South Coast Radio was a commercial radio station which broadcast on Medium Wave on the South Coast of England between 1991 and 1998.

History

With a music policy described as "Nice & Easy", it was the sister station to Southern Sound and Ocean Sound, later "Southern FM" and "Ocean FM" and both now "Heart". The station transmitters were at Marchwood

Marchwood

Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water, next to the New Forest. The population of the village in the 2001 census was 5,586.-History:...

 near Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 (1557 kHz), Farlington Marshes near Portsmouth (1170 kHz), Portslade

Portslade

Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...

 near Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 (1323 kHz) and, latterly, Bexhill

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

 (945 kHz). The station's studios were originally alongside those of Ocean and Power FM in Segensworth

Segensworth

Segensworth is a business park at Whiteley / Fareham in Hampshire in England. It is near junction 9 of the M27 midway between Southampton and Portsmouth....

, Hampshire but latterly moved to the Southern FM building in Portslade

Portslade

Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...

 near Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

.

By 1994 the Southern Radio group

Southern Radio Group

The Southern Radio Group was a company which owned and operated radio stations on the south coast of England.-History:Southern Radio group was formed when Ocean Sound merged with Southern FM...

 had been bought out by Capital Radio

Capital Radio

Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...

 plc. When Capital Radio took over the organisation they added an extra transmitter to the service at Bexhill

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

, for Eastbourne and East Sussex, on 945 KHz. The test transmissions consisted of days of the sounds of seagulls.

South Coast Radio continued for several years but was eventually abandoned in 1998 in favour of a relay of the Capital Gold oldies station from studios in London, although around three hours of local opt-outs per day were retained for Hampshire and Sussex.

There was also a 'free' (ie unlicenced

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...

) radio station of the same name serving the County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

area of Ireland in the 1980s.