1992 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1992.

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Events

January

• 6 January – Brian Hayes takes over The Radio 2 Breakfast Show from Derek Jameson.[1]

February

• 15 February – Radio Orwell changes its name to SGR FM following the purchase of the station by East Anglian Radio.
• 21 February – Ahead of a schedule revamp, Gary Davies presents his final 'bit in the middle' on BBC Radio 1. He had presented the weekday lunchtime show for the station since 1984. He is replaced on 24 February by Jakki Brambles. The new schedule sees Gary moving to the weekends, including presenting the weekend breakfast show.
• 29 February – BBC Radio 3 stops broadcasting on MW. Its frequency is to be used by a national commercial station.

March

• 1 March – Commercial Radio comes to Lincolnshire, with the launch of Lincs FM.
• 9 March – BBC Radio 1 undergoes a schedule revamp, with most of the changes being to the weekend schedule, and a new jingles package is introduced based on the theme Closer to the Music.
• 15 March –
  • Chris Evans makes his BBC Radio 1 debut, presenting a short-lived Sunday early afternoon show called Too Much Gravy.
  • Bruno Brookes returns as host of BBC Radio 1’s UK Top 40 programme. The programme is extended once again and now airs from 4pm until 7pm.[2]
• 23 March – BBC Radio Nottingham ends transmissions on one of its MW transmitters. BBC Radio Cleveland and BBC GLR also stop broadcasting on MW at around the same time.
• late March-7 April – For the first time BBC Radio 4 on long wave opts out of the main Radio 4 schedule to provide extra news coverage. It does so to provide additional coverage of the latest developments in the general election campaign. Before now, these programmes would have been broadcast on the station's FM frequencies.

April

• 3 April – Commercial Radio comes to Cornwall, with the launch of Pirate FM.
• 20 April – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, an open-air concert in tribute to the late Freddie Mercury is held at London's Wembley Stadium. The concert is broadcast on BBC2 and BBC Radio 1 in the UK, and televised worldwide.[3][4]
• April – The Radio Authority awards the second Independent National Radio licence to Independent Music Radio, a consortium jointly owned by TV-am and Virgin Communications Ltd. The Authority had hoped that the station would launch by the end of the year but it didn’t launch until the following April.

May

• 20 May – Ball-by-ball cricket commentary moves to BBC Radio 3's FM frequencies for the summer following the switching-off of BBC Radio 3's MW frequency.

June

• 10–26 June – For the first time, the BBC provides full radio coverage of an international football tournament when it broadcasts live commentary of every game of Euro 92.
• 22 June – Radio Wimbledon broadcasts for the first time, providing coverage of the Wimbledon tennis championships. The service broadcasts as a Restricted Service Licence and is available within a 5-mile radius of the AELTC.
• 28 June – BBC Radio 2 provides fifteen hours of coverage of the first annual National Music Day, presented by Ken Bruce.[5]

July

• 4 July – Commercial Radio comes to North Yorkshire, with the launch of Minster FM.
• 13 July – In a bid to counter-act the forthcoming launch of Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 makes major changes to its programmes, including the launch of new weekday breakfast and drivetime programmes. On Air replaces Morning Concert and In Tune replaces Mainly for Pleasure.
• 17 July – As part of the Radio 3 changes, a new three-hour Sunday morning show of popular classics launches, introduced by Brian Kay.
• 25 July – BBC Radio 4 stops the week for the final time, after having done so since 1974.
• 26 July – 9 August – Radio 5 provides full live coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Programmes run all day, from 6.30am until 10pm. This is the first time that BBC Radio has provided full coverage of the Games.
• July – As Classic FM prepares to launch, test transmissions are carried out using a recording of birdsong originally made for a Raymond Briggs play about nuclear war in 1991. The recording proves popular with listeners and from 2003 to 2005 and again from 2008 until 2009 the recording became part of a full-time station called Birdsong Radio.[6]

August

• 30 August – 100,000 people attend BBC Radio 1's biggest ever Roadshow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Radio 1. The event, held at Sutton Park in the West Midlands, features live performances from bands including Del Amitri, Aswad, The Farm and Status Quo.[7][8]

September

• 7 September – At 6am, Britain's first national commercial radio station, Classic FM, is launched.

October

• 15 October – Commercial Radio comes to the Channel Islands, with the launch of Island FM, followed 10 days later by the start of Channel 103.
• 18 October – After previously enjoying success as a pirate radio station, Sunshine 855 in Shropshire officially goes on air.

November

• No events.

December

• 23 December – Brian Hayes presents The Radio 2 Breakfast Show for the final time.[9] He is succeeded by Terry Wogan in January 1993.[10]
• 27 December – Pick of the Pops is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 for the final time.[11]
• 31 December – Radio Luxemburg ceases to broadcast English programming shortly after 1am.[12]

Unknown

• The BBC World Service starts to be broadcast on BBC Local Radio when stations are not on the air. Previously, BBC Radio 2 had been heard during station downtime.

Station debuts

• 21 January – BBC Radio Berkshire
• 1 March – Lincs FM
• 14 March – Heartland FM
• 3 April – Pirate FM
• 14 April – The Worlds Greatest Music Station
• 4 May – Mercury 96.4
• 25 May – Radio Wave 96.5
• 22 June – Radio Wimbledon
• 1 July – KL.FM 96.7
• 4 July – Minster FM
• 1 September – Q96
• 5 September – Spire FM
• 7 September – Classic FM
• 15 September – Sunrise East Midlands
• 15 October – Island FM
• 18 October – Sunshine 855
• 25 October – Channel 103
• 22 November – Delta FM
• 12 December – Lantern FM
• 14 December – Radio Ceredigion

Changes of station frequency

Closing this year

• 30 December – Radio Luxembourg (1933–1992)

Programme debuts

• 9 January –
  • No Commitments on BBC Radio 4 (1992–2007)
  • Room 101 on BBC Radio 5 (1992–1994)
• 9 October – The Mark Steel Solution on BBC Radio 5 (BBC Radio 4 from Series 2) (1992–1996)
• 1 December – Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge on BBC Radio 4 (1992–1993)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

1970s

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• Week Ending (1970–1998)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)
• Breakaway (1979–1998)
• Feedback (1979–Present)
• The Food Programme (1979–Present)
• Science in Action (1979–Present)

1980s

• In Business (1983–Present)
• Sounds of the 60s (1983–Present)
• Loose Ends (1986–Present)

1990s

• Jazz Parade (1990–1993)
• Formula Five (1990–1994)
• The Moral Maze (1990–Present)
• Essential Selection (1991–Present)

Ending this year

• 28 May – On the Hour (1991–1992)
• 4 August – Flying the Flag (1987–1992)
• 22 August – Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel (1990–1992)
• 13 December – Down Your Way (1946–1992)

See also

• 1992 in British music
• 1992 in British television
• 1992 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1992

References

1. "BBC Radio 2 – 6 January 1992 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
2. "BBC Radio 1 England – 15 March 1992 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
3. "The Freddie Mercury Tribute – BBC Two England – 20 April 1992". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
4. "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert – BBC Radio 1 England – 20 April 1992". BBC Genome. BBC. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
5. "National Music Day". 25 June 1992. p. 84. Retrieved 5 January 2019 – via BBC Genome.
6. "The Story of Radio Birdsong". RadioBirdsong.com. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
7. "BBC Radio 1 England – 30 August 1992 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
8. "Radio Rewind – Radio 1 Shows – Roadshow; the later years". www.radiorewind.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
9. "Brian Hayes". December 23, 1992. p. 182 – via BBC Genome.
10. "Wake Up to Wogan". January 4, 1993. p. 114 – via BBC Genome.
11. "Pick of the Pops". December 27, 1992. p. 190 – via BBC Genome.
12. Ward, Stephen (27 December 1992). "Radio Luxembourg signs off". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 8 October 2019.