BRMB FM (PatrZDZ's vision)

**BRMB FM** is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Capital Radio. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands.

## History

Launched on 19 February 1974, on 261 metres medium wave, (1152kHz) and 94.8 MHz FM, BRMB was the fourth independent local commercial radio station to begin broadcasting in Britain after LBC, Capital London and Radio Clyde. Broadcasting a mix of popular music with local news, live football coverage, information and specialist output, the station became popular amongst residents in Birmingham and later changed its main FM frequency from 94.8 to 96.4 in 1986.

The original station name, BRMB, was not an initialism (contrary to popular belief – some believed it stood for Birmingham Radio, Midlands Broadcasting). Instead, the original company, Birmingham Broadcasting Ltd., wanted something that combined a US-style call-sign with the company name – e.g. Birmingham – (BRM) and broadcasting – (B); equalling BRMB.

Presenters such as Ed Doolan, Les Ross, Phil Upton and Tony Butler became regulars on the station – Les Ross was the UK's longest-serving breakfast show presenter, presenting BRMB's flagship weekday show from March 1976 to March 1989, followed by a second stint between August 1993 to September 2002. Former head of sport Tom Ross also found fame on the station when it began broadcasting live commentary of West Midlands football matches every Saturday afternoon – Ian Crocker was also involved in the coverage early on.

In 1988, as a response to government disapproval of the simulcasting of programmingon both FM and mediumwave, a sister station was launched on the 1152 kHz frequency. Xtra AM became BRMB's 'gold' service, playing classic hits, while BRMB itself began to cater for a younger audience. At this stage, BRMB was part of Midlands Radio plc, which was bought out along with Radio Trent, Leicester Sound and Mercia Sound by Capital Radio in 1993. However, they sold the other stations to the GWR Group whilst Capital kept hold of BRMB and Xtra AM. Xtra was on the air for nine years until the majority of its programming was switched to London, where it was simulcast with Capital Gold.

## Station Information

BRMB was originally based in Aston Road North, in the Aston area of Birmingham, near the Spaghetti Junction. These were the former Alpha Television Studios, the home of ATV and ABC Weekend Television until 1970. The current BRMB studios are based in the Brindleyplace development near Broad Street in Birmingham city centre.

The FM signal – 10kW ERP – is broadcast from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, and can be received throughout a large part of the West Midlands.

## Programming

Local programming is produced and broadcast from BRMB FM's studios in Birmingham from 6am-10pm on weekdays, 12am to 12am Saturdays and from 12am-4pm on Sundays. Networked programming originates from Capital Radio studios at Leicester Square, London, including the Sky VIP Official Big Top 40.

### News

BRMB FM broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6 am to 6 pm on weekdays and from 7 am to 12 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows and at 7.30am, 8.30am and 9.30am on Saturdays and Sundays. The station also simulcasts hourly Independent Radio News bulletins daily from 10 pm to 5 am.