21. Student. Runs an Open Guide to Nottingham (nottingham.openguides.org) and a blog (blog.jimbo.org...
21. Student. Runs an Open Guide to Nottingham (nottingham.openguides.org) and a blog (blog.jimbo.org.uk)
Member since:22.12.2000
Reviews:26
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I am proud to say, I am a regular Rock FM listener. From going on a tour of the station at the age of 10, I listened regularly for most of the 90s. For a while last year I deserted to Radio Wave, but soon came to my senses.
To put it succinctly, Rock FM rocks.
OK, so a few of their most recent gimmicks haven't paid off. The Big Brother imitation (Survive and Drive) wasn't impressive at all. On the other hand, Brian Moore's Breakfast Gamble was immensely popular, and highly entertaining. Granted it dragged on, but the tension built up was astounding for a medium such as radio where usually the emphasis is on instant gratification, and churning out song after song after song.
For those who don't know, Brian Moore is The Rock's token midget. A devoted Arsenal fan, and slightly insane (same thing?) he holds the Guiness World Record for longest continuous radio broadcast, at something like 65 hours. His show usually gets all the best gimmicks, presumably because this is as close to prime time as you get on radio - the "going to work" slot.
The most recent gimmick was essentially to offer chance of winning a prize of considerable value, such as a concert trip with VIP tickets, a chance to meet the band etc., to people, then to offer larger and larger amounts of money instead of this 1 in 3 chance of winning. The prizes that remained at the end were put into the big charity auction, which I'll come to shortly.
Other shows on Rock FM include a drive time show which, like the breakfast show, features regular traffic news; there is a soppy love songs type of show ("Pillow Talk") every night from 11pm, and a collection of the latest dance tunes late most evenings.
The mid morning show, and the breakfast show, feature a long running and popular quiz, The Workplace Workout, which gives away £5 to the winner (and a chance to play on for more) and a free lunch for 10 people from Gregg's bakers for the loser.
Of course, no review of Rock FM's activities would be complete without mentioning Help A Local Child. This registered charity is run mainly by Rock FM and its sister station, Magic 999. Money is raised by selling pin badges, running in the Flora London Marathon and most recently through the big charity auction day.
A sum of £36,000 was raised in around 11 hours (not bad for a radio station, in a relatively small part of the UK.) through the auctioning of unclaimed prizes and other assorted bits - a signed Man Utd ball went for £2000, Richard Blackwood's £800 Saville Row suit went for a few hundred. The amazing thing about this auction day, though, was that despite the station(s) being taken over for the bulk of the day, it was still highly entertaining. This is the thing which makes Rock FM so popular (indeed, they claim to be the North-West's most listened-to station) - the fact that its presenters could make an annual damp-paint-watching contest seem like fun!
All I can say, really, is give it a go. Listen for a while, and you may find you never stop...
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Advantages: Plenty of Different DJ's so The Music Isn't All The Same Stuff, Good Comps and Interactivity Disadvantages: Adverts Can Be Too Much During The Day
JulyBunny 06.06.2005 (06.06.2005)
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