   ARCHIVE 1981-1990
....featuring pictures and audio from Radio Aire through the 1980's
___________________________________________________
Radio Aire began broadcasting at 6am on 1st September 1981.
It was the first Independent Local Radio station to have studios purposely built for radio transmission. Situated on Burley Road in Leeds, it started out on 362m Medium Wave (828kHz) and
94.6 VHF. Aiming to entertain people from all age groups,
the station was launched by presenter Graham Thornton and
the first song played was 'Pilot of the Airwaves' by Charlie Dore.
            The Station Launch: 1981AireLaunch.mp3
1981 Jingle Package produced by Crocodile Music:
           ___________________________________________________
In 1984, a new logo and jingle package was introduced,
however the format was similar to that of the original.
By now, the original line-up had changed and presenters
such as Peter Tait, Ray Stroud, Ross Dickinson, and
James Whale had begun to be part of a line-up that was
familiar to Radio Aire throughout the rest of the 1980's.
        1984 Jingle Package produced by Dave Reilly,
plus the Bill Mitchell Voice-Overs:
 By 1985, the station reverted to using the 1981 jingle package
and in 1986, the 94.6 VHF frequency changed to 96.3 FM.
    ____________________________________________________________ In 1987 Radio Aire changed direction, introducing another new
logo and jingle package. The station started to aim at a younger audience by playing a mix of music from the pop charts,
together with the best tunes from the last 2 decades.
          1987 Jingle Package produced by
Muff Murfin and Standard Sound:
Radio Aire Reports and Sportstime Theme:
           Programmes
Click on the presenter Names below to hear audio
 
Ross Dickinson started out studying medicine at Leicester University until he decided to give it all up for radio. He originally joined Radio Aire in 1982 and after spending a couple of years at Pennine Radio, came back to Aire in 1987 to present the Breakfast Show. In 1988, he moved to Drivetime where he stayed
until the station split in 1990. He then took over Mid-Mornings on Aire FM.
Ross left in 1992 and has since been heard on The Pulse and Radio York.
RossDickinsonII.mp3 (Extra Audio)
Jon Hammond was born in South Wales in 1958. He was first heard on Radio Aire presenting Saturday Breakfast until he moved to weekday Mid-Mornings in 1987. He then moved onto Afternoons in 1988, where he remained until he left the station in 1989. Jon has since been heard on BBC local radio stations including Radio Leeds and has also worked as a television presenter. His TV presenting has also seen him featured on It’ll Be Alright On The Night.
  Ray Stroud was born in County Durham in 1951. He joined Radio Aire in 1983, first presenting the Evening Show but moved on to the Lunchtime Show where he would be remembered for his legendary competitions, Where Are You Margaret? and What Have I Got In My Hand? He and Margaret also presented Sunday Lunchtimes. He moved to Mid-Mornings in 1989 and from 1990 he hosted the same show on Magic 828. Ray later moved to Stray FM.
RayStroudII.mp3 (Extra Audio)
 
Peter Tait was born in Croydon, Surrey in 1950. After presenting on UBN, Radio Trent in Nottingham and pirate station Radio Caroline, he joined Radio Aire in 1984. He was presenting Drivetime by 1987 and in 1988 moved to Breakfast until the station split in 1990. He was also the host of many successful Solid Gold Nights. When Magic 828 launched, he started out on Drive, then in 1992 he moved back to Breakfast where he stayed for 10 years. Peter died in 2002. PeterTaitII.mp3 (Extra Audio)
  Carl Kingston was born in Hull in 1955 and spent his school days in Hornsea.
After working on Viking FM, Radio Caroline and numerous other stations across Europe, he joined Radio Aire in 1986 to present the Evening Show and was the host of many Soul Connection Nights. He continued to present Evenings after the station split in 1990 and by the mid 90’s he presented the same show on Magic 828. Carl later presented Sunday Breakfast on Magic 828 until 2009.
CarlKingstonII.mp3 (Extra Audio)
Paul Stead was born and raised in Wakefield. He often helped out at Radio Aire until he was given the chance to present his own show in 1987. He presented
Overnights and Weekend Afternoons but often covered for other presenters during the day. In 1989, he was given the weekday Afternoon Show where he
remained until the station split in 1990. He has since presented for Aire FM and
more recently Magic 828. Paul runs his own television production company.
Mickey Laing was born in Yorkshire in 1961. He worked as a club DJ in West
Yorkshire’s top clubs and it was his talent for mixing music that brought his
attention to Radio Aire. His Top 40 re-mixes were also heard nationally on The Network Chart Show. He presented Weekend Overnights from 1987 and was
later offered the Sunday Evening Album Show. Mickey left Radio Aire in 1990
and continues to be a popular night club DJ in clubs around Yorkshire.
Andy Siddell was born in Nottingham in 1959. He joined Radio Aire in 1988, presenting Weekend Afternoons - The Saturday Gang with Richard Swales & Louise Weeks and The Hitline on a Sunday. He also covered for other presenters during the week. From 1990, he covered for Aire & Magic presenters but was soon given the weekday Magic 828 Evening Show. In 1992, he moved to Drivetime and later to Mid-Mornings. Andy moved to Canada in 2009.
AndySiddellII.mp3 (Extra Audio)
Duncan Larkin was born in 1959 and started his radio career in the Portsmouth area. As he could speak in Italian, French, German, Dutch and Spanish, he also presented on stations across Europe. He joined Radio Aire in 1989, presenting the Late Show (aka Duncan Under the Duvet) on weekends and in James Whales absence. He left Aire in 1990 to continue presenting shows for radio stations across Europe, including Radio Caroline and FM4. Duncan died in 2008.
   James Whale was born in Ewell, Surrey in 1951. After presenting at Metro Radio
and Radio Tees, he joined Radio Aire in 1982. During his time at Aire, he has
presented the Breakfast Show but is better known for his Late-Night Phone-In
Show. In 1988, the show was also simulcast with Red Rose Radio in Preston.
He released 3 singles, The Whaley Rap, Wrap It Up For Xmas and Bimbo (the
latter reaching the UK Top 100). By 1989, he was hosting his own television
show, The James Whale Radio Show which was simulcast on the radio and on
Yorkshire Television. He left Radio Aire in 1990 to concentrate on his TV career
and later presented on TalkSport. James currently presents for LBC in London.
The links below are a selection of jingles, links and singles from this era.
The phone-in cuts were used for the 'Sony/Smash Hits Local DJ Of The Year'
nomination which won James Whale and Radio Aire the award in 1988.
     The Superstation
The Superstation was an overnight sustaining service launched in 1987 and
broadcast on Independent Local Radio across the UK between 10pm and 6am. Radio Aire started taking the service from 1990 and introduced West Yorkshire to presenters such as Phil Kennedy, Jeff Cooper and NJ Williams (now known as Nigel Williams). After the frequency split, the service continued on Aire FM and Magic 828 until late 1990 when The Superstation closed.
The Network Chart Show
The Network Chart Show was launched in 1984 and broadcast across all the
Independent Local Radio stations in the UK. The main presenter was David
‘Kid' Jensen and the show was often covered by Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman or Pat Sharp. The Network Chart Show was sponsored by Nescafe and was broadcast
between 5 & 7 pm on Sundays. It later started at the earlier time of 4 pm.
The show was taken over by Neil Fox in 1993 and rebranded The Pepsi Chart.
The American Countdown Show
The American Countdown Show was aired across numerous radio stations in the UK, although pre-recorded and played out at different times. Radio Aire broadcast the show between 8 and 10pm on Saturdays. It was originally presented by Paul Gambaccini and Benny Brown took over the show from 1988. In 1990, the show was rebranded Americas Choice and continued to be broadcast on Aire FM on Saturday lunchtimes until 1993. ____________________________________________________________
The Radio Aire Roadshow
Jon Hammond at the Radio Aire Roadshow
Roundhay Park, August Bank Holiday 1987
___________________________________________________
Press Cuttings
Newspaper articles from the 'Leeds Weekly News'
  
___________________________________________________
  Peter Tait Duncan Larkin
1950 - 2002 1959 - 2008
Aire & Magic Archive Audio and Pictures from Aire FM & Magic 828 1990-1999: http://sites.google.com/site/radioaireaudio/
Radio Aire is currently owned by the Bauer Media Group
and continues to broadcast on 96.3 FM and DAB Radio
Created by Steve Maguire. Special Thanks to Simon Hirst for Additional Material and Remastering. Northwood64 MMXII |
