Kiss 102
Encyclopedia
History
The frequency was originally issued to Sunset 102 Radio - The Kickin FMSunset 102
Sunset 102 was the first of a new type of station licensed by The Independent Broadcasting Authority back in 1989.-History:Manchester dance station Sunset 102 went into liquidation in October 1993...
but that suffered some financial problems. In May 1993, the Radio Authority made a decision to prematurely terminate Sunset's licence, apparently accusing the station of providing inaccurate information about its financial and management affairs. In August 1993 the station reportedly had its transmission facilities withdrawn by NTL for non-payment. Following a brief return to the air the liquidator was called in and Sunset's frequency finally fell silent. The liquidator was later to re-apply on behalf of Sunset Radio for its re-advertised licence. Faze FM won the re-advertised licence for Manchester. Like Sunset, Faze FM's remit was to broadcast dance music, licencing the brand name "Kiss" from London station Kiss 100FM and the station launched as Kiss 102 on the 16 October 1994. The licence win was spearheaded by Eugene Perera's Level Broadcast and included shareholders UKRD, Eastern Counties Newspaper Group and 3i.. The format was the brainchild of two experienced UK radio programmers Mike Gray and Guy Hornsby who first worked together at the original BBC Radio London where they produced the station's presenters Robbie Vincent
Robbie Vincent
Robbie Vincent is an English radio broadcaster and DJ whose catch phrase for many years was "If it moves, Funk it"He started life as a journalist although Robbie Vincent's broadcasting career began as one of the pioneers on BBC Radio London in early 1974 during the miners' strike and Three-day week...
and Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
.
Kiss 102 station won awards for its coverage of social issues and is acknowledged by writers like Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam
Dave Haslam is an author and DJ. Originally from Moseley, Birmingham, and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham. Having moved to Manchester in 1980, he DJ'd over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub, including Thursday's Temperance club night in the late 1980s...
and commentators such as Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
as helping to prolong and grow dance music in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The station achieved a 10 per cent reach at its height (RAJAR, Q2, 1997), giving heritage station Key103 its first serious commercial competitor in the city.
Unusually for a small UK radio station aimed at the youth market, it had a dedicated news service (at one point providing a news-reading service to its sister station in London Kiss 100
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
), a nightly entertainment magazine sponsored by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and was noted by Independent Radio News
Independent Radio News
Independent Radio News provides a service of news bulletins, audio and copy to commercial radio stations in the UK and beyond.The managing director of IRN is Tim Molloy, who succeeded long-term MD John Perkins in November 2009...
for its coverage of the 1996 Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
bombing of the city and also for its policy of linking sport and music for example with the Manchester United Red Cafe and the Manchester Giants
Manchester Giants
Manchester Giants was a team in the British Basketball League from 1990 to 2001.During its existence, the team won the Trophy in 1999 and the BBL Championship in 2000. The tenure of coach Nick Nurse, which included these two seasons, was the most successful period in the club's history...
shows. It was also noteworthy for its policy of social integration, led by the influence of the club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
scene which brought about sponsorship of such events as the Manchester Mardi Gras during its years of greatest expansion. In common with other specialist music stations it handed over many hours of output to club DJs, artists and music producers who had little or no experience of radio presentation leading to ground-breaking if at times anarchic entertainment from groups like Fat City Records, Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
and 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
.
DJs/Presenters
|
The Haçienda Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine... Mark Ovenden Mark Ovenden F.R.G.S. is a broadcaster and author who specialises in the subjects of graphic design, cartography and architecture in public transport, with an emphasis on underground rapid transit.... Autechre Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums... |
Management
- Guy
- Mike
Engineering Consultant
- Industry legend Quentin Nield