1991 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1991.

List of years in British radio (table)
In British television
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1991
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1994
In British music
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1991
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Events

January

February
  • At the start of February, BBC Radio 1 ends its temporary overnight programming and once again closes down between 2 am and 5 am, although the half-hourly news bulletins continue to be broadcast for the full duration of the Gulf War.

March

April
  • 4 April – BBC Radio 1 launches its first show dedicated to rap music. Presented by Pete Tong, the one-hour show, called The Rap Selection, is broadcast on Thursday evenings and lasts until March 1992.

May
  • 1 May – BBC Radio 1 begins broadcasting a 24-hour service on a permanent basis, but only on FM – the station’s MW frequencies are switched off each night between midnight and 6 am.
  • May – The BBC Night Network is expanded to incorporate the BBC's four north west stations. Programmes start an hour later, at 7:05 pm. The north west stations have previously broadcast their own networked evening programming called Network North West.

June
  • No events.

July
  • 5 July – Chiltern Radio launches Network News.
  • 25 July – The final episode of soap opera Citizens is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[5] The soap's final broadcast comes two days later with an omnibus edition of the week's episodes.[6]
  • July – The Radio Authority awards the first Independent National Radio licence to Showtime Radio, which proposes a 'songs from the shows' format. The rules, as set out by the Broadcasting Act 1990, state that the Authority has to give the licence to the highest cash bidder, providing that the applicant meets criteria set down in the Broadcasting Act[7] and Showtime has offered the highest amount out of the three applicants.

August

September
  • 2 September – BBC Radio 5 launches a weekday lunchtime programme in conjunction with forces station BFBS. Called BFBS Worldwide, the programme continues to be broadcast until the demise of Radio 5 in 1994.[12]
  • 16 September
    • The main BBC Radio 4 service moves from long wave to FM as FM coverage has now been extended to cover almost all of the UK – Radio 4 does not become available on FM in much of Scotland and Wales until the start of the 1990s. Opt-outs are transferred to long wave, including The Daily Service which from this day is now broadcast only on long wave.[13]
    • Woman’s Hour moves from early afternoons to a mid-morning slot.[14][15]
    • Signal buys neighbouring KFM and merges the station with Echo 96 resulting in the launch of Signal Cheshire.[16]
  • 30 September – The Radio Authority re-awards the first Independent National Radio licence to Classic FM.
  • September – Atlantic 252 commences 24-hour transmission.

October
  • 5 October – Football phone-in 6-0-6 is broadcast for the first time on BBC Radio 5. Danny Baker is the programme’s host. The launch of this programme is part of an expansion of Radio 5's broadcast hours. Previously the station had simulcast the BBC's other radio stations at various off-peak times, including Saturday evenings.

November
  • 18 November – Live presentation on Airport Information Radio ends in favour of a pre-recorded service[17] after the station was bought by Allied Radio plc.
  • 26 November – Piers Plowright's documentary Mr. B. is broadcast on BBC radio.[18]

December
  • 20 December – Derek Jameson leaves The Radio 2 Breakfast Show after presenting the programme for more than five years.[19]
  • 23 December – BBC Radio 2 airs Christmas in Albert Square, a special one hour programme presented by EastEnders actors Wendy Richard and Bill Treacher, who play some favourite festive music and swap anecdotes about the BBC1 soap.[20]
  • 25 December – Norma Major, the spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, is a guest presenter on Radio 2, where she presents a programme playing some of her favourite seasonal music.[21]
  • 29 December – Listeners to Birmingham's BRMB station hear presenters Andy Hollins and Brendan Kearney storm out of the studio following an on-air row. The disagreement erupts during a live review of the year of the pair's regular Sunday morning show.[22]
  • 30 December – At 3 am, Radio Luxembourg ends MW transmissions after 54 years on air. The stations continues to broadcast via satellite.

Unknown
  • BBC Radio Shropshire stops broadcasting on MW. One of the relinquished two frequencies – 756 kHz – is subsequently given over to commercial radio.
  • WM Heartlands, a mid-morning experimental opt-out from BBC WM which served the 'Heartlands' area of East Birmingham using the station's 1458MW frequency, closes after two years on air.[23]

Station debuts

Closing this year

Programme debuts

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Ending this year

Deaths

See also

References
  1. "BBC Radio 1 England – 6 January 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  2. "Dictionary definition of 'stunt up'". Retrieved 30 December 2009. refers Sheena McDonald, "Scud-FM goes critical—BBC gears up for round-the-clock news service", page 25, The Guardian 17 August 1992.
  3. Franklin, Bob (31 March 2005). Key Concepts in Journalism Studies. Sage. ISBN 0-7619-4482-6.
  4. Elmes, Simon (2007). And Now On Radio 4. Random House. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-905211-53-1.
  5. "Citizens – BBC Radio 4 FM – 25 July 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  6. "Citizens – BBC Radio 4 FM – 27 July 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  7. "Fact Sheet 3: The Radio Authority: Its licences and licensing procedures". London: The Radio Authority. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  8. "BBC Radio 1 England – 5 August 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. County Sound Radio History and Simon Cummings Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, MDS975.
  10. Third Mile Buys Radio Stations. The Times. 24 August 1991, Business Section.
  11. "Top of the Pops – BBC Radio 1 England – 29 August 1991 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  12. "Radio 5 – 2 September 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  13. Henry, Georgina (18 January 1991). "Mediafile". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
  14. "BBC Radio 4 FM – 16 September 1991". BBC Genome. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  15. David Hendy Life on Air: A History of Radio Four, 2007, OUP, p. 332.
  16. McGever, Mike. "KFM Buyout Fails; 'Signal Cheshire' Twins Born" (PDF). World Radio History. Music & Media. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. Airport Information Radio, This is ILR (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the Internet Archive).
  18. "Mr B". RadioListings. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  19. "BBC Radio 2 – 20 December 1991 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  20. "Christmas In Albert Square". 12 December 1991. p. 168. Retrieved 5 January 2019 – via BBC Genome.
  21. "Norma Major". 12 December 1991. p. 172. Retrieved 5 January 2019 – via BBC Genome.
  22. Lewis, Jason (30 December 1991). "BRMB pair storm out after studio row". The Birmingham Post. Central Independent Newspapers.
  23. "BBC Radio WM Heartlands".
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