issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . july 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message bbc radio london city london broadcast area greater london frequency fm 94.9 mhz dab 12a rds bbclondn virgin media 937 sky 0152 freesat 718 freeview 721 first air date 6 october 1970 format local news talk and music language s english audience share 4 % total survey area quarter ending september 2014 1 owner bbc local radio bbc london webcast listen live website www.bbc.co.uk radiolondon bbc radio london is london s bbc local radio station and part of the broader bbc london network . the station broadcasts across greater london and beyond on the 94.9 fm frequency dab virgin media channel 937 sky channel 0152 in the london area only freeview channel 721 and online . the station s output is generally similar to that of other bbc local radio stations and targets a broad mainstream audience . while previous incarnations of the station offered a more diverse range of programmes for london s various ethnic religious social and cultural communities specialist programming now remains in a smaller form and is mostly broadcast during weekends . contents 1 history 1.1 1970 1988 bbc radio london 1.2 1988 2000 greater london radio glr 1.2.1 controversy and closure 1.3 2000 2001 bbc london live 94.9 1.4 2001 2015 bbc london 94.9 1.5 2015 present bbc radio london 2 programmes 2.1 notable presenters 3 listening figures 4 references 5 further reading 6 external links history edit 1970 1988 bbc radio london edit local radio arrived in london as part of the second wave of bbc local stations following a successful pilot project headed by frank gilliard who on visiting the united states discovered local radio stations of varying formats and was to bring this concept to britain . test transmissions for the new local radio station were carried out from wrotham kent on 95.3 mhz in fm mono relaying bbc radio 1 at the time broadcast only on medium wave with several announcements informing listeners of the new service . on 6 october 1970 bbc radio london was launched three years before commercial radio for greater london in the guise of lbc . an additional medium wave frequency was allocated on 1457 khz 206 metres from brookman s park . 95.3 soon changed to 94.9 . bbc radio london was the local station for the capital although in the early days it relied heavily on news reports from other stations in the bbc network and often shared programming with bbc radio 2 . it took on a fairly lively sound and featured as it does to this day extensive traffic reports phone in programmes it pioneered the daily phone in in the uk and much contemporary and middle of the road music . for several months after launch the station was not able to play commercial records as no agreement had been reached over so called needle time which led to london listeners becoming acquainted with broadcast library music from outside the uk notably the canadian talent library and music from film soundtracks . a phone in programme sounding brass was pioneered devised and first presented by owen spencer thomas in 1977 . listeners were invited to choose a christmas carol or hymn while a salvation army brass band stood by in the studio to play their request live . it later moved to bbc radio 2 and was presented by gloria hunniford . 2 as soon as independent local radio stations lbc and capital radio went on air public attention to radio london declined with the station attempting to copy both . bbc radio london started regular broadcasts from harewood house hanover square near oxford circus later moving to 35 marylebone high street the former radio times warehouse famously without windows and providing an enormous sub basement studio . tests for fm stereo began in 1981 with music on the move a programme featuring non stop music prior to full launch on 11 february . the fm transmitter was shortly moved to crystal palace . this coincided with the planned relaunch in 1981 which saw the station take on a style that was softer than bbc radio 2 a station predominantly playing easy listening music . music ranged from softer contemporary pop such as the carpenters to light classical music . this move was unpopular with employed staff who thought it very un hip and politicians who would question the need for a local radio station to sound like the two music based bbc national networks . however the relaunch led to improved audience figures and a string of awards and accolades . one of its most influential programmes on the schedule was black londoners devised by ray criushank a community relations officer for the london borough of hammersmith and fulham and presented by alex pascall . citation needed the programme helped to develop on air talent from london s afro caribbean community namely juliet alexander syd burke and mike phillips and was the pioneering programme on television or radio to regularly speak to black londoners . the programme s title was changed to black london shortly before radio london closed see below . it was revived for a short time in 2003 with pascall returning as presenter . the forerunner to the bbc asian network was a hugely popular asian programme london sounds eastern presented by vernon corea who was appointed the bbc s ethnic minorities adviser in the 1970s . citation needed pandit ravi shankar indian pop star usha uthup were among those interviewed for london sounds eastern launched on bbc radio london in 1976 and produced by keith yeomans . the programme introduced the bollywood music of asha bhosle and lata mangeshkar to new london audiences . a programming relaunch in 1984 saw radio london adopt the tagline the heart and soul of london with more soul music being played during the day . tony blackburn from bbc radio 1 moved up the schedule to host a morning show for housewives playing classic soul of the 1970s and presenting a show laced with cheeky jokes and double entendres once daring to get out his 12 incher referring to an lp record . he was sacked in 1988 crossing the line of taste and decency conveniently in time for the station s first relaunch . regular soul night outs were held initially in kilburn but later in other venues such as ilford . this was where dave pearce later of bbc radio 1 fame made his first regular appearances as a bbc dj . two of the station s producers guy hornsby tony blackburn and mike gray robbietalk bbc london 94.9 vincent telephone programme went on to create the ground breaking commercial dance stations kiss 102 and kiss 105 which recaptured the somewhat anarchic spirit of bbc radio london in its mid 1980s heyday to great audience and commercial success . citation needed bbc radio london closed on 7 october 1988 . the final programme just before its 18th birthday was presented by mike sparrow and susie barnes . immediately after closedown at 7pm test transmissions began for the next 17 days preparing for a new radio station for london . 1988 2000 greater london radio glr edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message test transmissions for the new greater london radio glr began as soon as radio london closed . its pre launch announcements stated in no uncertain terms that glr was to be radically different in style promising the fastest news traffic and travel news every 20 minutes and the best music mix . glr was to be the first new radio station in london for 15 years . an irreverent announcement voiced by chris morris aired four days before launch this is greater london radio and as i m sure you will have noticed by now we the bbc have been paying you the public to patronise you ... sorry to say that this all changes at 6am tuesday 25 october . interruptions to the music will then be performed by a host of celebrities and stars ... and also appearing will be nick who he abbot emma oh my god freud johnnie who him walker timbo the bimbo tim lloyd and tommy no seriously vance . sorry this is the best we could come up with with the budget available and at least thank god you won t be forced to look at them ... glr as heard but not seen in london starting 6am tuesday 25 october . heading the new station were managing editor matthew bannister and programme organiser trevor dann . bannister from capital radio favoured a young racy news and speech format miles away from the typically stuffy bbc local radio sound . dann came from radio 1 via bbc tv s whistle test and developed an album oriented music policy . glr was aimed at people who hate pop but love music hate prattle excessive on air talk but want to know what s what where in the world . the station was aimed at 25 to 45 year olds who perhaps grew up with radio 1 but now wanted to be intelligently informed about the city in which they live and the world in general . early promotions used the phrase rock n rolling news . the music mix was best described as adult album alternative a format programmed by trevor dann . it has been said this triple a format inspired the launch of bbc 6 music years later . chris evans took on a variety of roles on glr often presenting a weekend show ending in 1993 as his media career took off . danny baker has had a long association with the station presenting weekend breakfast from 1989 to 1990 and then returned to present a sunday morning show from 1996 to 1998 . janice long presented the breakfast show on the station from 1989 to 1991 and kevin greening started as a producer in 1989 before becoming a presenter of the breakfast show with jeremy nicholas in 1991 . bob harris also presented shows for the station from 1994 to 1998 after leaving radio 1 . specialist speech programmes in the evening were aimed at london s communities asian afro caribbean jewish gay and irish . black london was replaced with margaret jones aka ranking miss p who was dropped by radio 1 . lavender lounge the programme for the gay community was presented by comedian amy lam . weekends featured extensive sports coverage centring on football and london s numerous clubs such as arsenal tottenham and west ham united . in 1989 glr set up a youth based radio training facility at vauxhall college sw8 which was followed with a second course based at white city w12 . this was allocated funds from the london borough of hammersmith and fulham and the british parliament . one unique aspect of glr was the ability to access directly scotland yard s network of traffic cameras across london s busiest streets . this enabled its reporters most commonly bob at the yard to give unparalleled accurate traffic and travel news to its listeners . the