Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio want your memories of the iconic radio station

Piccadilly Radio celebrate their 50th anniversary this year - the Manchester radio station that launched the careers of many famous DJs and celebrities over the years

Written by Thom Bamford
Last updated 2 years ago
City of Manchester, Greater Manchester, TV & Radio

Two of the radio stations most famous personalities have collected a book of their memoirs – but want your help too.

‘For the Record – Piccadilly Radio’s 50^th Anniversary’ will be published next year, which their authors describe as “a unique book about a unique time.”

Written by Piccadilly old boys Tony Ingham and Brian Beech, it’s the story of the people who made it happen: presenters, journalists, producers, the engineers, and most importantly of all, the listeners.

Outside broadcasts from shopping centres – with the Piccadilly Radio presenter sitting in a shop window – attracted thousands of people every Saturday morning.

Piccadilly started out in the 70’s as Manchester’s first Independent Local Radio station.

For many people, Piccadilly Radio was the soundtrack to their lives, its iconic 261 logo and jingles quickly becoming part of the fabric of everyday life in the Northwest of England.

Speaking to I LOVE MCR, Tony Ingham said: ‘For many people, Piccadilly Radio was their music and their friend.

“If you mention it to anyone of a certain age and immediately they are back under the bedclothes with Dave Ward or remembering ‘it’s a goal’ or ‘oh no!’ – nobody did it better.

“‘We’ve got lots of stories from colleagues who worked there, but a major reason that Piccadilly was so successful was that it broadcast to the most responsive and the very best of audiences.

“We want to hear what Piccadilly Radio meant to them.”

Piccadilly Radio was built on the site of a former lunatic asylum and was based in an architectural disaster known as Piccadilly Plaza, under a tower block hotel and above the Olde English Chippie and Brentford Nylons.

The station spawned the careers of national personalities such as Chris Evans, Timmy Mallett, Gary Davies, Mark Radcliffe, Andy Crane, Steve Penk and Andy Peebles, plus a host of journalists, TV and film producers, businessmen and women and entrepreneurs.

At the same time, it nurtured hugely popular local personalities including Susie Mathis, Phil Wood, Dave Ward, Mike Shaft, Pete Baker,James Stannage, Tim Grundy, Becky Want and Mike Sweeney. They became part of listeners’ daily lives.

If you have a story from the Piccadilly Radio days, just email [email protected].

As Chris Evans once said, ‘Piccadilly Radio knew exactly who it was and what it was about. It was a new voice for a new generation. It was about the Northwest and everyone who lived there.’

If you’ve got memories of Piccadilly Radio, why not email in and let them know!

This article was last updated 2 years ago.
It was first published on 21 November 2022 and is subject to be updated from time to time. Please refresh or return to see the latest version.

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