Luton FM
Encyclopedia
Radio LaB, formally Luton FM is a student radio station, managed, produced and presented by students at the Luton town centre campus of the University of Bedfordshire
University of Bedfordshire
The University of Bedfordshire is based in Luton and Bedford, the two largest towns in the English county of Bedfordshire. The university was created by the merger of the University of Luton and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University on 1 August 2006 following approval by the Privy Council...

 in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

 (formerly known as the University of Luton). Radio LaB stands for Radio Luton and Bedfordshire. Radio LaB is now a full time radio station with a community license.

Introduction

The station's initial day – 1 May 1997 was overshadowed by more national events. Each year throughout May, Luton FM broadcasts on 87.9FM from a transmitter in Farley Hill
Farley Hill, Bedfordshire
Farley Hill is a post-war housing estate in south Luton, Bedfordshire, England .In the late 12th century a 'hospital' was built on the Stockwood Estate in Farley Hill...

, Luton. The studio and production area was based in the School of Media, Art and Design within the Luton campus of the University of Bedfordshire. Luton FM also broadcasts on the internet from the station's website. http://www.lutonandbedsradio.com/

Personnel

The station is managed each year by final-year students, and their final university grade based on their performance organising, promoting and running Luton FM. Final responsibility for the running of the station, however, rests with senior radio lecturer at the university, Janey Gordon.

A lecturer in Radio and Senior Fellow of the University of Bedfordshire, Janey Gordon is the overall Licencee for Radio LaB.

The current management team consists of Sam Holden, David Underwood, Lucy Hamilton, Sidney Moore, Joe Harwood and Niall Dunkley.

Radio LaB 2011

Going through a transitional period, Radio LaB 97.1FM moved to new premises at the start of the 2011/12 acedemic year. This is located in the new Student Centre at the Luton campus of the University of Bedfordshire. The new studio boasts state of the art equipment after a £250,000 face-lift. Shows are currently being broadcast across Luton and its surrounding areas on 97.1FM. The station is also available online at www.beds.ac.uk/radiolab.

The station is home to shows such as Meat & Two Veg, Jucy with Jon & Lucy, The Rock show with Sidney Moore and Hot House with the Harwood.

Radio LaB 2010

In April 2010 Radio LaB got its full community license and began broadcasting 24/7. The management team for 2010 was:
Connor Hallin,
Jade Nuttall,
Katie Boyle,
Matt Hill,
Mimoza Abazi, and
Sadie Pettitt.

Radio LaB 2009

This year the station has changed its name once more to Radio LaB and undergone major rebranding.
The station was sponsored by Luton Borough Council with an emphasis on recycling in the borough. The station rebranded the logo and tagline to, 'Radio LaB... Experimenting with Music,' which also saw an overhaul of the music on the station, changing from pop and rock, to indie, hip-hop, dance and R'n'B. The station also saw an increased number of specialist shows including 'The LaB' an experimental music show, 'Cloudless Sky' a drum and base music show, 'Sports LaB' a topical sports show and 'Local LaB' a news and topical interest show.
Due to the success of the station this year, 2009 has seen the last of the stations twelve year stretch as an RSL cease as 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...

 awarded the station with a five year full time community license due to start in January 2010.
This years management team was composed of Kurtis Maharajh, Pooja Kumar, Jack Cornell, Kerry Magorian, Rick Kitson, Amanda Ukaegbu and Tom Kerridge.

Luton FM 2008

In 2008, Luton FM changed its name to LAB Radio (Luton and Bedfordshire Radio), which incorporates Luton and Bedfordshire.

Luton FM 2007

In May 2007, Luton FM celebrated its 10th anniversary. To reflect the birthday celebrations, Luton FM played music from the last decade, along with cutting-edge new music, chat and a bigger dedication to national and local news from its brand-new current affairs and news studio.

Luton FM 2006

Throughout 2006, Luton FM broadcast 24/7 on the internet. In previous years, the station had only broadcast online during Freshers' Week and for a week before the May FM broadcast.

Luton FM 2004/5

In September 2004, Luton FM broadcast online for the first time outside of its usual May remit, and did so throughout periods of the 04/05 management.
The station was once again managed by final year students — in 2005 Jade Orsmond, Alan Pilkington, Cyrella McGreevy, Jessica Jackson and Dan Prior (now at NME Radio
NME Radio
NME Radio is the radio station from NME magazine, that broadcasts in a new commercially oriented alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008.- History :...

).

In an effort to give the station a revamp Luton FM 2004/5 moved away from the previous two years pop/RnB output and instead made alternative music its priority, playing the likes of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....

 and Queens of the Stoneage. Despite its new radical change in image and branding, Luton FM continued the traditional chat, national and local news and current affairs of its previous incumbents.

Luton FM 2003

In 2003 the Luton FM management decided that the station would promote new music. To coincide with this the station's brand had a total redesign by then student Dale Martin. 2003 was the first year that a Media production/ Multimedia student worked alongside the radio management team to design new promotional tools such as fliers, a new logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

 and interactive website.

The Luton FM website in 2003 became a major tool in the promotion of the station as it was the second year that the station was streamed online for the duration of the stations 28 day Restricted Service License (RSL). Additionally, 2003 was the first year the website contained an archive of previous broadcasts which could be downloaded in MP3s. The website's design reflected the station's 2003 urban image by having graffiti styled navigational links. The website was also search engine optimised
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...

 using natural SEO techniques so that the site appears at number 1 in Google's search results for Luton FM.

2003 still remains one of Luton FM most successful years as the website had over 300,000 hits and the station attracted acts such as the classical boys and flute family to perform live on the station.

The 2003 Management team included: Matt Fisher (Now Head of Production for BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra), Marie Kemp, Johnathan Baker and Aelina Antona

Luton FM 2001

The 2001 Luton FM is often heralded as the turningpoint for Luton FM.

It was the first to stream via shoutCAST online with listeners all over the world and the first to incorporate the use of a webcam, as well as being broadcast in and around Luton on FM radio.

The station launched the careers of Rickie and Melvin (Kiss 100), Matt Fisher (Radio 1), and Marie Copley (née Kemp) (BBC Radio Berkshire), Charlie George (Max TV), jonathan king (your sons ring piece) and gary glitter(your brothers mouth).

The Station was run by Managers/presenters Pete Gardner, Claire Bacon and Richard Whitehouse, and ran throughout May as part of their degree.

Alumni

Past Luton FM Managers/Presenters include Tim Humphries - now at Ten 17
Ten 17
Ten-17 was an Independent Local Radio station, broadcast from studios at the Latton Bush Centre in Harlow. The station launched in May 1993 and served East Hertfordshire and West Essex until its closure on 25 July 2010.-1993 to 1999 - The Essex Radio Group:...

 FM; Matt Fisher & Dellessa James both at (Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

);
You can also currently hear Dellessa alongside Fabio and Grooverider on Radio 1's Drum and Bass Show, but on air she is referred to as Delisha.
Dan Prior at NME Radio
NME Radio
NME Radio is the radio station from NME magazine, that broadcasts in a new commercially oriented alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008.- History :...

 (sound imaging); and Melvin Odoom
Melvin Odoom
Melvin Odoom is an English-born comedian, radio DJ and television presenter.-Career:Melvin, alongside Rickie Haywood-Williams, hosts Kiss 100′s Breakfast Show. Their on-air chemistry and entertaining mockery is a hit with the Kiss 100 audience...

 and Rickie Haywood Williams
Rickie Haywood Williams
Rickie Haywood Williams, , is a radio DJ and television presenter from Croydon, England.-Early life:He attended the Riddlesdown High School in Riddlesdown. At 16 he attended the BRIT School, gaining an A level in Media and a BTEC in broadcast journalism...

 who both are the morning presenters of Kiss 100 London
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...

.
Kerry Magorian who is at Absolute Radio

External links

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