is the name of a
Radio Station now controlled by
GCap Media as part of its
Century Network . It has a regional license to broadcast to
North East England . Its main competitor is
Metro Radio .
It was the first in the
Century brand, which follows a 'personality' format, mixing speech and music. The station, housed in
Gateshead beside the
Tyne Bridge , was originally called ''Century Radio'', not to be confused with the proposed
Irish Station of the same name.
The station was set up by the then owners
Border Television , with
John Myers as
Managing Director and
John Simons as programme director. Myers presented the breakfast show under the
Pseudonym of John Morgan. The first song played on air was 'A Star is Born'.
A 'listener's club' was formed, with parties at locations around the region attended by the station's presenters. The Jingling Gate in
Stanley, County Durham was the most common location, but other events were held at the
Stadium Of Light and the Dolphin Centre in
Darlington .
Late-night
Phone-in presenter
Mike 'The Mouth' Elliott sometimes caused controversy by walking out during his show. Elliot took an extended break after this controversy, during which time he appeared in the film ''
Billy Elliot '' as the boxing coach. He returned to the station for a brief spell.
Ex-
Metro Radio presenter Steve Coleman's highly marketed introduction to the breakfast show was very unpopular, and he was sacked after just three weeks in August
1996 . It was revealed that audiences had decreased rapidly, and businesses had threatened to pull their advertising.
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Jeff Stephenson replaced Myers as Managing Director, and John Caine replaced Simons. Myers, Simons and Stephenson now work for
GMG Radio .
The station broadcasts extensively on
Football , a passion in the north east, and has a particularly close relationship with
Newcastle United . Three famous ex-players for local sides,
Malcolm Macdonald , who played for Newcastle United,
Bernie Slaven , who played for
Middlesbrough , and
Eric Gates , who played for
Sunderland , are employed on the "Three Legends Football Phone-In".
