Revolution 96.2 was an

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...

station serving the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and

Tameside The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through the borough, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Aud ...

areas of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with the

Greatest Hits Radio Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer. Overview The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Ra ...

network in November 2020.

History

Oldham FM Limited was incorporated on 5 June 1997 - Bernard Stone, Philip Hirst and Christopher Hirst of Hirst Kidd and Rennie Ltd., owners of local newspaper

Oldham Evening Chronicle The ''Oldham Evening Chronicle'' was a daily newspaper published each weekday evening. It served the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. There were also four sister editions, called the ''Oldham Extra'', ''Saddleworth ...

, were appointed company directors. The following December, David Bruce and Stephen Kitney of UK Radio Developments LTD, as well as Nichola Atkinson, John Gracie and Liam Forristal were also added as company directors. The new owners launched a bid for a full-time broadcasting licence, while using temporary RSL licences, broadcasting for one month per year. After two years, a licence was granted. On 30 August 1999, Oldham FM began broadcasting under the name 96.2 The Revolution. The name was chosen because of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, in which the region took a major role, and the initial letters of its three main target areas – Revolution. The Revolution initially ran a mainstream pop and rock music format, but in 2005, the station's playlist changed to a specialist mix of new and classic

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

music, spanning the last 40 years.

Inspiral Carpets Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist ...

keyboard player

Clint Boon Clinton David Boon (born 28 June 1959) is an English musician, DJ and radio presenter. Boon originally rose to fame as the keyboard player (and sometimes vocalist) of Inspiral Carpets. Music career Born in Oldham, Lancashire, Boon joined the Ins ...

briefly took over as its head of music, before leaving to join rival station XFM Manchester. Following a big fall in listening figures, The Revolution was put up for sale in 2008, and its music format reverted to heavily rotated mainstream pop and rock - a change reportedly imposed by the station's owner during an afternoon in late August 2008. Most of the station's presenters walked out, resulting in long periods of non-stop automated music. A fortnight after the walkout, it was announced that The Revolution had been purchased by former

Key 103 ''For the Network, see Hits Radio. For the National DAB station, see Hits Radio UK.'' Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester ...

and Capital FM presenter

Steve Penk Steve Penk is a British radio and television presenter. He was born in Rusholme, Manchester. Penk has worked for various national and local UK radio stations. Aged just 16 he started his radio career at Piccadilly Radio in 1978 (subsequently r ...

, who reverted the format change and took over the station's breakfast show. In January 2014, Penk sold the radio station to Credible Media, which sought to create stronger links with local businesses and institutions in the target service area. On 30 August 2015, Niocast Digital began a trial of broadcasting six radio stations on small-scale DAB multiplex 10B in Greater Manchester, including The Revolution. On 23 October 2020, it was announced Bauer had brought the station. Revolution 96.2 ceased broadcasting on 16 November 2020 and was replaced by

Greatest Hits Radio North West Greatest Hits Radio North West is a regional radio network serving North West England and North Wales, as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Stations Under relaxed OFCOM requirements for local content on commercial radio, GHR North ...

Audience

Notable presenters

* James H. Reeve *

Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin, known professionally as Pat Sharp (born 25 October 1961), is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's ITV programme ''Fun House'', and his extensive ...

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

Gary Mounfield Gary "Mani" Mounfield (born 16 November 1962Warshaw, AaronMani allmusic.com) is an English rock bassist, best known for being a member of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. Career Mounfield attended Xaverian College in Rusholme, Manchester ...

Martin Coogan Martin Joseph Coogan (born 16 September 1960) is a musician and radio presenter. He produces and records at the Vibe Recording Studios, Manchester, which he has owned since 2008. Born and brought up in Middleton, Coogan attended Cardinal Lan ...

References

External links

Media UK directory entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolution (Radio Station) Mass media in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Radio stations in Manchester Radio stations established in 1999 1999 establishments in England Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in England Radio stations disestablished in 2020