Wikipedia (visit link) tells about
the starting up of the radio station:
"History
Pre-launch
Following
the 1964–68 offshore radio boom, the Conservative Party, under Edward Heath
promised in its 1970 General Election Manifesto that should it win, it would
introduce local commercial radio in addition to the commercial television which
had started in 1955. This was a result of much lobbying from a particular
pressure group, the Local Radio Association, who felt that commercial radio
should be introduced following the launch of Associated Rediffusion and ITV. The
Tories won and swiftly introduced the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 which allowed
for the introduction of Independent Local Radio and the newly-renamed
Independent Broadcasting Authority from the Independent Television
Authority.
The Independent Broadcasting Authority advertised local
radio licences in certain locations in the United Kingdom under the umbrella
term of Independent Local Radio. London was due to receive two ILR licences: one
for news and another for general entertainment. Radio Capital, later to become
Capital Radio, was formed in early 1970 by David Maule-ffinch with the intent to
apply for the general entertainment license. In late 1970, David's future
father-in-law, Barclay Barclay-White became involved. The Radio Capital team
that was finally in place at the time of application to the IBA included Sir
Richard Attenborough, Sir George Martin, Bryan Forbes, Sir Peter Saunders, David
Maule-ffinch and Barclay Barclay-White. David Maule-Ffinch was a member of the
board of Capital Radio and its largest stockholder until 1994, when he sold his
controlling interest to Information et Publicite, a subsidiary of Havas, the
French media conglomerate.
Another application came from a consortium headed by
Opportunity Knocks television presenter Hughie Green, who had openly voiced the
need for commercial broadcasting, having previously worked for Radio
Luxembourg.
The IBA awarded Capital Radio the "London General
Entertainment" service, while "London News" was awarded to the London
Broadcasting Company, LBC.
IBA transmission tests commenced in January 1973 and
Capital Radio went on air on 16 October 1973, ten days after LBC, using the
following FM and AM frequencies: 95.8 MHz FM from the Croydon transmitter
station and 557 kHz (539 m) MW from London Transport's Lots Road Power Station,
Chelsea. The medium wave frequency and location were temporary sites as the then
new high-powered medium wave station at Saffron Green, Barnet was
incomplete.
Launch
Capital
commenced regular transmissions with the British national anthem "God Save the
Queen", then a message from director Richard Attenborough "...This, for the very
first time, is Capital Radio" followed by the Capital Radio theme jingle, made
by Blue Mink:
'Isn't it good to
know,
Capital Radio
You can turn
on your friends, you can turn on the show,
you can turn
on the world with Capital Radio
Such a good way to make
your day
Capital sounds go round and
round,
Up and down London town
The
brightest sound in London town
Capital Radio in tune
with London (yeah)'...
Simon and Garfunkel's song, "Bridge over Troubled Water"
followed the jingle. The first radio commercial came from Bird's Eye fish
fingers, which incidentally was also the first ever legal radio commercial on
LBC.
Capital's programming remit, as with all ILR stations at
the time, was to appeal to the broadest range of people as possible, which
included specialist music programmes, radio plays, classical music, community
features and news documentaries. Capital's breakfast show was hosted by popular
television entertainer Kenny Everett and disc jockey Dave Cash.
Immediately after going on air, Capital Radio suffered
co-channel interference from Radio Veronica, a pirate radio station off the
coast of the Netherlands. Veronica began broadcasting in the 1960s and it was
suggested that the allocation of 539 metres to ILR may have been an attempt to
block reception of overseas broadcasts — a battle which preceded the launch of
BBC Radio 1. Capital finally moved into office blocks in Euston Tower in
November 1973, just a few yards away from Thames Television headquarters. Euston
Tower was, at the time, London's tallest office tower.
In 1975, the IBA finally opened the transmission
facilities at Saffron Green which allowed both LBC and Capital Radio to move up
the dial. Capital moved to 1548 kHz mediumwave (194 m) and LBC to 1152 kHz (261
m). Saffron Green needed to be highly configured as it was sharing the same
frequency as other ILR stations and needed to prevent co-channel interference
from new ILR stations in Birmingham and Manchester. Previously the Lots Road
site gained Capital and LBC the semi-humorous nickname of "Radio Clothesline",
however both stations could be heard as far away as the Midlands. FM reception
remained unaltered.
Capital in danger
(1975–1980)
The commercial radio climate
during this period was very tough. Recessions, the miners' dispute and high
inflation brought on by the Three-Day Week meant that revenues at Capital Radio
suffered. Throughout the 1970s Capital reduced its broadcasting hours and cut
its staff, including many journalists – a move which angered the NUJ. Richard
Attenborough intimated in the 1990s in a 'Capital Facts' sheet that the station
almost contemplated closing down:
'Although one can say it now, one
couldn't at the time, there were some weeks when the viability of the whole
operation was in question and we might had had to close down. We almost didn't
make ends meet.'
Capital saw off the recession and continued
broadcasting, eventually increasing its hours. The so-called 'needle-time'
restrictions on playing music had been lifted, which meant it could play more
music during the day as well as in the evenings where the eight hours were
concentrated.
Charities and the Flying
Eye
The mid-1970s saw Capital Radio
expand with the launch of the Help a London Child charity, which aimed to raise
money for London's poorest children. The charity appeal went on to become one of
the longest-running in broadcasting and the most recognised in British radio. In
1976, the Capital Radio Helpline launched, in conjunction with Thames
Television, London Weekend Television and British Telecom which helped listeners
through matters ranging from how to cook a turkey at Christmas time, to suicide
intervention. The station has also lent its support to London based orchestras,
choral societies, the British Film Institute Children's Film Festival and many
other ventures.
1976 saw the launch of the Flying Eye, a traffic
spotting light aircraft, which could see traffic congestion below on the streets
of Central London. LBC also had a similar service but was forced to suspend
operations due to cost. Capital's aircraft was originally a Piper Seneca model,
and, later, a twin-engined Cirumma Cougar.
Music Power (1980s)
A
new radio jingle package from Standard Sound heralded a new, refined sound for
the station. Output was concentrated on its core playlist of contemporary chart
music with the specialist music rescheduled to evenings. Jazz and soul
programmes at the weekends, presented by Peter Young were well received by
listeners. Charlie Gillett had his world music programme, The World Of
Difference, on Sunday evenings. Several of Capital's early presenters had moved
on, to be replaced by newer disc jockeys, some of which had experience
presenting on Radio Luxembourg.
A brand new breakfast show started in 1987 and featured
Chris Tarrant who arrived from popular television programme Tiswas. Chris
initially arrived at Capital presenting the weekday lunchtime show before being
promoted. Joined by the then unknown Kara Noble, the partnership proved very
popular and the Breakfast Show eventually became one of the most listened to
radio programmes on British radio. Many industry commentators consider the
station's output in the 1980s represented Capital Radio at its broadcasting
peak.
One becomes two- the frequency split
(1989–1996)
As required by the 1990 Broadcasting
Act the IBA and the Home Office in 1987, all ILR stations were to permanently
split simulcasting output on both its FM and AM frequencies in order to create
new local radio stations and improve choice. Capital responded by launching a
golden oldies station, 1548 AM Capital Gold in 1 November 1988 on its AM
frequency while Capital on FM became 95.8 Capital FM, a chart contemporary music
station. Both stations received brand-new jingle packages from Californian
jingle house Who Did That Music (later Groove Jingles) which went on to become
well known and essential parts of its music programming.
1997 - 2010
From 1997,
the studios of 95.8 Capital FM have been based in Leicester Square, which is
also home to Capital's parent company, Global Radio. The studio complex is
shared with many other stations, including XFM London, Classic FM, Heart London
& LBC.
The station launched its website in September 1996
resulting in high demand which led to it crashing within a few
hours.
Beginning in late 2005, the station went through a
number of changes. In December 2005, a new policy of two advertisements in each
break to win favour with listeners, though there were more frequent breaks as a
result. This policy was changed within a few months.
On 9 January 2006, the station was relaunched under its
original name Capital Radio, with a modified line-up of presenters and a
slightly tweaked music format. After this re-launch turned out not to have had
the desired success, a new Programme Controller was appointed in September 2006.
Scott Muller came from the Nova group in Australia, and the station saw another
tweak in style.
The changes continued seeing Capital re-branded back to
"London's Hit Music Station", a play on the station's earlier brand of "London's
Number One Hit Music Station" with noticeable improvements – leading to a rise
in audience figures at the end of 2006. The station also changed its on air name
to 95.8 Capital Radio, incorporating the frequency of "95.8" back into the
station since it was dropped at the January 2006 re-launch.
In March 2007, the station was then renamed Capital 95.8
and its slogan became "The Sound of London". The marketing campaign combined
outdoor, cinema, and print adverts.
RAJAR figures for Q2 2007 showed Capital 95.8 slipping
to fourth place in the London local radio market ratings, recording the
lowest-ever share of the London audience and for the first time falling behind
Emap-owned station Magic and Heart, now owned by Global Radio. Capital 95.8's
audience share slipped from 4.6 to 4.1 per cent over the
quarter.
The station then returned to the 'London's Hit Music
Network' tagline on 10 December 2007, with ex-Absolute Radio presenter Greg
Burns replacing Lucio on drivetime, and Lucio moving to the evening show. Lucio
took over from Bam Bam (Peter Poulton) who left Capital in early December 2007.
On 6 June 2008, Global Radio completed its £375 million takeover of Capital's
parent company GCap Media.
2011-present
Capital London
formed part of the nine station Capital radio network on 3 January 2011 as part
of a merger of the Global Radio owned Hit Music and Galaxy networks. Weekday
breakfast and drivetime plus weekend mornings are localised with other output
networked from the 95.8 Capital studios in London.
Capital London localised presenters are responsible for
playlisting music which is syndicated across the nine station Capital radio
network, during Capital Breakfast, weekday drivetime and weekend
mornings.
On 12 May 2011 it was announced 95.8 Capital remained
the most listened to commercial radio station in London, on both share and
reach, beating rival Magic 105.4. However, on 4 August 2011 it was announced
rival Magic 105.4 had overtaken the position."