Inspiration FM is a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

station based in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

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 ...

. It is a community led and managed radio service, providing access, information, entertainment and training, and encourages and promotes a voice for those who are under-represented or socially excluded to provide an outlet for creativity, shared vision and expression. The station broadcasts to the whole of

from its studios in Northampton town centre. The transmitter for a low powered transmitter was located off-site at the University of Northampton campus, to north of the town. The transmitter has more recently moved to Goodwill Solutions CIC building on Moulton Park Industrial Estate.

History

The roots of Inspiration FM are as a pirate radio station, that first started broadcasting in 1994 as a result of collaboration between young men and women of African Caribbean descent who shared a passion for music, dance and communication. The ‘Inspiration Family’ as they have become known, identified the needs of the diverse

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

communities who were under-represented in media. Programmes on this community radio station are multicultural and tailored to reflect its mainly Punjabi, African and Irish listeners. Working with organisations including local councils, the Council for Ethnic Minority Communities and the Black Policeman’s Association means that this project has moved beyond negative images and now creates positive role models for all young people. With over 60 volunteers and 8 committee members, weekends and evenings are spent working with others, especially young people, encouraging them to use their spare time in a positive constructive manner. Inspiration FM's first legal broadcast was from 18 November to 15 December 1996 on a 28-day

Restricted Service Licence A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofc ...

(RSL) and since then it has been on-air on a total of 15 RSLs. A show for the Greek community was added to the station's line up in 1997, the first and only show of its kind outside London, and the station was included among the limited number of RSL stations who were allowed to broadcast during the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

celebrations. In 2000 Inspiration FM's Mark Dean was approached by

BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a we ...

's Editor about presenting a programme to reach all sectors of the community and the show Inspirations was formed. With Marks strong links within the community the Inspirations Show has been going strong covering hard hitting local and international news, and guest stars like

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

. The Somali community show began in 2003 and a Polish community show was included in 2007 to cater for the large influx of Poles to Northampton after Poland joined the EU in 2004. In 2004 the organisation was awarded the Queen's golden jubilee award for voluntary service by groups in the community. On 24 July 2008 Inspiration FM was awarded a 5-year community radio licence by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

and began 24/7 broadcasts when it was officially opened by Northampton Mayor Marianne Taylor on Saturday, 24 July 2010. DJ Mkhukhwini became a regular guest on

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

after he was spotted presenting the African community show on Inspiration FM since 2011. Jason D Lewis Fri 8-11pm featured on CapitalXtra in the Guest Mix on Robert Bruce's Homegrown 4-7pm show on Saturday 16 March 2019

Programmes

Broadcasts from Inspiration FM's studios in Sheep Street Northampton include popular genres like R&B,

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

, Rap,

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, Old Skool,

Soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

, Asian, African, Greek,

Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and Irish Folk music, the local Band Review Show on a Wednesday evening, and a regular Children's show on Saturday mornings. Programming is aimed at representing areas of the community that are currently under-represented by mainstream radio, this includes the Afro-Caribbean, Irish and Asian although many more are also represented including Children. The policy of "Inspiration FM"

Multi-Cultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

in its programming – for the people, by the people. On Friday’s 6-8pm ‘The Dance Music show with Mark Manning’ supported by Gehric Barreau o
GT-Systems
Jason D Lewis Friday 8-11pm plays new Hip Hop, Rap, UK, RnB, Dancehall and Afrobeats. Jason D Lewis featured on CapitalXtra in the Guest Mix on Robert Bruce's Homegrown 4-7pm show on Saturday 16 March 2019

Activities

Inspiration FM is a major sponsor of the Northampton Carnival and one of Inspiration FM's founding members Mark Dean sits on the organising committee. Inspiration FM produces the "Inspirations" Afro-Caribbean Show for

.BBC Radio Northampton website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inspiration Fm Entertainment in Northampton Radio stations in Northamptonshire Former pirate radio stations Community radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 1994