The wait is over for Boomers as Boom Radio launches
Boom Radio, the new national radio station for the UK’s 14 million Baby Boomers launched this morning at 10am.
Weekday breakfast host Graham Dene welcomed listeners by playing the station’s first song – All You Need is Love by The Beatles, then thanking some of those who’d voted for it to be the first played.
Graham is probably best known for his time on London’s Capital Radio as breakfast host. Now, on Boom Radio, he’s back in the slot where he naturally belongs with his warm and friendly style helping listeners get their day started.
He’s joined on the line-up by former colleagues Nicky Horne – and the person who hosted Capital’s first ever programme in 1973 – David Symonds.
Other presenters previously announced in January are David Hamilton, Jane Markham and Birmingham legend Les Ross. Also,70s Magpie TV host Jenny Hanley hosts a weekend show alongside Kid Jensen, and Anna Raeburn – now gearing her ‘agony aunt’ wise words at the same listeners she spoke to decades ago who’ve grown into new life challenges.
Just minutes away from the launch of the UK's first radio station for Baby Boomers! @grahamdene is first on – just as he was first on-air each morning in London for so many years in the 1970s. How does he feel? pic.twitter.com/Bexynz84Cf
— BoomRadioUK (@BoomRadioUK) February 14, 2021
The station is available across the UK from the outset on smart speakers and phone/laptop. It’s also available on DAB in London, Manchester and parts of Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol and Portsmouth, with additional locations to follow throughout the year.
Boom Radio co-founders Phil Riley and David Lloyd are hoping to attract an audience of two million listeners over the first two or three years.
Phil Riley said: “We need only look at recent headlines to see that Boomers, a loyal radio audience, feel increasingly ignored and disenfranchised by the current stations and programming available to them.
“This generation are the original tastemakers and influencers, and we recognised that they are calling out for something that better meets their needs and delivers the right mix of content.
“We saw this gap getting bigger and so Boom Radio was created. Since then, we’ve lined up some legendary radio names, many of whom are like us wanting something to get stuck into something ‘pre-tirement’, and what better way to do that than launch a national station from home in a global pandemic?
“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved with presenters, partners and everyone involved in getting us up and running across the country. Testing is in the final stages before this weekend, and we can’t wait to see what Boomers think.”
David Lloyd added: “We set out to deliver something special with Boom Radio that resonates with Boomers. It’s been an incredible journey over the last year to get us in a position to launch and deliver on this vision.
“With a presenter line up that many Boomers will recognise, alongside an eclectic mix of music, we know we’re meeting a very real need.”
Listeners can expect a mix of Boomer music favourites from across the decades, peppered with selected contemporary hits. If the mix of music continues as it was during the test transmissions, Boomers are in for a treat with a radio station sounding unique and specifically aimed at them.