How the capital tuned in to hyper-local radio

Soho Radio — Soho

Launched in 2014 and broadcasting live from Broadwick Street, Soho Radio has serious clout when it comes to big name presenters. Think Primal Scream’s Simone Marie Butler, Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay, Jim Sclavunos of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Metronomy’s Anna Prior to name a few — and they don’t just stop at radio. ‘We won Event of the Decade [in Time Out magazine] for our 12-hour street party broadcast with R3 Soundsystem,’ station manager Rachael Bird says. ‘We had some amazing DJs join us live on air, with the likes of Seth Troxler, Norman Jay, Artwork, Eats Everything and Sink the Pink gracing the decks. The day culminated with our very own lorry sound system pulling up in the streets of Soho to finish the street party with a bang — it didn’t last long before it got shut down (whoops!) but was definitely a Soho Radio highlight and a day to remember.’ The grassroots online station has since expanded to the Big Apple, where it has been streaming from Lower Manhattan since late 2020 for a double dose of Soho listening.

Boogaloo radio — Highgate

A radio station! From a pub! In Archway! Sounds like the beginnings of an Edgar Wright movie, but this is the real deal when it comes to local radio. Located in an old bin shed in the garden of The Boogaloo pub, the station launched in 2018 and has had rip-roaring success on the radio scene, with big names including The Libertines’ Carl Barât, Starsky & Hutch’s David Soul and producer John Leckie all stopping by to spin a few tracks. It sounds almost too cool to be true.

Reprezent – Brixton 103.7 FM

There’s more to a Brixton shipping container than bubble tea stands and houseplant pop-ups: Reprezent Radio now occupies three of them to broadcast its ‘underground music’ from both signed and unsigned artists. Their USP is their industry insider presenters: from club night runners to music journalists and label producers, every DJ has a connection to the music world, making Reprezent radio — in their words — ‘the voice of young London’.

Riverside Radio — Battersea

Serving south-west London since 2015, Riverside Radio was set up by journalist Jason Rosam after noticing a gap in the market for local Wandsworth radio. Since then, it’s expanded to broadcast to Richmond, Merton and Lambeth and went live on DAB in mid-2020, moving its studio to the Broadcast Centre in Battersea. ‘We saw a huge rise in people tuning in to listen to Riverside Radio during the first lockdown,’ Rosam explains. ‘That engagement has only continued to escalate since.’ Like many local stations, Riverside is ingrained within its own pocket of London. ‘My favourite-ever guest on Riverside Radio was 99-year-old local celebrity and former soldier Bill Champion, who sold poppies outside Tooting Broadway Tube station for 25 years,’ Rosam says. ‘After living in the area for nearly 70 years he gave his memories about Tooting, his thoughts on the rapid change over his lifetime and how he felt hopeful for future generations. We broadcast Bill’s interview again after we heard the sad news he’d passed away at the grand old age of 100 last year.’

NTS — Dalston

Okay, NTS is pretty big to be listed on a feature about local radio, but it started out in Hackney after founder Femi Adeyemi wanted to create a station that represented the diversity of music tastes in London. Eleven years later and NTS has exploded, with studios in Manchester, LA and London, 1.5 million monthly listeners and a series of live events and residencies. Luckily, it’s never forgotten its local Hackney roots — long may they remain.

Threads — Tottenham

Threads has been around only since 2018, but the Tottenham-based station is making waves. Aiming to engage with local issues and ‘social and political change’ as well as promote its fast-growing music and arts scene, the station also has a more global arm that connects with cities around the world, giving Threads the motto of ‘a global station with a local focus’.

Croydon FM — Croydon 97.8 FM

Croydon FM was excited when things were made official. ‘That confirmation email from Ofcom stating that Croydon FM had been awarded a community radio licence was a standout moment,’ station manager Phoebe Herschdorfer recounts. ‘Delivering the news to our team via Zoom in the middle of lockdown is a memory I will never forget; the screams, cheers and shouts — I think it’s fair to say the team were extremely happy.’ The station is as involved with its community as it is possible to be, being awarded best ‘business in the community’ and even setting up a youth training programme for Croydon teenagers looking to get into radio.

Balamii — Peckham

This Rye Lane station has reversed the usual trajectory of a radio station, in that it began its life as an app of London club mixes. It later evolved into a radio station alongside producing events and video — but still retains its essence of great mixes, discovery of new music and the nurturing of up-and-coming talent.

Radio Jackie — Surbiton 107.8 FM

‘Radio Jackie is the only real local radio station left in the country,’ DJ Mick Brown tells me proudly. ‘It’s a very unique station. It’s owned by a guy called Tony Collis, who 55 years ago was putting transmitters up trees in parks to broadcast back in the day — one of the original pirates. He hasn’t sold out like the major [stations] of the capital.’ Radio Jackie, broadcasting from a boldly signposted studio in Surbiton, prides itself on truly serving its listeners and local community. ‘People who listen to us most likely treat us as friends,’ Brown says. ‘It’s very personal radio, and that’s something that the major players have lost. People who listen to me during drive time probably spend more time with me in a day than they do with their other halves.’ I can see why: it’s easy to fall in love with the station and its commitment to the local area, particularly in an age when connecting to your neighbourhood seems like a thing of the past. Radio Jackie is fighting to keep the local spirit alive — and with DJ Mick leading the charge, it won’t be beaten easily.