| Heart | |
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| Broadcast area | West Midlands |
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| Frequency | MHz 100.7 MHz Freeview 728 |
| First air date | September 6 1994 |
| Format | Contemporary |
| Audience share | 8.5% (September 2007, [1]) |
| Owner | Global Radio UK |
| Website | www.heartfm.co.uk |
100.7 Heart fm is a radio station based in Birmingham, with a regional license to broadcast to the West Midlands. It is aimed primarily at women aged 25-44. The first song to be played on 100.7 Heart fm was Something Got Me Started, by Simply Red. It was the first ever radio station owned by Global Radio UK, which owns the other Heart stations in London and Nottingham, as well as the Galaxy Network, LBC and The Arrow radio brands.
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History
Early days
Heart began broadcasting on the 6th of September 1994, as the UK's third Independent Regional Radio station, five days after Century Radio and Jazz FM North West. with its original format of "soft adult contemporary" music, comprising of such artists as Lionel Richie, Simply Red and Tina Turner. Reflecting this, its early slogan described the station as being "100.7 degrees cooler". Its programming format was modified in 1996, a year after Chrysalis launched Heart 106.2 in London. The new format saw the "soft" AC music replaced with a generally more neutral music playlist, with more upbeat music from the same big-name artists like Phil Collins. This saw radio audience listening figures grow to equal that of local rival BRMB, which was for a long time undisputed number one commercial radio in the West Midlands. New disc-jockeys were brought in from other stations; Daryl Denham arrived in 2000 from Hallam FM's breakfast show in a high-profile move. Ian Danter and Carlos also arrived from BRMB.
Tushar Makwana
One of Heart's most popular DJs, Tushar Makwana, was killed in 2004 following a burglary at his home which left him injured on his doorstep [1]. The station's staff paid tribute to the presenter on-air, and campaigned for the person(s) responsible to be brought to justice. The station's reception area now includes a photographic tribute and plaque.
Recent History
Following a corporate re-brand of the station, including a change of logo, the more contemporary look was soon reflected in the station's sound. The format is now described as more Hot AC and features more music from the likes of Natasha Bedingfield, James Blunt and Keane as well as soul music from the 1970s, branded as Club Classics. During this relaunch long-time DJs departed the station, such as Ian Danter, Carlos, Paul Bryant and Nick Piercey, to be replaced by younger DJs such as Steve Denyer, Dave Clarke and Matt Wilkinson. 2005 saw the evacuation of its studios after West Midlands Police alerted staff and other civilians following a bomb alert in Birmingham's Broad Street complex station [2]. The station continued to operate initially relaying sister station LBC News 1152 before transmission switched to the studios of Century 106 (now Heart 106) in Nottingham which broadcast reports from DNN Journalists John Collins and Dave Richards, who had to broadcast from a phone booth due to restrictions on the use of mobile phones. On September 11th 2006, new station idents and jingles were used for the first time, and saw the station referred to purely as 'Heart' rather than '100.7 Heart fm'.
Station Information
Ranking
Heart FM is the most listened-to radio station in the West Midlands region, having successfully overtaken its city rivals BRMB, as well as all of the BBC stations both in Birmingham, and in the wider West Midlands region. (RAJAR: W1 2007)
Location
The station is housed in 111 Broad Street - the same building as Global Radio UK-owned sister stations Galaxy 102.2 and The Arrow. The Digital News Network (DNN) also broadcasted from the building until it ceased transmission in July 2006, to be replaced by LBC, whose regional DAB service was fully rolled out on September 1. Regional news continues to be broadcast from the building on Heart and Galaxy, but LBC's regional news for the West Midlands is actually broadcast from London.
Transmitter
The FM signal comes from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, and is audible throughout a large part of the Midlands, including the East Midlands towns of Leicester, Derby and parts of Nottingham.It can be heard with fairly decent auidable quality in Kingswood Bristol.This is due to the fact that Kingswood is very high up meaning there is a clear line of sight between the north and Kingswood.This means that there is a large area which is covered by both 100.7 Heart fm, and its East Midlands counterpart, Heart 106. The station is available on DAB, thanks to eight transmitters throughout the West Midlands on the MXR 12A multiplex, with strong signals from The Wrekin and Ilmington in south Warwickshire.
Main Presenters
- Lynsey Hooper - Overnight (weekdays)
- Ed James and Sarah-Jane Mee - Heart Breakfast
- Steve Denyer - Morning Show (Mondays to Saturdays)
- Warren Moore - Afternoon Show and Sunday morning
- Dave Clarke - Drive Show
- Matt Jarvis - All Request Evening Show and Saturday late afternoons/early evenings
- Charlie Jordan - The Late Show
- Dave Williams - Overnight (weekends)
- Kelly Jamison - Heart Breakfast (Saturdays)
- Hellon Wheels - Heart Breakfast (Sunday)
- Jim Davis - Weekend Afternoons
- Murray J - Club Classics
- Nick Snaith - The A List
Past DJ's on Heart
Chrysalis Radio Sold
On the 25th June 2007 it was announced that Heart along with its sister stations The Arrow, Sky News Radio, LBC and Galaxy were to be sold for £170 million to Global Radio UK from Chrysalis Radio.[3]
Logos
 Discontinued 2004 |
 2004-present day |
Images used with permission of 100.7 Heart fm.
References
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3483125.stm DJ dies after gang robbery
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4668313.stm Birmingham threat 'real' - police
- ^ Chrysalis sells three radio stations
See also
- Heart (radio network)
- Heart 106.2 (London)
- Heart 106 (East Midlands)
- Heart Digital Broadcast to the regions on digital radio
External links
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| Heart Network | 100.7 Heart FM · Heart 106 · Heart 106.2 · Heart Digital |
| LBC Network | LBC 97.3 · LBC News 1152 |
| Other Stations | The Arrow |
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| FM Stations | 88.3 • 90.5 • 92.7 • 93.5 • 95.6 • 96.4 • 97.2 • 97.9 • 98.7 • 100.1 • 100.7 • 101.8 • 102.2 • 105.2 • 105.7 • 107.7 |
| AM Stations | 693 • 828 • 990 • 1152 • 1296 |
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United Kingdom Radio Markets: London • Manchester • |
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