Scottish radio station Beat106 has made a comeback – of sorts.
However, there are a few differences for listeners nostalgic for the sounds of the 90s. Shows will be available online-only, in contrast to the 105.7 and 106.1 frequencies occupied by BeatFM in the east and west at the time of its inception, and by a number of stations across central Scotland over the years since it went off-air.
And the other main difference is the programming, which will have a strong concentration on dance music, which at the time of the station’s first broadcasts, was one half of a commitment to alternative programming across the genres.
At the time this also gave us indie show The Beatscene with legendary DJ Jim Gellatly, as well as later in its life a variety of more rock-orientated slots including one hosted by former Peeps Into Fairyland man Martin Bate.
The Glasgow-based broadcaster, which was awarded a licence to provide alternative music programming back in November 1999, was bought over by Capital Radio Group and rebranded in July 2000 as Beat106 with a shift towards dance music, axing Beatscene in the process. Another rebrand as XFM Scotland saw a shift towards a mix of rock and dance music, but acquisitions and rebrands saw the station change hands, operating under as/under GCap, Global and now Galaxy.
Instead, dance anthems will be the order of the day at the reborn station – broadcasting resumed on Wednesday 24th June, at 1.06pm (naturally), kicking off with ‘God is a DJ’ by Faithless – the final track played before Beat 106 finished broadcasting in 2005. This was followed by ‘Café Del Mar’ by Energy 52, as chosen by followers on the station’s Facebook page.
Promising “The Best Dance Anthems All Day”, the station now has a roster of 26 shows with big-name DJs including Lisa Littlewood, Trevor Reilly, Roger Sanchez and Paul Van Dyk.
Trevor Reilly, whose show is on Friday nights (7-9pm), said: “Scotland has a long-standing love affair with dance music. We have some of the best DJ’s, club nights and venues in the world, but sadly no radio station to support the industry that’s based and broadcasting here in Scotland. Well, until now.”
He added: “I’m delighted to be part of the Beat 106 Scotland team and I truly hope that the people of Scotland embrace the new station; anyone that loves dance music, this station is for you. Tune in, turn it up and get it up and get involved.”
Richard Wilkinson – owner and project founder, and Head of Music at the station in the 1990s – said: “We’re so excited to welcome back our original listeners, but also to appeal to Beat’s next generation. While we are back with a bang with many of the original line-up of DJ’s, we have exciting plans to expand our programme to support new and emerging talent too. This is 100% a new incarnation of Beat 106 Scotland and we can’t wait for listeners to tune in.”
Beat106 is available 2/7 at www.beat106scotland.com, or by downloading the free Beat 106 Scotland FREE App via Google Play or the Apple Store.
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