Here’s what’s under the spotlight in this week’s radio review for week ending 25th May 2018.
Manchester: One Year On // Key 103 (Manchester) Bassman // Capital Manchester Forever Manchester // 107.4 Tower FM (Bolton and Bury)
Monday 22nd May, thousands of people, mostly kids, went to see Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena on her world tour.
Just after she had left the stage and the euphoria inside the packed Arena of first gigs and as parents bonded with their kids and groups of friends got on the phones to Snapchat their mates who weren’t lucky enough to be there and tell their dads to come and pick them up.
Then the unthinkable happened….and everything changed….and the city came together, held each other and helped each over.
A year on and Manchester marked the anniversary of the attack and celebrated the lives of those who died, the spirit of the city, the proliferation of bees that inspire Mancunians every day now and the two fingered salute to those who misguidedly thought that attacking Mancs would result in anything but a city united.
The artist formerly known as Key 103 on the night itself saw Darryl Morris field calls from Manchester and tell us what was going on.
One year on the news team was in St. Anne’s Square and outside Manchester Cathedral approaching the national minute’s silence and a rather brilliant piece of audio looked back at that night, the breakfast team’s reaction the next day, Ariana’s One Love Manchester concert and the way the city reacted to the soundtrack of Tony Walsh’s chest thumpingly epic “This Is The Place”.
After the silence Adam “Coley” Cole was in Manchester to reflect on the atmosphere and speak to the people of the city.
Over on Tower, breakfast host Jon Holling and journalist Josh Bancroft looked back with a special report into the events of the night, we heard how Jon’s listeners who were at the Arena the night before were processing the events. They spoke to poet Tony Walsh, Josh also spoke to the family of one of the victims for just long enough to allow me to park up by the side of the road and sob my eyes out.
Then the silence pre-empted by some great scene setting from Jon over the sound of the Hallé Orchestra at Manchester Cathedral, followed by another great report from Josh with the kids from one of the choirs performing later in Albert Square, also from the school of one of the victims, about what they plan and how the school have dealt with the loss of one of their friends….again, for just long enough for me to get something in my eye.
They should be really proud of their efforts.
To Capital, the station of choice for the Ariana Grande generation in Manchester.
The Bassman told us how things felt weird in the city but luckily he’s getting the hits back on.
After a couple of hits Rob, Rachel and Wingman were live in town talking about plans for the evening in Albert Square and back to the hits.
Then “Bass” promised that we’d share in the nation’s silence passing to “Global’s Newsroom” who rather sensationally reminded us what was going on and went into the silence, broken by Ariana Grande.
Another of Bassman’s fabulous observations about the city feeling strange today but the promise of a former Vodafone Top 40 number 1.
Overall it felt like Tower had thought about how to properly deal with remembering one of the city’s darkest nights and celebrating how the city got together. Key remembered the night and celebrated the city’s spirit and Capital played the hits.
Tower was the head. Key was the heart. Capital….was the cousin from London who tweeted that they were thinking of us.