KMFM Thanet
Encyclopedia
KMFM Thanet is an Independent Local Radio
serving the Isle of Thanet
and the surrounding areas in Kent
, South East England
. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group
.
), and launching in January 1998 from studios at Margate
harbour. The launch was not without drama - four months prior, the Radio Authority gave the station the green light on the licence after some alleged internal legal wrangles between the company's directors.
Pete Willson was the first voice on-air; the first song to be played was Take That
's "Back For Good
", with reggae star Pato Banton
recording a special version of his duet with UB40
, "Baby Come Back", for the station's launch. The station's line-up was largely unchanged for five years.
TLR was originally owned by a consortium of local investors, with local businessman Ken Wills being the majority shareholder. The KM Group took control of TLR in 1999, and subsequently bought out the other investors in March 2003; rebranding the station to KMFM Thanet and relocating it to their own premises in Cliftonville
. It was the first station to be fully owned by the KM Group.
The licence was readvertised in September 2008, with the KM Group reawarded it.
Like the rest of the KMFM network, the station was relaunched in September 2010 with new jingles, schedule changes and more emphasis on music.
Until 2007 KMFM Thanet produced its own programmes during daytimes, before it joined up with KMFM Canterbury
to network all programmes other than breakfast. The stations joined together with KMFM Ashford
and KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
to create an East Kent network in April 2009, before all programmes apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons were networked across all KMFM stations in September 2009. In July 2010, Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons became networked.
News bulletins come from the KMFM News Centre during peak times, on the hour and every half-hour between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm. Traffic and travel updates are broadcast just before the hour, and every 15 minutes between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 7pm.
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...
serving the Isle of Thanet
Isle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet lies at the most easterly point of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the nearly -wide River Wantsum, it is no longer an island ....
and the surrounding areas in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
.
History
KMFM Thanet began life as Thanet Local Radio (TLR 107.2), founded by Alan Mackay, Ken Wills and Pete Willson (now station manager at Academy FM (Thanet)Academy FM (Thanet)
107.8 Academy FM is a non commercial community 24 hour local radio station based in Ramsgate, Kent and serving the Isle of Thanet. It launched on 5 April 2010, Easter Monday.107.8 Academy FM is based within The Marlowe Academy,Ramsgate...
), and launching in January 1998 from studios at Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
harbour. The launch was not without drama - four months prior, the Radio Authority gave the station the green light on the licence after some alleged internal legal wrangles between the company's directors.
Pete Willson was the first voice on-air; the first song to be played was Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
's "Back For Good
Back for Good
"Back for Good" is a song by the British pop group Take That. It was released in 1995 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Nobody Else and achieved great success in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the UK where it topped...
", with reggae star Pato Banton
Pato Banton
Pato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname 'Pato' from his stepfather, and 'Banton' from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The...
recording a special version of his duet with UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
, "Baby Come Back", for the station's launch. The station's line-up was largely unchanged for five years.
TLR was originally owned by a consortium of local investors, with local businessman Ken Wills being the majority shareholder. The KM Group took control of TLR in 1999, and subsequently bought out the other investors in March 2003; rebranding the station to KMFM Thanet and relocating it to their own premises in Cliftonville
Cliftonville
Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay....
. It was the first station to be fully owned by the KM Group.
The licence was readvertised in September 2008, with the KM Group reawarded it.
Like the rest of the KMFM network, the station was relaunched in September 2010 with new jingles, schedule changes and more emphasis on music.
Programming
The station currently broadcasts locally from Cliftonville during weekday breakfast. All other output is networked across the KMFM network.Until 2007 KMFM Thanet produced its own programmes during daytimes, before it joined up with KMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury is an Independent Local Radio serving the City of Canterbury and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
to network all programmes other than breakfast. The stations joined together with KMFM Ashford
KMFM Ashford
KMFM Ashford is an Independent Local Radio serving the borough of Ashford and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
and KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country
KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country is an Independent Local Radio serving the districts of Dover and Shepway and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group....
to create an East Kent network in April 2009, before all programmes apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons were networked across all KMFM stations in September 2009. In July 2010, Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons became networked.
News bulletins come from the KMFM News Centre during peak times, on the hour and every half-hour between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm. Traffic and travel updates are broadcast just before the hour, and every 15 minutes between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 7pm.
Networked presenters
- Nigel Ansell
- Tony BlackburnTony BlackburnTony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
- Adam Dowling
- Neil Faraday
- Si Kennett
- Bob Mower
- Kirstyn Reed
- Mike Russell
- Myma SeldonMyma SeldonMyma Seldon is a British television and radio presenter and voiceover artist.-Background:Seldon was born 9 August 1979. She has a 2:1 English/Philosophy B.A. from Leeds University...
- Benedict SmithBenedict SmithBenedict Smith is a disc jockey who formerly presented The Big Drive Home on Hertbeat FM every weekday between 4-8pm before it became a franchise of Jack FM. He presents The Saturday Show on the KMFM network and breakfast on KMFM Maidstone...
- Andy Walker
- John "Webbo" Webster
Former presenters
- Richard Adams
- "Doc" Atherton
- Dave "Davey B" Bethall
- Richard Cave
- Vanessa Elms
- Howard Evans
- Kevin Field
- Chris Finn
- Patrick Foster
- Nigel HarrisNigel MacArthurNigel MacArthur, also known as Stuart Russell and Nigel Harris, is a freelance broadcaster in Kent on Radio Caroline, EKR and KMFM.-Career:...
- Louis Hurst
- Spencer James
- Dominic KingDominic KingDominic King is a Sony Gold Radio Academy award winning radio broadcaster.-Biography:King started his career as a journalist with the Early Times Newspaper for Young People, before working with the BBC as a youth reporter for the BBC Nature series, presented by Michael Buerk...
- Emma Lee
- Tom LoweTom Lowe (radio)Thomas Edward Lowe is a radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom. Tom currently presents on BBC Radio Gloucestershire....
- Toby Mackenzie
- Jon Maxfield
- Paul Pearson
- Cheryl Pendry
- Neil Redding
- Jon Rogers
- Benedict SmithBenedict SmithBenedict Smith is a disc jockey who formerly presented The Big Drive Home on Hertbeat FM every weekday between 4-8pm before it became a franchise of Jack FM. He presents The Saturday Show on the KMFM network and breakfast on KMFM Maidstone...
- Tim Stewart
- Ian St James
- Mike Stevens
- Richard Walters
- Rob Wills
- Pete Willson
- Colin Woolven
- Jerry Wright
- Jonathan "LJ" Young