Saga 105.7fm 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 broadcasting to the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. As well as the West Midlands County, it also served surrounding areas such as

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. Part of the

Saga Radio Group {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The Saga Radio Group was a British radio network owned and operated by Saga Services Ltd, and aimed at an audience aged 50 and over. The first Saga station was launched in the West Midlands on ...

, the station broadcast its programmes from its studios on the Hagley Road in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. Saga 105.7 FM was available locally on the FM frequency, as well as through

DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dąb, ...

digital radio and online via a streaming service.

Programming

Programming was a quality service aimed at an audience over the age of 50, with familiar, melodic music covering most genres from the 1940s up to the present day. There were also special interest shows on genres such as

Country and Western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

music and

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 ...

. These included: * Swing Time with Sheila Tracy – featuring big band and dance band music; * Dinner at Eight – classical music; * The Collection – hits from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s; * 50s/60s Saturday – Saturday morning programme playing music from the 1950s and 1960s; * 60s/70s Sunday – Sunday afternoon show featuring music from the 1960s and 1970s; * Saga Country – the very best in country and western music; * Saga Silver Screen – music from the movies; * Soul Train – Soul and Motown hits. * Smooth Jazz – jazz music * Pure Nostalgia – music from the 1930s through to the early 1950s; * David Hamilton's Million Sellers – the songs that sold a million; * Jukebox Giants – music from the Rock'n'Roll era.

Notable presenters and personnel

Notable presenters who hosted shows for the station included

Les Ross Les Ross MBE is a British disc jockey in the West Midlands. He was born as Leslie Meakin; 7 February 1949, in Birmingham. Early life and career Ross always wanted to become a DJ and, at the age of 11, wrote to the general manager of Radio Luxe ...

(who made his name locally with a long running breakfast show on

BRMB Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...

), David Hamilton,

Tony Brandon Tony Brandon (born 12 December 1933, in Portland, Dorset) is an English radio presenter and comedian. Early career Brandon first worked on television and abroad as a comedian. Following a brief spell on Radio Luxembourg in 1966 he joined pirate ...

Roger Day Roger "Twiggy" Day (born Roger Thomas in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire England; 29 March 1945) is a radio broadcaster and DJ who began his career in offshore radio, and was a key pioneer in commercial radio. He later presented on BBC Local Rad ...

Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...

, and

Sheila Tracy Sheila Tracy (née Lugg; 10 January 1934 – 30 September 2014) was a British broadcaster, writer, musician, and singer. She began her career as a trombone player during the 1950s. in all-female bands. Biography Sheila Lugg was born in Mullion, ...

. Also (Jeff Harris), (John McKenzie), (Mike Baker), ( Mike Hollis), (Mick Wright) and (Mike Wyer) who presented the first breakfast show on the re branded Smooth on 26 March 2007)

Rebranding

Following

GMG Radio GMG Radio, and for a short while Real and Smooth Limited, was a company that owned the Real Radio and Smooth Radio networks. As GMG Radio, the company was the radio division of the Guardian Media Group until it was bought in 2012 by Global Rad ...

's purchase of the Saga Radio Group in December 2006, it was announced that from March 2007, all Saga stations were to be rebranded as Smooth Radio. Saga 105.7 FM closed shortly after 6pm on Friday 23 March 2007 and was followed by a preview weekend for its replacement.

105.7 Smooth Radio Smooth West Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station for the Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is owned and operated by Global as part of the Smooth network. History GMG Radio The station launched following GMG Radio's purchase of the ...

was launched at 6am on Monday 26 March 2007.

External links

History of local radio in WarwickshireArticle about the RebrandingMedia UK
Radio stations in Birmingham, West Midlands Radio stations established in 2001 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations disestablished in 2007 {{UK-radio-station-stub

Programming

Notable presenters and personnel

Rebranding

See also

External links