Smooth FM 100.4
Encyclopedia
Smooth Radio 100.4 was an Independent Local Radio
station based in Salford
, Greater Manchester
. It was part of the Smooth brand of stations from 1 March 2004, and changed its name from "Smooth FM" in March 2007. Along with other stations in the network, it was subsumed into a national Smooth Radio service from 4 October 2010. The station was based at studios in Laser House, Salford, where sister stations Real Radio North West, Rock Radio and parent company GMG radio are based. Laser House is now the headquarters for the new station.
The signal was relayed from the Winter Hill transmitter
, near Bolton
, and was designed to cover Manchester
, Merseyside
and North Wales
and to reach as far north as Carnforth
. The station was also available on DAB
and online. It was also available on the Sky Digital platform from 14 February 2005 on channel 0128, but was replaced by 102.2 Smooth Radio
in mid 2007.
, but was also known as JFM in an attempt to appeal to listeners who could be put off by the use of the word "jazz". Jazz FM originally played a wide variety of jazz, pandering to more smooth jazz
during the daytime in order to attract the 25-45 year old target market which was required to make the station a success. However, the focus of the music later changed, and by the early 2000s, it was focusing more on soul
and softer R&B
alongside jazz
.
100.4 Jazz FM broadcast its daytime shows from its Manchester station, but specialist shows such as Dinner Jazz
and Legends of Jazz
with Ramsey Lewis
were networked from its London sister station 102.2 Jazz FM
.
In 2003, the Guardian Media Group
did extensive research into the type of music that listeners in the north-west
wanted to hear. They concluded that many people were dissuaded by the name "jazz", and as a result, 100.4 Jazz FM closed on 13 February 2004 and relaunched as Smooth FM
on 1 March 2004.
The station now began to play more modern music during the day, but continued a mostly jazz
themed output at night. The arrangements for local and networked programming remained for a time, but from March 2005, only Mike Chadwick's The Saturday Night Experience was networked from 102.2 Smooth FM
. All other programming was produced and aired in the North West.
The station was relaunched again as Smooth Radio 100.4 on 26 March 2007. The launch occurred at the same time as London based 102.2 Smooth FM
, however Smooth Radio 100.4 continued with its own unique soul music based format. On 5 July 2007, GMG Radio announced that it was requesting a change of format from Ofcom, which would bring Smooth Radio 100.4 in line with the rest of the network. It proposed an easy listening music service mixed with speech for the over 50's, coupled with an improved local news service. Ofcom approved the changes on 11 October 2007.
In March 2008, GMG requested a format change to remove its jazz commitments it has in place for Smooth Radio 100.4. Part of the plans included a relaunch of Jazz FM
from the jazzfm.com service broadcasting on DAB in Glasgow
and online on the MXR North West
multiplex. In a meeting on 22 April 2008 Ofcom denied GMG's request to drop its jazz commitments. GMG said that it would be relaunching Jazz FM despite the decision.
In 2010 Smooth GMG decided to create a national Smooth Radio service for England, which would see the five Smooth Radio stations in that country being subsumed into one station, which would be based in Manchester. The new Smooth Radio service was launched on 4 October 2010. regional frequencies did however remain the same.
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:...
station based in Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. It was part of the Smooth brand of stations from 1 March 2004, and changed its name from "Smooth FM" in March 2007. Along with other stations in the network, it was subsumed into a national Smooth Radio service from 4 October 2010. The station was based at studios in Laser House, Salford, where sister stations Real Radio North West, Rock Radio and parent company GMG radio are based. Laser House is now the headquarters for the new station.
The signal was relayed from the Winter Hill transmitter
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site situated on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, and above Bolton in Greater Manchester, England...
, near Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, and was designed to cover Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
and North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
and to reach as far north as Carnforth
Carnforth
- References :...
. The station was also available on DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
and online. It was also available on the Sky Digital platform from 14 February 2005 on channel 0128, but was replaced by 102.2 Smooth Radio
102.2 Smooth Radio
102.2 Smooth Radio was an Independent Local Radio station for the Greater London area, which replaced 102.2 Smooth FM on 26 March 2007, launched by Gavin McCoy with Barbra Streisand's "A Star Is Born"...
in mid 2007.
History
It was launched by Radio Investments Ltd on 1 September 1994 as Jazz FM100.4 Jazz FM
100.4 Jazz FM was an independent local radio station for the North West England playing jazz music. 100.4 Jazz FM played its own music from its Salford studio during the day, whereas specialist shows like Dinner Jazz and Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis were networked from London's 102.2 Jazz FM...
, but was also known as JFM in an attempt to appeal to listeners who could be put off by the use of the word "jazz". Jazz FM originally played a wide variety of jazz, pandering to more smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
during the daytime in order to attract the 25-45 year old target market which was required to make the station a success. However, the focus of the music later changed, and by the early 2000s, it was focusing more on soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and softer R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
alongside jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
100.4 Jazz FM broadcast its daytime shows from its Manchester station, but specialist shows such as Dinner Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and Legends of Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
with Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
were networked from its London sister station 102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London to around 15.5 million people within the broadcasting area...
.
In 2003, the Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
did extensive research into the type of music that listeners in the north-west
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
wanted to hear. They concluded that many people were dissuaded by the name "jazz", and as a result, 100.4 Jazz FM closed on 13 February 2004 and relaunched as Smooth FM
Smooth FM 100.4
Smooth Radio 100.4 was an Independent Local Radio station based in Salford, Greater Manchester. It was part of the Smooth brand of stations from 1 March 2004, and changed its name from "Smooth FM" in March 2007. Along with other stations in the network, it was subsumed into a national Smooth Radio...
on 1 March 2004.
The station now began to play more modern music during the day, but continued a mostly jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
themed output at night. The arrangements for local and networked programming remained for a time, but from March 2005, only Mike Chadwick's The Saturday Night Experience was networked from 102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM was an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7 June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg...
. All other programming was produced and aired in the North West.
The station was relaunched again as Smooth Radio 100.4 on 26 March 2007. The launch occurred at the same time as London based 102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM was an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7 June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg...
, however Smooth Radio 100.4 continued with its own unique soul music based format. On 5 July 2007, GMG Radio announced that it was requesting a change of format from Ofcom, which would bring Smooth Radio 100.4 in line with the rest of the network. It proposed an easy listening music service mixed with speech for the over 50's, coupled with an improved local news service. Ofcom approved the changes on 11 October 2007.
In March 2008, GMG requested a format change to remove its jazz commitments it has in place for Smooth Radio 100.4. Part of the plans included a relaunch of Jazz FM
100.4 Jazz FM
100.4 Jazz FM was an independent local radio station for the North West England playing jazz music. 100.4 Jazz FM played its own music from its Salford studio during the day, whereas specialist shows like Dinner Jazz and Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis were networked from London's 102.2 Jazz FM...
from the jazzfm.com service broadcasting on DAB in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and online on the MXR North West
MXR North West
MXR North West is a regional commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which serves the North West of England.- Transmitter sites :MXR North West currently broadcasts from the following sites:-Stations carried:...
multiplex. In a meeting on 22 April 2008 Ofcom denied GMG's request to drop its jazz commitments. GMG said that it would be relaunching Jazz FM despite the decision.
In 2010 Smooth GMG decided to create a national Smooth Radio service for England, which would see the five Smooth Radio stations in that country being subsumed into one station, which would be based in Manchester. The new Smooth Radio service was launched on 4 October 2010. regional frequencies did however remain the same.
Presenters
Presenters on the station at the time of the change over were as follows;- Chris Best - Smooth Breakfast and Smooth Saturday Afternoon
- Dave Lincoln - Smooth Mid Mornings (Sunday-Friday)
- Steve Collins - Smooth Afternoon
- Derek Webster - The Wind Down and Smooth Saturday Morning
- Andy PeeblesAndy Peebles-Early life:The son of a head postmaster, Peebles attended Bishop's Stortford College, Hertfordshire before training in hotel management.After DJing at a college dance he was offered a job at Samanthas in Bournemouth.He worked at Chelsea Village,The Scotch of St James in London and at the Hardrock...
- "Smooth Evenings" and Soul Train - 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.....
- "Smooth Weekend Breakfast" (Networked across all Smooth stations) - Steve Phillips - Smooth Nights (Tuesday-Friday)
- Glen Morris - Smooth Nights (Saturday-Monday)
- Dave Brown - Motown Floor Fillers
- Stuart Ellis - Smooth Sunday Afternoons
- Pete WatermanPete WatermanPeter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
- Step Back in Time - Tony McKenzie - Smooth Sunday Evenings
- Chris Jones - Holiday cover
Other
- Smooth Radio "Opt In" for news broadcast by GMG Radio Manchester's news hub from 8pm on weeknights. Smooth's managing director, Andy Carter (no relation to Century's Programme Controller Sarah) was also in charge of Century.
- Tony Blackburn's Weekend Breakfast Show was simulcast from London102.2 Smooth Radio102.2 Smooth Radio was an Independent Local Radio station for the Greater London area, which replaced 102.2 Smooth FM on 26 March 2007, launched by Gavin McCoy with Barbra Streisand's "A Star Is Born"...
.
See also
- Smooth Network
- 100.4 Smooth FM, which replaced 100.4 Jazz FM
- Aircheck UK article on Lancashire, Merseyside and the North West radio stations (includes information on 100.4 Jazz FM)