Sun FM
Encyclopedia
Sun FM is a radio station serving the City of Sunderland
and also available in Tyne and Wear
, northern parts of County Durham
in England
. It broadcasts on the frequency 103.4 MHz and plays a mix of contemporary and classic popular music alongside local news, travel and covered ground breaking dance music in the early 90's.
The station gained international acclaim for its community programming and social inclusion. Its finest hour came with the winning of the Sony Award for UK Radio Station of the Year in 1992. Covering Durham and Sunderland, the station faced competition for its licence when it reapplied for it in February 1994, with competition from the Wearside Broadcasting Company. Although the licence was retained, times were not good at the station - tension between management and staff reached boiling point, and this led to a walkout in early March of that year, as protests raged about how the station was being run. They felt that, due to their base being at the University of Sunderland
, a takeover by the same was imminent. The University made various attempts to save the station but legislation prevented a public body owning the station and a commercial buyer was sought.
Wear FM ceased transmissions in 1995 when it was taken over by the Minster Sound Group, who relaunched the station as Sun City FM. Wear FM's Studios in the Foster Building were taken over by the University of Sunderland.
WEAR FM SPORT
Mainly broadcast on a Saturday morning from 8am to noon. This programme was probably the most listened to programme on the station. Produced and written by Gary Ellwood and presented by Graeme Anderson. The programme covered all aspects of sport within Wearside. Fishing, Ice Hockey, Basketball and, of course, Sunderland AFC were covered in full each week. The Sunderland AFC hour from 11am was it's most popular item. Probably the first and only audio fanzine for a football club.
However all aspects of sport were covered with Ten Pin Bowling, Cricket, Rugby, Youth Football, Netball and anything else you could think of covered from time to time.
A sale to Border Radio Holdings
, owners of the Century brand, followed with a new name of Sun City FM. In January 1999 Brian Lister joined what was then Sun FM in Sunderland as Managing Director. Sun FM was wholly owned by Border Radio and later became part of the Capital Radio Group when they acquired Border Radio in April 2000. Granada TV acquired the Border TV business for £50m, with the total deal of £146m to allow Capital Radio to hold on to the radio business. It was Scottish Radio Holdings
that proved strong competition in the process, with SRH bidding £141m, but failing with an increased offer from the London
based business.
Later, with Capital streamlining their businesses, and focusing on large area based stations, part of their 'Capital Cities' portfolio, Radio Investments Limited purchased Sun FM and its handling company 'Bucks Broadcasting' in March 2001. This sale also included the other group station, Mix 96 in Aylesbury
. (Capital, along with sales of its 30% share in Wolverhampton
's The Wolf
to Forever Broadcasting, netted around £9.5 cash in the deals.) Brian Lister continued his work with RIL and was appointed Group Development Director in July 2001, responsible for licence applications and development work around the UK. He later left - what became known as The Local Radio Company - and is now a freelance consultant but still with a close working relationship with TLRC.
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
and also available in Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, northern parts of County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It broadcasts on the frequency 103.4 MHz and plays a mix of contemporary and classic popular music alongside local news, travel and covered ground breaking dance music in the early 90's.
Wear FM
The station now known as SUN FM was launched in 1990 as Wear FM (Sunderland Community Radio Association) was initially led by maverick Australian Pieta O'Shaughessey. Reputedly the station could also be received as far away as Middlesbrough by attaching wire coat-hangers and lengths of wire to radio aerials, which were positioned outside of teenagers' bedroom windows.The station gained international acclaim for its community programming and social inclusion. Its finest hour came with the winning of the Sony Award for UK Radio Station of the Year in 1992. Covering Durham and Sunderland, the station faced competition for its licence when it reapplied for it in February 1994, with competition from the Wearside Broadcasting Company. Although the licence was retained, times were not good at the station - tension between management and staff reached boiling point, and this led to a walkout in early March of that year, as protests raged about how the station was being run. They felt that, due to their base being at the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....
, a takeover by the same was imminent. The University made various attempts to save the station but legislation prevented a public body owning the station and a commercial buyer was sought.
Wear FM ceased transmissions in 1995 when it was taken over by the Minster Sound Group, who relaunched the station as Sun City FM. Wear FM's Studios in the Foster Building were taken over by the University of Sunderland.
WEAR FM SPORT
Mainly broadcast on a Saturday morning from 8am to noon. This programme was probably the most listened to programme on the station. Produced and written by Gary Ellwood and presented by Graeme Anderson. The programme covered all aspects of sport within Wearside. Fishing, Ice Hockey, Basketball and, of course, Sunderland AFC were covered in full each week. The Sunderland AFC hour from 11am was it's most popular item. Probably the first and only audio fanzine for a football club.
However all aspects of sport were covered with Ten Pin Bowling, Cricket, Rugby, Youth Football, Netball and anything else you could think of covered from time to time.
From SUN City 103.4 to SUN FM
Sun City took over when Wear FM ceased broadcasting in 1995. But the bad run of form continued when Sun City 103.4's operator was financially penalised by the Radio Authority for not coming up with elements of their Promise Of Performance, an agreement which formed part of their licence remit (The breakfast show disgrace) and not offering a balanced argument with options of sadism and the occult.A sale to Border Radio Holdings
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
, owners of the Century brand, followed with a new name of Sun City FM. In January 1999 Brian Lister joined what was then Sun FM in Sunderland as Managing Director. Sun FM was wholly owned by Border Radio and later became part of the Capital Radio Group when they acquired Border Radio in April 2000. Granada TV acquired the Border TV business for £50m, with the total deal of £146m to allow Capital Radio to hold on to the radio business. It was Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings was a Scottish media company which owned 22 radio stations, and around 30 local newspapers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-History:...
that proved strong competition in the process, with SRH bidding £141m, but failing with an increased offer from the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based business.
Later, with Capital streamlining their businesses, and focusing on large area based stations, part of their 'Capital Cities' portfolio, Radio Investments Limited purchased Sun FM and its handling company 'Bucks Broadcasting' in March 2001. This sale also included the other group station, Mix 96 in Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. (Capital, along with sales of its 30% share in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
's The Wolf
107.7 The Wolf
107.7 The Wolf is a British Independent Local Radio station based in Wolverhampton that serves the city and its surrounding area. The studios and transmitter are at Mander House in the centre of Wolverhampton...
to Forever Broadcasting, netted around £9.5 cash in the deals.) Brian Lister continued his work with RIL and was appointed Group Development Director in July 2001, responsible for licence applications and development work around the UK. He later left - what became known as The Local Radio Company - and is now a freelance consultant but still with a close working relationship with TLRC.
Today
Today, Sun FM plays chart hits and oldies, and provides local news, sport and information on 103.4FM from its Sunderland based studios, reaching southwards through its designated broadcast area to Washington, Ryhope, Houghton-Le-Spring and Murton, and outwards to Newcastle, South Shields, Chester-Le-Street and Durham itself. In 2009 and moving on into 2010, Sun FM is under new ownership after the UKRD / TLRC ownership bid was successful.Monday–Friday
| Time | Main presenter(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0600 – 1000 | Simon Grundy | Sunderland City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough... |
| 1000 – 1500 | Mark Black | |
| 1500 – 1900 | Mark Thorburn | |
| 1900 – 2200 | Mike Nicholson | |
| 2200 – 0600 | The Nightshift (automated) | |
Saturday
| Time | Main presenter(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0600 – 1000 | Mike Nicholson | Sunderland City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough... |
| 1000 – 1400 | Mark Thorburn | |
| 1400 – 1800 | Nick Jordan | |
| 1800 – 0000 | Marie Gardiner | |
Sunday
| Time | Main presenter(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0000 – 0600 | The Nightshift (automated) | Sunderland City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough... |
| 0600 – 1000 | Mike Nicholson | |
| 1000 – 1400 | Simon Grundy | |
| 1400 – 1600 | Mark Black | |
| 1600 – 1900 | The Vodafone Big Top 40: Rich Clarke Richard Clarke (radio personality) Richard "Rich" Clarke is a British radio presenter and DJ from Worcester, England currently employed by Global Radio as a presenter on Capital FM and The Vodafone Big Top 40.-Student radio:... & Kat Shoob Kat Shoob Katherine 'Kat' Shoob is a British radio presenter on The Vodafone Big Top 40.Shoob modelled for Maxim in September 2006.Shoob presented The Mint, a phone-in quiz that was shown on ITV1 and ITV2... |
Leicester Square Leicester Square Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| 1900 – 2200 | Marie Gardiner | Sunderland City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough... |
| 2200 – 0600 | The Nightshift (automated) | |