# 1983 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1983.

## Events
### January

* 4 January – BBC Radio 2 revives Music While You Work.
* 17 January – BBC Local Radio comes to south west England with the launches of BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.

### February

* 12 February – Sounds of the 60s is broadcast for the first time on BBC Radio 2.

### March

* No events.

### April

* 18 April – Prior to the launch of a commercial station covering Gwent, the BBC launches BBC Radio Gwent. It broadcasts at peak time, opting out of BBC Radio Wales. The station broadcasts on VHF/FM and therefore becomes the only part of Wales where English-language radio programming for Wales can be heard on VHF/FM.

### May

* May – The first Birmingham Walkathon is staged by Birmingham's BRMB to raise money for charity, and takes place around the city's Outer Circle bus route.

### June

* 13 June – Gwent Broadcasting becomes the first station in the UK to occupy the newly released 102.2 to 104.5Mhz part of the VHF/FM waveband.

### July

* 2 July – BBC Radio Medway is expanded to cover all of the county of Kent and is renamed accordingly.

### August

* 19 August – "Pirate" radio station Radio Caroline resumes broadcasting to Britain in an album-oriented rock format from MV Ross Revenge anchored in the Knock Deep outside UK territorial waters off the Thames Estuary.

### September

* No events.

### October

* 6 October – Centre Radio stops broadcasting after running into financial difficulties. A take-over bid is rejected by the IBA and the station goes off air at 5.30pm.
* 22 October – BBC Radio Brighton is expanded to cover all of the county of Sussex and is accordingly renamed BBC Radio Sussex.

### November

* No events.

### December

* 12 December – BBC Radio Bury launches as a trial community radio station. It opt outs on MW from BBC Radio Manchester for a few hours each day. It is the first of five such trial stations, each operating in various parts of the Manchester area. Each station is on air for a few weeks.
* 18 December – Sounds of Jazz is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 for the final time. The show is transferred to Radio 2 in the new year.
* December – Kenny Everett leaves BBC Radio 2 a couple of weeks after he made a risqué on-air joke about Margaret Thatcher.

## Station debuts

* 17 January –
** BBC Radio Devon
** BBC Radio Cornwall
* 4 April – County Sound
* 11 April – BBC Radio Tweed
* 16 April – BBC Radio Solway
* 18 April – BBC Radio Gwent
* 13 June – Gwent Broadcasting
* 4 July – BBC Radio York
* 29 August – Southern Sound Radio
* 5 September –
** Signal 1
** Marcher Sound
* Unknown – Bridgend Hospital Radio

## Programme debuts

* 1 February – In Business on BBC Radio 4 (1983–Present)
* 12 February – Sounds of the 60s on BBC Radio 2 (1983–Present)

## Continuing radio programmes
### 1940s

* Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
* Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
* Down Your Way (1946–1992)
* Letter from America (1946–2004)
* Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
* A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

### 1950s

* The Archers (1950–Present)
* The Today Programme (1957–Present)
* Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
* Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

### 1960s

* Farming Today (1960–Present)
* In Touch (1961–Present)
* The World at One (1965–Present)
* The Official Chart (1967–Present)
* Just a Minute (1967–Present)
* The Living World (1968–Present)
* The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

### 1970s

* PM (1970–Present)
* Start the Week (1970–Present)
* Week Ending (1970–1998)
* You and Yours (1970–Present)
* I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
* Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
* Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
* Newsbeat (1973–Present)
* The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
* File on 4 (1977–Present)
* Money Box (1977–Present)
* The News Quiz (1977–Present)
* Breakaway (1979–1998)
* Feedback (1979–Present)
* The Food Programme (1979–Present)
* Science in Action (1979–Present)

### 1980s

* Radio Active (1980–1987)

## Closing this year

* 6 October – Centre Radio (1981–1983)

## Births

* 19 January – MistaJam, born Peter Dalton, DJ
* 19 July – Helen Skelton, broadcast presenter
* 6 August
** Kayper, DJ
** Lloyd Langford, Welsh comedian
* 16 August – Colin Griffiths, TV presenter and DJ

## Deaths

* 22 February – Sir Adrian Boult, orchestral conductor, BBC director of music (born 1889)
* 24 December – Alan Melville, scriptwriter and war reporter (born 1910)