Classic Gold
Encyclopedia
Classic Gold was a network of three "Gold" music formatted stations which broadcast on AM
in Bradford
, Hull
and Sheffield
. They were the Pennine Radio
, Viking Radio and Radio Hallam's medium wave franchises. These stations were part of the Yorkshire Radio Network
.
For most of its life, Classic Gold was produced with a presenter in Hull, and local 'tech-ops' in Bradford and Sheffield. In Bradford two sets of adverts would be played out - one for Bradford and one for the Halifax
/Huddersfield
transmitter. Tech-ops included Paul Bromley, Rol Hirst, Melanie Robinson, Richard Hizzard, James Cridland and Peter Carter. Part of the tech-op's duties would also be to drive the desk for the news readers - the first three minutes of which were taken by the FM station, while Classic Gold listeners got a full five minutes of news.
Tech-ops were instructed by talk-back from the presenter studio in Hull what the 'out-cue' was going to be. Breaks were balanced by the tech-op, not by the scheduling department. A tale about Keith Skues was that he would give an out-cue of "time-check", and would then announce "the time is three little ducks". This was followed by a long pause, causing the local tech-ops to fire off the ad-break once they'd realised it was 2.22 pm. The talkback was some kind of radio link, and occasionally was interfered with by Hull taxis
.
A stand-by CD was in satellite
studios in case of line failure; in Bradford, the dulcet tones of Nina Simone
's "My baby just cares for me" meant the line had gone dead.
In the early 1990's GWR Group which had just bought 2CR and 210 took YRN's Classic Gold from midnight till 6am, which then became Brunel, 2CR Classic Gold etc. The name was used in Yorkshire
by YRN some 12 months before the GWR group.
After being taken over by the Metro Radio group
in the early 90s, Alan Ross then PC of Classic Gold moved to Pennine FM to launch The Pulse(now of Magic 1170
),Classic Gold was relaunched as "Great Yorkshire Radio", later "Great Yorkshire Gold".
The station continued in all three areas, even after the sale of the Bradford-based station (along with its FM sister station The Pulse of West Yorkshire
) to the Radio Partnership in 1996. This had occurred because Radio Authority rules at the time prevented Emap
from owning stations in Leeds
and Bradford which had significant overlap.
In 1997 promotional trailers began running across all three Great Yorkshire Gold stations saying that they would be soon converting to become Magic, despite the fact that this would not be the case in West Yorkshire, where negotiations were underway to take GWR plc's Classic Gold service. Unhappy with the confusion being caused to listeners, bosses in Bradford decided to create an emergency local service whilst the talks continued with GWR plc and 1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire
ran for a couple of weeks before Classic Gold was put to air. The Classic Gold brand continues in West Yorkshire
(apart from a brief period when the station became Big AM), still using the GCap
-owned "Gold" programming; currently it is branded as Pulse Classic Gold
.
- in Bradford it was Roger Kirk, in Hull it was Chris Bell (deceased) and in Sheffield it was Gerry Kersey (now at BBC Radio Sheffield
).
Network programming began at 9.00am, with Alan Ross on mornings, and Keith Skues
on lunchtimes. Peter Fairhead was also a regular presenter. Local programmes took over after Drivetime at 7.00pm, with sports programmes and specialist music. For example on the West Yorkshire frequencies in 1989 there were brass band programmes, old dance music, and 'music from the hippy era' presented by Nigel Schofield.
Weekends
included a large amount of local programming which on Saturdays included the breakfast show with Terry Pierce and the morning show with Brian Cooke, Sundays included religious programming with local clergy (Bradford had Martin Short as one of their presenters), and sports programming, including Rugby with Iain Williamson and football with Chris Cooper.
jingles, making the station sound more like an offshore pirate
of the 60s - a sound familiar to Programme Director Keith Skues
- himself a veteran of Radio Caroline
and Radio London
. The station even had its own version of the "Sonovox
waltz
" as used by Radio London, this was heard usually every hour just before the news.
The Great Yorkshire Radio jingles were re-sings of the Great North Radio
package produced by Alfasound
, they also used the same slogans.(40 Years of Hits) At this time the station logo used the same font style as its sister station GNR too.
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. They were the Pennine Radio
Pennine Radio
Pennine Radio may refer to:* Pennine Radio Limited an electronics company in Huddersfield.* Pennine Radio - Former radio station in West Yorkshire, based in Bradford ....
, Viking Radio and Radio Hallam's medium wave franchises. These stations were part of the Yorkshire Radio Network
Yorkshire Radio Network
Not to be confused with Yorkshire Radio.The Yorkshire Radio Network was a group of three radio stations which shared programmes in the evening and at weekends...
.
History
It was originally formed when Viking Radio split its frequencies and turned its medium wave service into "Viking Gold" in on 30 October 1988; at the time this was group's first oldies station. Pennine and Hallam soon followed on 1 May 1989 and a network was formed calling itself Classic Gold.For most of its life, Classic Gold was produced with a presenter in Hull, and local 'tech-ops' in Bradford and Sheffield. In Bradford two sets of adverts would be played out - one for Bradford and one for the Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
/Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
transmitter. Tech-ops included Paul Bromley, Rol Hirst, Melanie Robinson, Richard Hizzard, James Cridland and Peter Carter. Part of the tech-op's duties would also be to drive the desk for the news readers - the first three minutes of which were taken by the FM station, while Classic Gold listeners got a full five minutes of news.
Tech-ops were instructed by talk-back from the presenter studio in Hull what the 'out-cue' was going to be. Breaks were balanced by the tech-op, not by the scheduling department. A tale about Keith Skues was that he would give an out-cue of "time-check", and would then announce "the time is three little ducks". This was followed by a long pause, causing the local tech-ops to fire off the ad-break once they'd realised it was 2.22 pm. The talkback was some kind of radio link, and occasionally was interfered with by Hull taxis
Taxis
A taxis is an innate behavioral response by an organism to a directional stimulus or gradient of stimulus intensity. A taxis differs from a tropism in that the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or away from the stimulus source ...
.
A stand-by CD was in satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
studios in case of line failure; in Bradford, the dulcet tones of Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
's "My baby just cares for me" meant the line had gone dead.
In the early 1990's GWR Group which had just bought 2CR and 210 took YRN's Classic Gold from midnight till 6am, which then became Brunel, 2CR Classic Gold etc. The name was used in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
by YRN some 12 months before the GWR group.
After being taken over by the Metro Radio group
Metro Radio group
Metropolitan Broadcasting or the Metro Radio Group as it was more commonly known, was a group of Independent Local Radio stations in North East of England.-History:The group originally consisted of:* Metro FM...
in the early 90s, Alan Ross then PC of Classic Gold moved to Pennine FM to launch The Pulse(now of Magic 1170
Magic 1170
Magic 1170 is an Independent Local Radio station which broadcasts to Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire from its studios in Thornaby. It is the AM sister station of TFM Radio.-History:...
),Classic Gold was relaunched as "Great Yorkshire Radio", later "Great Yorkshire Gold".
The station continued in all three areas, even after the sale of the Bradford-based station (along with its FM sister station The Pulse of West Yorkshire
The Pulse of West Yorkshire
The Pulse is a British Independent Local Radio station that serves the Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale areas of West Yorkshire. The station was originally known as Pennine Radio...
) to the Radio Partnership in 1996. This had occurred because Radio Authority rules at the time prevented Emap
EMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
from owning stations in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Bradford which had significant overlap.
In 1997 promotional trailers began running across all three Great Yorkshire Gold stations saying that they would be soon converting to become Magic, despite the fact that this would not be the case in West Yorkshire, where negotiations were underway to take GWR plc's Classic Gold service. Unhappy with the confusion being caused to listeners, bosses in Bradford decided to create an emergency local service whilst the talks continued with GWR plc and 1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire
1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire
1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire was a temporary name used for the AM sister station of The Pulse of West Yorkshire).-History:The station began life as Pennine Radio which was part of the Yorkshire Radio Network, but when it split its AM and FM frequencies, the medium wave licence became Classic Gold...
ran for a couple of weeks before Classic Gold was put to air. The Classic Gold brand continues in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
(apart from a brief period when the station became Big AM), still using the GCap
GCAP
GCAP may refer to:* Global Call to Action Against Poverty, a global anti-poverty movement/coalition* GCap Media - British commercial radio company* Grupo Capoeira Angola Pelourinho - Capoeira group by Mestre Moraes* Guanylate cyclase-activating protein...
-owned "Gold" programming; currently it is branded as Pulse Classic Gold
Pulse Classic Gold
Pulse 2 is a British radio station owned by UTV.It is the AM sister station of The Pulse of West Yorkshire.-Background:The station was previously known as Pennine Radio, Classic Gold, Great Yorkshire Gold, Great Yorkshire Radio, 1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire, West Yorkshire's Big AM, Pennine's...
.
Programming
Each station had its own, local breakfast show presenterPresenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
- in Bradford it was Roger Kirk, in Hull it was Chris Bell (deceased) and in Sheffield it was Gerry Kersey (now at BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC Local Radio service for English metropolitan county of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. This includes the city of Sheffield, plus Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Chesterfield and surrounding areas. It was the BBC local radio station, beginning on 15 November 1967...
).
Network programming began at 9.00am, with Alan Ross on mornings, and Keith Skues
Keith Skues
Keith Skues MBE is a British radio personality. He is nicknamed "Cardboard Shoes".Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany in 1958. This was followed by overseas tours to Kuwait, Kenya and Aden...
on lunchtimes. Peter Fairhead was also a regular presenter. Local programmes took over after Drivetime at 7.00pm, with sports programmes and specialist music. For example on the West Yorkshire frequencies in 1989 there were brass band programmes, old dance music, and 'music from the hippy era' presented by Nigel Schofield.
Weekends
Workweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
included a large amount of local programming which on Saturdays included the breakfast show with Terry Pierce and the morning show with Brian Cooke, Sundays included religious programming with local clergy (Bradford had Martin Short as one of their presenters), and sports programming, including Rugby with Iain Williamson and football with Chris Cooper.
Branding
The Classic Gold jingles were resings of classic PAMSPAMS
PAMS , based in Dallas, Texas, was the most famous jingle production company in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stations around the world, as well as some commercial music.-History:The company was founded by William B. Meeks, Jr. PAMS (an acronym for Production,...
jingles, making the station sound more like an offshore pirate
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
of the 60s - a sound familiar to Programme Director Keith Skues
Keith Skues
Keith Skues MBE is a British radio personality. He is nicknamed "Cardboard Shoes".Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany in 1958. This was followed by overseas tours to Kuwait, Kenya and Aden...
- himself a veteran of Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
and Radio London
Wonderful Radio London
Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
. The station even had its own version of the "Sonovox
Talk box
A talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing, or by changing the shape of the mouth...
waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
" as used by Radio London, this was heard usually every hour just before the news.
The Great Yorkshire Radio jingles were re-sings of the Great North Radio
Great North Radio
Great North Radio or G.N.R as it was sometimes called was formed in March 1989 using the AM frequencies of Metro Radio and Radio Tees . This happened after the Metro Radio group decided to split the FM and AM frequencies up.-Programming:...
package produced by Alfasound
Alfasound
Alfasound was a radio jingle production company based in Manchester from late 1970s to mid 1990s founded by Alan Fawkes and ex-Piccadilly Radio DJ Steve England....
, they also used the same slogans.(40 Years of Hits) At this time the station logo used the same font style as its sister station GNR too.
Former presenters
|
Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops... . |