990s. His hip-hop, house music and hardcore techno shows were a significant influence on the local music scene at that time. Stu Allan today is a major contributor to the UK hardcore...
Past Newsreaders / Sport
Henry Matthews,
Jim Hancock,
Tom Tyrrell,
Brian Clarke,
John Pickford,
Kay Burley,
Chris Roberts,
Juliet Bremner