2001 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 2001.

List of years in British radio (table)
In British television
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
In British music
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
+...

Events

January
  • 31 January – BBC Radio 2 begins broadcasting the eight-part series, Kirsty MacColl's Cuba, which was postponed as a mark of respect following her death in December 2000.[1]

February

March
  • No events

April
  • No events

May
  • 4 May – Talksport secures rights to broadcast Premier League games for the first time after the Radio Authority granted the station permission to broadcast games involving Chelsea, Fulham, and Tottenham Hotspur on their London transmitters only.[2] Later, Talksport secures similar deals with Everton, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City for their transmitters in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Lancashire following approval from the Radio Authority. The station also had the ability to split their transmitters in the West Midlands for games involving Aston Villa but this never came to fruition.
  • 10 May – For the first time, BBC Radio 2 becomes the UK's most listened to radio station, overtaking BBC Radio 1.[3] It has held that position ever since.

June
  • 28 June – Chris Evans is dismissed by Virgin Radio for repeatedly failing to arrive at work. Evans is replaced by Steve Penk, whom Evans criticises for his age – 39 versus Evans's 35 at this time.[4] Evans subsequently attempts to sue Virgin Radio, claiming that he was unfairly dismissed and denied share options worth £8.6 million[5] but in 2003 is found to have been fairly dismissed and not entitled to the share options.[6]

July
  • No events

August

September

October
  • 1 October – BBC Radio 2 starts broadcasting a weekly album chart show. The one-hour programme is broadcast on Monday evenings and is presented by Simon Mayo.[7]
  • 4 October – Premier Christian Radio receives an official warning from the Radio Authority for broadcasting "items that were offensive to people of other, non-Christian beliefs".[8]
  • 16 October – Saga 105.7 FM, the first radio station dedicated to the over-50s, is launched in Birmingham.
  • October – BBC London Live changes its name to BBC London 94.9.
  • October – BBC Three Counties Radio launches opt-out programming for the county of Buckinghamshire.
  • October – The Sky News Radio service is expanded to provide hourly news bulletins, audio and scripts for a number of clients in the commercial radio sector.

November
  • 2 November – It is reported that police are to examine an edition of BBC Radio 2's Jimmy Young Show broadcast on 31 October to decide whether comments made on the programme by Abdul Haq, a spokesman for the extremist Muslim group al-Muhajiroun amount to incitement. Haq said he and other Muslims would "continue to struggle and strive until we see the flag of Islam flying over 10 Downing Street". The show has drawn over 200 complaints.[9][10]
  • 24 November – On the tenth anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death, BBC Radio 2 airs The Mercury Tapes, a programme featuring recently discovered recordings made by David Wigg in which he talks to the Queen frontman about his life and music.[11]
  • 25 November – After 42 years on air, Sing Something Simple broadcasts for the final time. The programme ends partly because of Cliff Adams's death on 22 October and partly because of Radio 2's repositioning to appeal to the former Radio 1 audience. A tribute to Cliff Adams is broadcast five weeks later.[12]

December
  • 17 December – Release of the Gordon Haskell song How Wonderful You Are which is issued as a single after mass promotion by BBC Radio 2 where it becomes a favourite of listeners after being played on the Johnnie Walker show.[13] The song was the most requested song of all time at the station and became the Christmas number-two in the UK charts.[14]
  • 20 December – Enda Caldwell presents Atlantic 252's final programme before the station goes off air after twelve years. It continues with an automated output for a few weeks before finally ending in January 2002.
  • 25 December – Classic FM broadcasts its Nation's Favourite Christmas Carol countdown for the first time.
  • December – The eight medium wave Magic stations in northern England begin networking 10 am – 2 pm and 7 pm – 6 am with the London station Magic 105.4 providing the programmes.

Station debuts

Closing this year
  • Oxygen FM

Programme debuts

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Ending this year

Deaths

See also

References
  1. "ENTERTAINMENT | Postponed MacColl series airs". BBC News. 1 February 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. MEDIA BRIEFS: Premiership games live on Talksport Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine PR Week, 4 May 2001
  3. "Radio 2 is top UK radio station". the Guardian. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  4. "Penk replaces Evans at Virgin Radio". BBC News. 2 July 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  5. "Evans sues for lost Virgin shares". BBC News. 14 December 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  6. "Christopher Evans v SMG Television et al". Royal Courts of Justice. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  7. "Simon Mayo to front R2 album chart". the Guardian. 20 July 2001. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  8. Notes of Radio Authority Meeting, Radio Authority, 4 October 2001.
  9. Leonard, Tom (2 November 2001). "Police study Jimmy Young Show after 'incitement' complaints". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  10. Higham, Nick (1 November 2001). "The media battles on". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  11. "The Mercury Tapes – BBC Radio 2 – 24 November 2001 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  12. BBC Genome Project - BBC Radio 2 listings 30 December 2001
  13. Eden, Richard (24 December 2001). "And then they go and spoil it all for Gordon Haskell". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  14. "Haskell's 'old school' rules". BBC News. 13 January 2002. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  15. "The Right Time". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  16. "Cliff Adams obituary". The Guardian. 1 November 2001. Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
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