Northsound Radio was the name for the original
Independent Local Radio station broadcast from
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and serving the North East of Scotland. In 1995, the station split to become two separate stations.
History
Until summer 1981, the only local radio output available to listeners in the North East of Scotland was a regional opt-out from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
at Beechgrove, which broadcast specialist music programmes for a couple of hours a week along with some opt-out regional news coverage. When a commercial radio franchise for Aberdeen, Peterhead and the surrounding areas was advertised by the then-regulator, the
Independent Broadcasting Authority, a group of local businessmen applied under the consortium of ''North of Scotland Radio Ltd'' and won the franchise.
After a change of name, ''Northsound Radio'' commenced broadcasting at 6am on 27 July 1981 from its original studios in an old schoolhouse on Kings Gate, near Anderson Drive in the city. Originally, the station was broadcast from 6am to 8pm each day on 1035 kHz (290 metres) and 96.9 FM (VHF).
For a two-year period from 1994, the station was the main sponsor of
Aberdeen Football Club
Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...
, with the logo appearing on the players' shirts.
In 1995, Northsound split its services to become ''
Northsound 1
Northsound 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Aberdeen, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and North Scotland
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audienc ...
'' and ''
Northsound 2''. Northsound 1 broadcasts on 96.9FM and plays popular music from the 1990s to today, while ''
Northsound 2'' follows a 'classic gold' style, with music from the 1950s to today alongside some specialist programming. Both stations now also broadcast on DAB (
Digital Audio Broadcasting
Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services.
Types
In digital broadcasting syst ...
)
On Tuesday 3 April 2018, Northsound 2 ceased broadcasting on 1035 AM and became a digital-only station on DAB and online. It is the first commercial radio station in Scotland - and the first of Bauer's local stations - to cease analogue broadcasting in favour of a digital switchover.
Northsound 2 to switch off AM radio service
Radio Today, 8 March 2018
Free concerts
From 1997 until 2007, Northsound held free music concerts in Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
almost bi-annually. Northsound delivered its first major outdoor event when the Tall Ships arrived in Aberdeen, which called ''Free at the Quay''. Following its success, ''Free 2000'' was staged at the Queen’s Links at Aberdeen Beach followed by ''Free at the Dee'' at Duthie Park.
Due to the numbers attending, Northsound decided to move the event to Hazlehead Park and the event was renamed to simply ''Free 2007''. More than 30,000 people attended ''Free 2007'' which saw Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...
, McFly, Shayne Ward
Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of The X Factor (British series 2), the second series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's M ...
, Booty Luv, MacDonald Brothers, Ali Love, Unklejam and others perform free.
Northsound are also sponsors and organisers of Aberdeen's free Hogmanay street party, where in previous years stars such as Sandi Thom
Alexandria "Sandi" Thom () (born 11 August 1981) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Banff, Aberdeenshire, Banff, Scotland. She became widely known in 2006 after her debut single, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Fl ...
, Travis and Amy MacDonald
Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which respectively produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll ...
have played to large crowds.
Notable DJs
* Nicky Campbell - now a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
journalist and television presenter.
*Robin Galloway
Robin Galloway (born 18 December 1961) is a Scottish radio and TV broadcaster currently on air at Pure Radio Scotland as breakfast host. Robin hosts the Robin Galloway Breakfast Show on Pure Radio weekday mornings from 06:00 and is also Group ...
- later became a continuity announcer and newsreader for Grampian Television
Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William and ...
. He now currently presents the breakfast show on Pure Radio in Glasgow & Tayside.
* Alan Fisher - worked at the station as a reporter/newsreader and is now a senior correspondent with the global news channel, Al Jazeera English based in the United States.
*Bobby Hain - presenter in 1980s, now head of channels at STV
*Edi Stark - went on to produce programmes for BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 4.
See also
*Northsound 1
Northsound 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Aberdeen, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and North Scotland
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audienc ...
* Northsound 2
References
{{reflist, refs=
[
{{citation , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/nowyouretalking/3529311.stm , title=BBC NEWS, programmes, now you're talking, Nicky Campbell , publisher=BBC , work=BBC News, accessdate=17 February 2015
]
[
{{citation , url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/nicky-campbell-5-live-25-years , title=Nicky Campbell interview: 'Up north? For me, this is down south' , last=Sabbagh , first=Dan , accessdate=17 February 2015 , newspaper=The Guardian , date=14 October 2012
]
[
{{citation , url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/ken-smiths-diary/point-of-law-the-diary-8-april-2010-1.1019113 , title=Point of law - The Diary, 8 April 2010 , newspaper=The Herald Scotland , accessdate=17 February 2015 , date=8 April 2010
]
Radio stations in Aberdeen