The Swansea Sound Story - 2019

·47 min·4 clips

Swansea Sound's doors were always open, creating a family where listeners depended on the station and presenters never felt like they were going to work.

The episode opens with nostalgic reflections from staff about Swansea Sound feeling like a family, where listeners could call anytime and presenters never regarded it as work. Historian David Barlow explains the station's founding context: the 1972 Sound Broadcasting Act allowed commercial radio in Wales, unlike England which had BBC local stations. Early employee Anna Edwards recalls setting up in temporary offices above a shoe shop, conducting business from a hotel foyer. Rod Rees reveals he was the first voice heard on test transmissions. Program controller Colin Mason, with a background in American and BBC radio, aimed to blend popular music with community service despite Welsh language political tensions. The launch day on September 30, 1974, is remembered vividly by Eleanor Edwards, with a marquee, VIPs, and technical hiccups. The station quickly gained popularity, with listener Julia Mitchell praising its local angle and phone-in competitions. It expanded beyond broadcasting, creating the Swansea Sound Sinfonia and organizing community clean-ups, winning a Prince of Wales award. Presenters like New Zealander Paul Holmes became known for outrageous wind-up calls, with Rita Jenkins attempting to contact Buckingham Palace. The station introduced stereo sound to Wales and even attracted listeners in Devon, with Chris Vincent John fostering a supporters club there. Regular features included Chris Smart's controversial Sunday Hotline debates. A highlight was seven-year-old Joshua Light questioning Prime Minister Tony Blair live on air. Weatherman John Powell started by giving past week's weather and evolved into a daily forecaster. Staff multitasked extensively, with secretaries doing on-air segments. The station produced award-winning dramas and documentaries, including one on the Aberfan disaster. In 1995, it split frequencies to launch The Wave and was sold to a Norwich-based group, ending local ownership. Despite changes, it maintained Welsh language programming, with presenter Gareth Wynne-Jones remembering Willie Bowen's popular weather reports. Steve Dewitt returned after 14 years, reintroducing the jingle voiced by a child named Hamish. Listener Iris Butler concludes by sharing how Swansea Sound even influenced her personal life, meeting her husband through a shared love of the station.

As heard by us

A local radio story told through the listeners and voices that made Swansea Sound feel like family.

Swansea Sound is remembered here through the everyday closeness of local radio: open doors, callers of all ages, and listeners who folded the station into ordinary life.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when you want a local radio story that carries you from Swansea Sound's open doors to phone-in memories, Ilfracombe supporters, and a listener's love story.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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