I have strong opinions about Hospital Radio.
On April 2, 1974, a station called Piccadilly Radio started broadcasting from Manchester, England. The presenters were imaginative and entertaining, and allowed to play what they wanted while still having a simple playlist to work from. Since then, many independent stations grew up, all with their own characters, and my interest was started. Pirate stations have come and gone, many more stations have sprung up and the national services were granted FM.
Since then, "progress" has occurred, and the brain of the presenter has been replaced by a PC running a program called "Selector". I reckon it's killed The Spirit of Radio (old Rush tune), but it's a personal view and often argued on the UK-RADIO mailing list.
It's not because there's anything intrinsically wrong with using a computer, the program itself is certainly flexible, but as always when technology is involved, if it's not used properly, it can really make a mess of things. Radio stations have been given a tool that help them keep records of what they play, and aren't using it as a tool to improve the sound.
In preparation is a section on the golden age of wireless which will make memorable and thought provoking reading, drop by to see when you can hear the crackle on the dial.
I used to broadcast on Hospital Radio Wrightington, but it to has surrendered to what is described as progress, and I have my opinions.
I used to listen to Radio 1 with Chris Evans in the mornings (former Piccadilly Radio presenter) then cassettes the rest of the time. He was ousted in February 1997. JFM is a jazz and related station which I also tune into. For dance music, Kiss 102 isn't bad. Wish-FM has started up in the Wigan and St Helens area, if I'm in the mood for some classic oldies, it's a dead cert, and it's captured the interest of many a Wigan Pie Eater. Not sure what those from St. Helens make of it though...
Some very good links for broadcasting exist on Ray's Uplink, and the UK Media contains many other links specifically related to the UK.
Nowadays back catalogue CDs take the place of off air broadcast in my audible diet. I could not tell you what is in the charts. On long journeys, I use the Traffic Information of the RDS radio, and it conveniently sets the clock in the car.
Web editing courtesy of Raw Chicken Eaters Inc.