|
European Music Radio has been broadcasting since the
1970's. Here is some information as to why the station was started, as
well as notable events during it's history.
EMR's Heyday
As EMR was an unlicensed (or "pirate")
broadcaster, it wasn't a good idea for it's presenters to use their
real names on-air! As a result, Tom Taylor became known to EMR listeners as Barry
Stephens, and Bob Tomalski used the name Roger Tate (as he did on Invicta).
Bob presented the mailbox programme, where EMR's listeners
letters would be read out. At least Bob's pronunciation of listeners
names sounded convincing, although no-one at EMR could be sure he
got them right. If you recall your name being read out on EMR, maybe
you would like to let us know if Bob got it right or not! When
RNI was on the air, it broadcast a weekly DX'ers show on 6205Khz,
hosted by the multi-lingual Belgian presenter, AJ
Beirens. AJ's
voice was again heard on 48 metres, although just up the band on
6265khz, as he took his "Nordsee goes DX" programme format
to EMR. By the late 1970's a large number of free radio
stations were on the air. Most broadcast on a Sunday morning. Some
stations would broadcast weekly, whereas others (like EMR) would
broadcast once a month.
The stations operated unofficial frequency sharing. One station
would broadcast on the first Sunday of the month, another on the
second and so on. EMR operated every 3rd Sunday of the month.
Of course, there were months with 5 Sundays. These would be
filled with "special" programmes from the various
stations, sometimes where the stations would co-operate to produce shared
programming.
On the 17th September 1978, EMR opened up it's 41 metre relay to offer
listeners an alternative should the main 48 metre reception prove difficult
due to interference. The 48 metre frequency was also changed, and EMR could
now be heard on 6235 and 7325Khz.
One month later, EMR successfully tested a service
aimed at North America on 31 metres.
| 
