Amber Sound FM
Encyclopedia
Amber Sound FM is a Community Radio
station based in the Amber Valley
, Derbyshire
. It was awarded a five year community license by OFCOM
in 2008 after several Restricted Service License broadcasts. Amber Sound said it would "encourage
local people, young and old, to become part of" the station. Chris Knight is now the Station Manager at Amber Sound FM.
) in Ripley
, Derbyshire
. This was followed by three FM licences broadcast from office space located in Oxford St, Ripley.
Following the group's third broadcast, musical differences caused a split and Amber Sound FM was born. Ran by local DJ Chris Knight and local businessman Alan Farrar, there were two restricted service licences back in October 1995 and August 1996.
Both stations felt that the Amber Valley
was under served by other local stations in the area. The team went to work to give the Amber Valley
a station of its own. After an amount of radio activity in the area the 2 groups called it a day back in 1996 when it seemed the Radio Authority were not willing to grant licences in the area.
Meanwhile the first rounds of community licences have been awarded to stations around the UK when in 2006 another station 'Amber FM' popped up on the dial. This station ran by Eddie Fowler prompted Chris Knight to get interested again and Eddie and Chris reformed under the name of Amber Sound FM in 2007 and performed two further RSL broadcasts. During these broadcasts Glyn Williams joined the group and so all three radio groups were now united under one banner.
In late 2007 Ofcom the new licencing authority advertised for applicants for a new tier of community radio in the East Midlands.
Amber Sound FM applied for the licence and in May 2008 were awarded one. It took the station a few short months to get on air and on the first Saturday of October 2008 the switch was flicked and the culmination of a dream became reality. The first ever song to be played on Amber Sound was "Easy" by Commodores
.
The new station ran by Managing Director Chris Knight, Finance Director Eddie Fowler, Sales manager Glyn Williams and HR and Weekend manager Sean Carter continues to grow from strength to strength and can be heard on 107.2FM in Amber Valley or online at www.ambersoundfm.com.
Towards the end of 2009, Craig Strong, a presenter who has been heard on most of the East Midlands commercial stations, and others further afield, was asked to cover for Glyn Williams on The Soul Show. He enjoyed it so much, he was persuaded to come out of self imposed radio retirement, and was overjoyed at being asked to present the show regularly.
Craig has also worked with many people from the world of music, and introduced Alexander O Neal on stage at The Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on his first visit to the UK. A friend and former colleague of Dale Winton's, he has also worked with Take That, Jimmy Ruffin, Boyzone, Dina Carroll, 2 Unlimited, Right Said Fred, and many others.
Since 2011, many other presenters and station staff have joined Amber Sound. On average, in the year of 2011, 25,000 listeners per day tune-in to Amber Sound 107.2FM.
Specialist shows run from 9pm to 12am on weeknights.
Sunday
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
station based in the Amber Valley
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. It was awarded a five year community license by OFCOM
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
in 2008 after several Restricted Service License broadcasts. Amber Sound said it would "encourage
local people, young and old, to become part of" the station. Chris Knight is now the Station Manager at Amber Sound FM.
History
Local radio first appeared in Amber Valley in 1994 when self employed window cleaner Glyn Williams began Valley Radio. Backed by the local MP the station first broadcast from a railway carriage at the Midland Railway Centre (now Midland Railway - ButterleyMidland Railway - Butterley
The Midland Railway – Butterley is a heritage railway, formerly known until 2004 as the Midland Railway Centre, at Butterley, near Ripley in Derbyshire.-Overview:...
) in Ripley
Ripley, Derbyshire
Ripley is a town in the Amber Valley area of Derbyshire in England.- Earliest history :Not much information is available as to when Ripley was founded, but it existed at the time of the Domesday Book, when it was held by a man called Levenot....
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. This was followed by three FM licences broadcast from office space located in Oxford St, Ripley.
Following the group's third broadcast, musical differences caused a split and Amber Sound FM was born. Ran by local DJ Chris Knight and local businessman Alan Farrar, there were two restricted service licences back in October 1995 and August 1996.
Both stations felt that the Amber Valley
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...
was under served by other local stations in the area. The team went to work to give the Amber Valley
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district and borough in Derbyshire, England. It takes its name from the River Amber and covers a semi-rural area with a number of small towns formerly based around coal mining and engineering...
a station of its own. After an amount of radio activity in the area the 2 groups called it a day back in 1996 when it seemed the Radio Authority were not willing to grant licences in the area.
Meanwhile the first rounds of community licences have been awarded to stations around the UK when in 2006 another station 'Amber FM' popped up on the dial. This station ran by Eddie Fowler prompted Chris Knight to get interested again and Eddie and Chris reformed under the name of Amber Sound FM in 2007 and performed two further RSL broadcasts. During these broadcasts Glyn Williams joined the group and so all three radio groups were now united under one banner.
In late 2007 Ofcom the new licencing authority advertised for applicants for a new tier of community radio in the East Midlands.
Amber Sound FM applied for the licence and in May 2008 were awarded one. It took the station a few short months to get on air and on the first Saturday of October 2008 the switch was flicked and the culmination of a dream became reality. The first ever song to be played on Amber Sound was "Easy" by Commodores
Commodores
The Commodores are an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour...
.
The new station ran by Managing Director Chris Knight, Finance Director Eddie Fowler, Sales manager Glyn Williams and HR and Weekend manager Sean Carter continues to grow from strength to strength and can be heard on 107.2FM in Amber Valley or online at www.ambersoundfm.com.
Towards the end of 2009, Craig Strong, a presenter who has been heard on most of the East Midlands commercial stations, and others further afield, was asked to cover for Glyn Williams on The Soul Show. He enjoyed it so much, he was persuaded to come out of self imposed radio retirement, and was overjoyed at being asked to present the show regularly.
Craig has also worked with many people from the world of music, and introduced Alexander O Neal on stage at The Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on his first visit to the UK. A friend and former colleague of Dale Winton's, he has also worked with Take That, Jimmy Ruffin, Boyzone, Dina Carroll, 2 Unlimited, Right Said Fred, and many others.
Since 2011, many other presenters and station staff have joined Amber Sound. On average, in the year of 2011, 25,000 listeners per day tune-in to Amber Sound 107.2FM.
The Amber Sound FM Team
Amber Sound FM have recognisable local presenters from many areas in the East Midlands with decades of on-air experience between them. Most of the team are local to the area with talents including: programming, producing, presenting, broadcast engineering and scripting to name but a few. The station is committed to providing high quality output and uncompromising attention to detail as per their key commitments.Current Presenters
- Adrian Gill
- Andy Saunders
- Barry Jamm
- Ben Johnson
- Chris Knight
- Craig Strong
- Danny Nightingale
- Esme Fallows
- Garry Traffic
- Glyn Williams
- Graham Calladine
- James Ahmed
- James Postlethwaite
- James Summers
- John Haynes
- Lee Raynor
- Les Wright (Lofty)
- Mark Mason
- Mark Turner
- Matt Fury
- Matt Johnstone
- Matt Wilkinson
- Nik Smith
- Phil Marshall
- Richard Greaves
- Sean Carter
- Steve Hubbard
Current Week Day Schedule
- Early Breakfast (5 - 7 am) - Richard Greaves
- Breakfast Show (7 - 10 am) - Chris Knight
- Musical Mystery Tour (10am - 2pm) - Craig Strong
- Overdrive - (2 - 6pm) - Mark Mason
- The Zone - (6 - 9pm) - James Summers
Specialist shows run from 9pm to 12am on weeknights.
- Monday - The 90s Show with Graham Calladine
- Tuesday - The Soul Show with Glyn Williams
- Wednesday - The Rock Show with Lee Raynor
- Thursday - Sensational Seventies with Sean Carter
- Friday - Awesome 80s with Chris Lee
Current Weekend Schedule
Saturday- The Early Breakfast Show - (5 - 7am) - John Haynes
- The Breakfast Show - (7 - 10am) - Adrian Gill
- Sean on Saturday (SOS) - (10am - 1pm) - Sean Carter
- Weekend Request Show - (1 - 4pm) - Phil Marshall
- That Saturday Show - (4 - 6pm) - Esme Fallows
- The A List Show - (6 - 9 pm) - Matt Fury
- Saturday Night In - (9pm - 12am) - Chris Knight
Sunday
- The Early Breakfast Show - (5 - 7am) - John Haynes
- The Breakfast Show - (7 - 10am) - Adrian Gill
- Sunday Morning Show - (10am - 1pm) - Phil Marshall
- Sunday Car Park - (1 - 4pm) - Garry Traffic
- Vodafone Big Top 40 - (4 - 6pm)
- Dancefloor Classics - (7 - 10pm) - Dave Maurice
- The Sunday Alternative - (10pm - 12am) - Les Wright (Lofty)
Training Programs
The station no longer offers placements for work experience applicants due to an overwhelming amount of applications received each month.External links
- Amber Sound FM - Station Web site