You are probably familiar with a ‘Scouser’ being the odd nickname for somebody from Liverpool, but what’s somebody from Southport called? Well, they are a ‘Sandgrounder’. Apparently.
So, if you are starting a radio station ‘for’ Southport, calling it ‘Sandgrounder Radio’ is on message, I guess.
But, apart from extremely local adverts (most really well produced), how is ‘Sandgrounder Radio’ different? Well, as you might expect, it isn’t. It’s just more of the same. What’s the bleedin’ point?
It’s bunches of songs, mainly the same old oldies being played everywhere and anywhere, playing out one after the other with no human intervention. Sad. Lonely. Remote. The tempo change gets covered by those constipated voices they call ‘sweepers’ repeating the station name and a strapline or two. Original. Not.
There are presenters who come on to talk just before the adverts play with the tedious tease about a song coming next. You know, just like any other station anywhere. Heck I could be listening to Radio Jackie or Susy Radio or, well, any other ‘community’ radio station anywhere across the UK.
I mean, in Liverpool we get Capital Radio. It is exactly the same Capital Radio that’s on in London and any of the other cities it infests, but just plays jingles saying it’s for Liverpool, and, the all important Merseyside oriented adverts. Heck, why aren’t stations like Sandgrounder Radio also just networking a central ‘community/local radio’ feed rather than all bothering to provide an identical format but from their own studio?
Sandgrounder Radio has radio presenters there sitting in the studio ‘live’ waiting for their opportunity to open their mouths and speak in identical phrases as any other music radio station anywhere. Actually, since there are no invitations to make contact, and no real interactivity of any kind, I’m putting a bet on the curse of music radio, voicetracking. Pre-recorded generic ‘links’ making the station sound even more isolated and remote from the listener.
Heck if I’m wrong and the show I sampled isn’t voicetracked, then the owner of the voice I just listened to for 3 hours should be ashamed.
What’s this? Late evening. Boring love songs. Just like everybody else is playing. Sigh.
How on earth is this kind of radio output, “a brand new and exciting radio station for Southport, run by a team of dedicated local professionals with a passion for making great local radio.”? That’s what it claims on the website.
Where’s the excitement? Where’s the difference? Why oh why do they assume that all music radio must sound exactly the same?
Jeez. We need innovation in radio, not copies of the same tired format.
England's England 
Try SEAHAVEN FM, “hospital radio escaped” for Seaford, Newhaven & Peacehaven in East Sussex. It makes you want to buy explosives – or ROCKET FM commuuuuuunity radio for Lewes – or 105 UCKFIELD FM for Uckfield “today’s fun is to see how many OAPs we can fit in a car – oh, four…later on, Bill Throap from 6 Matilda Gardens will be bringing in his jazz records so we can hear his favourites, again. Oops, we just heard that Bill has passed on. RIP Bill – gone to that great jazz party in the sky. Does anyone want to cover 7pm to 9pm on Thursdays?”
LikeLike