Alpha Radio (formerly 103.2 Alpha Radio), Alpha 103.2, 103.2 Alpha FM, Alpha Radio) was an Independent Local Radio station based in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

When launched in 1995, Alpha was owned by Radio Investments Ltd while First Radio Sales In 2009, Alpha was joined by neighbouring station

Minster Northallerton Minster Northallerton was an Independent Local Radio station based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. History Prior to launch, Minster Northallerton was originally known as BTN FM, after the principal towns of the area - Bedale, Thirs ...

to share the studio complex in a cost-cutting exercise. To make further savings, both Alpha and Minster Northallerton, along with

Durham FM Durham FM was an Independent Local Radio station based in Durham, County Durham, England. History Since its launch in 2005, Durham FM was owned and operated by TLRC. In December 2008, Durham FM submitted an application to Ofcom to co-locate w ...

were rebranded as

Star Radio North East Rathergood Radio, formerly known as Star Radio (in County Durham), was an independent local radio station. It formerly broadcast in Darlington, County Durham, North Yorkshire and surrounding areas on FM. The County Durham licences were owned and ...

which meant all three stations lost their heritage names and, until recently, only produced a daily breakfast show. Since June 2010, output has been networked across all frequencies, although commercial breaks are still unique to the three areas. In its history, Alpha 103.2/ Alpha FM/ Alpha Radio had many jingle packages and imaging updates. In 2002, The Local Radio Group introduced Bespoke Music Jingles to its group of stations. This then launched an iconic sung logo for Alpha 103.2. Alpha had four main jingle packages from Bespoke. They were introduced in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2009. During 2003/ 2006, Alpha lost its Jingles in favour of imaging when the Music:Fun:Life streamline was introduced. The main station Voice overs for Alpha throughout its life were, Emma Clarke, Chris Marsden, Jeff Davies and Greg Marsden. The last ever Alpha Jingles were by sung radio jingles made by

Bespoke Music The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...

. but had the name tweaked when the station changed names from Alpha 103.2 to Alpha Radio.Most recently the station had sung radio jingles made by

. The main station imaging for Alpha was designed and produced in house via the TLRC from Minster FM in York which was made as a generic package for the TLRC group and sent to all local station within the portfolio to be edited into 'local ID's' however later, the imaging was produced in Darlington's Woodland Road studio's via various producers such as Chris Hakin, Craig Bailey, Dan Callum and Dave Lee.

Past presenters

*Peter Quest *Mark Brooks *Phil Holmes *Andy Carter *Michael Patterson *Martin Lowes *Dave Collins *Ricky Durkin *Chris Hakin *John Harding *Mark Reason *Paul Anderson *Alan Douglas *Mike Nicholson *Shaun Harrington *Emma Hignett *Roger Kennedy * Joel Ross * Paul Smith OBE *Steve Phillips *Nick Pierce a.k.a. Rafe Parker *Tim West *Richard Kell *Dave Lee *Victor winther *Gary Burgham *Steve White *Gary Wilkinson *James Watt *Mike 'Patto' Patterson *Andrew 'Gazza' Gascoigne *Craig Bailey *Nick Hancock *Les Gunn *Lisa Marrey *Chris Curtis *John Pierce

References

External links

Media UK entry
The Local Radio Company Radio stations established in 1995 Radio stations disestablished in 2010 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Borough of Darlington Radio stations in North East England {{UK-radio-station-stub