County Sound Radio History and Simon Cummings

THE LAUNCH OF COUNTY SOUND IN GUILDFORD

In 1979 the Conservative Government, led by Margaret Thatcher, came to power after a period in opposition during which the Labour government of 1974 to 1979 (under Harold Wilson - 1974 to 1976 and James Callaghan - 1976 to 1979) had effectively halted any further expansion of local radio in the UK past that which the Conservative government of Edward Heath (1970 to 1974) had already agreed to implement - this formed the IBA out of the ITA and established the first ILR stations between 1973 and 1976. The new government of 1979 was keen to re-kindle the expansion of local radio, particularly Independent Local Radio, although the BBC also commenced expansion with new stations in areas including Norfolk, Devon, and Northamptonshire for example.

In 1981 the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) advertised an Independent local Radio (ILR) franchise for Guildford and the surrounding area. By December 1981 the IBA announce that "subject to agreement on some points of detail, it is proposed to offer the contract for the provision of the ILR service for the Guildford area to County Sound PLC. Members of the group include: Norman J Cunningham (Chairman); David Lucas (Managing Director); Kenneth F.M. Loughnan (Company Secretary); Frank Muir, CBE; Doreen Bellerby; Joun Downhan; Margaret Gammon; Col. Peter Drake-Wilkes, OBE; Roger Haynes; Ronald Hill, MBE; Les Reed; Robert Symes-Schultzman; Peter Wannell; Jane Wyatt; The Lord Nugent of Guildford, PC (President); Jack Penycate & Prof. Robert G Williams, OBE (Vice Presidents).

The image on the right shows the IBA map of the ILR Areas. Solid black arrows represent stations on air by 1982, and the outline arrows represent stations due to be on the air from 1983 to 1984.

LUMINARIES
Notable luminaries associated with County Sound PLC were the famous writer, comedian and entertainer Frank Muir, CBE; David Lucas, who after making such a success of County Sound Radio went on to successfully launch Ocean Sound, another ILR station in South Hampshire, in 1986 and later Wave105 a regional station in the Solent area; Robert Symes who produced programmes such as Hasler's Hour with Mary Jean Hasler for County Sound and Fox FM in Oxford.

County Sound PLC was located at PO Box 7, 8 The Flower Walk, Guildford GU2 5HH.

The studios were to be located at a shopping centre : The Friary, Guildford, GU1 4YX.

COUNTY SOUND RADIO went on air for the first time on 4th April 1983 from two transmitters: 203 meters (1476 kHz) Medium Wave from a 500 Watt transmitter at a new mast installed by the IBA at Peasmarsh near Godalming, and 96.6 MHz VHF / FM from a 950 Watt mixed polarised system at the established Guildford radio and television tower on the eastern edge of the Hogs Back, just west of Guildford.

More About The Technicalities

The VHF frequency was adjusted in 1986 from 96.6 to 96.4 MHz due to the national re-alignment of radio frequencies. The power was also increased from 950 Watts to 3000 Watts. In 1990 a new transmitter at Haslemere was established to bring FM stereo to the south of the County Sound transmission area. The transmitter was located at the Haslemere TV relay ststion, and uses 97.1 MHz with 250 Watts. The Medium Wave frequency was changed from 1476 kHz to 1566 kHz in 1999 to avoid interference from powerful continental radio stations (Austria) and the power was increased from 500 Watts to 800 Watts to take into account the higher signal losses ('attenuation') that are present at this higher radio frequency.

County Sound was an eminently listenable station and proved to be a successful one too. David Lucas was the original MD, while the original Programme Manager was Michael Bartlett. Mike Powell was originally County Sound's News Editor, but he went on to become Programme Director and later Managing Director when David Lucas departed the company in 1986.

In 1988 County Sound Radio was the very first station in the UK to split its AM and FM transmitters, launching an entirely new station on 1476 AM called COUNTY SOUND GOLD - this was later renamed FIRST GOLD RADIO. The FM transmitter carried a re-named service called COUNTY SOUND PREMIER.

In 1990 a new FM transmitter was opened in Haslemere on 97.1 MHz. The new transmitter was not to simply relay the output of 96.4 however, and County Sound embarked on an ambitious scheme to provide a 'community radio station' for Haslemere which was named DELTA RADIO.

After eight years of highly successful broadcasting in 1991 the station (unfortunately) merged with Radio Mercury - a neighbouring ILR station in Reigate and Crawley. This merger formed a new company called 'Allied Radio PLC' which appeared to be mainly controlled by the Radio Mercury management. Mike Powell the MD of County Sound left the company. Allied Radio PLC proceded to close Delta Radio and changed the name of the FM service from County Sound Premier to 'Radio Mercury' which was then carried on both 96.4 and 97.1 FM. The AM service of First Gold Radio had a name change back to 'County Sound' which was then transmitted over both the Reigate and Guildford transmitters - although the new County Sound sounded very different to the original County Sound, in fact a shadow of its former self. After a huge drop in audience Allied dropped output of County Sound and re-launched the AM output as MERCURY EXTRA which also shared programmes across 1476 in Guildford and 1521 in Reigate and Crawley.

ALLIED RADIO

Allied Radio PLC was based at the original Radio Mercury premises at Broadfield house, Brighton Road, Crawley, West Sussex. The main staff were:
Chairman: Ken Pritchard-Jones (later in 1995 - Brian W Rowbotham). Managing Director: Peter S Perry. Group Programme Director: John Wellington Station Programme Controller: Martin Campbell Sales Controller: Andrew Dean (later in 1995 Neil Macadam), and John Aumonier.

The Guildford studios were retained at The Friary.

By 1996 Allied Radio had disappeared and the Reigate and Crawley licences of Radio Mercury (FM) and the medium wave station now called FAME 1521 (AM) were bought by the Independent Radio Group plc. which also held licences for Scot FM, Wish FM, Wire FM, Lite AM and QFM. In 1998 Mercury and Fame became part of the DMG Radio (Daily Mail and General Trust) Group. IRG itself has since been sold and split up, the individual radio licences are now held by different groups. DMG Radio sold out to the GWR group in 2000 and GWR merged with Capital Radio in 2005.

Radio Mercury also moved to premises at The Stanley Centre, Kelvin Way, Crawley RH10 2SE. In 2005 Radio Mercury is part of the merged GWR plc and Capital Radio plc grouping named GCAP. The FAME 1521 service is no longer in existence and has been replaced by the quasi-national networked service called CLASSIC GOLD 1521.

There was wide disappointment with the Allied Radio offerings in the Guildford area. Mike Powell, who had left the original County Sound in 1991, had moved on to work with UK Radio Developments which had been established in 1990 and whose first licence was the highly successful PIRATE FM in Cornwall. UK Radio Developments expanded to merge with UK Radio holdings ato form UKRD and by 1995 owned stations such as Star FM in Slough, Wey Valley radio in Alton, and some interests Kiss 102 in Manchester. Mr Powell the led a consortium that was to win the radio licences for the Guildford area for 'Surrey And North East Hampshire Radio' a subsidiary of UKRD - therefore putting him back in control of the Guildford ILR licence.

The Guildford licence, currently held by Allied Radio, was due to expire in April 1996, but UKRD negotiated with Allied Radio to take over the remaining period of the licence so that the new station could take to the air early. From September 1st 1995 the Surrey & North East Hampshire Radio station, County Sound, went on air with the same programmes being carried on both 1476 AM and 96.4 / 97.1 FM as an interim measure. On 29th December 1995 the station was moved to new premises at Dolphin House, North Street, Guildford GU1 4AA and were officially opened in February 1996 by Virginia Bottomley the Heritage Secretary.

On 4th January 1996 the separate FM service was launched as 96.4 THE EAGLE while the original COUNTY SOUND continued on 1476 AM. The company also reinstated DELTA RADIO in Haslemere on 97.1 MHz on 9th May 1996 with presenters Tony Brandon and Stuart Clark. In 1999 the County Sound AM station moved to a new clearer frequency of 1566 kHz medium wave.

In 2005 COUNTY SOUND 1566 and 96.4 THE EAGLE are still on air providing good quality independent local programmes to Surrey and North East Hampshire, though DELTA RADIO in Haslemere has been separated off.

LINKS

96.4 FM THE EAGLE 1566 AM COUNTY SOUND
DELTA FM

DELTA RADIO / DELTA FM

DELTA RADIO is still under the UKRD wing but the 97.1 Haslemere transmitter has now become part of a bigger DELTA RADIO. As previously mentioned UKRD eventually owned WEY VALLEY RADIO in Alton which was originally set up on 22nd November 1992 by P.Mann and David Way. The station initially covered only Alton on 102.0 MHz FM, but now covers a much larger as additional transmitters have gradually been added. The station changed its name to DELTA FM in 1999 and now covers parts of North East Hampshire, North West Sussex and South West Surrey from transmitters in Haslemere (97.1 - 270 watts), Alton (102.0 - 100 watts), Hindhead (101.6 - 60 watts - added July 2001), Four Marks (101.6 - 100 watts), and Petersfield (101.8 - 100 watts added in 2003).

COUNTY SOUND and FIRST GOLD RADIO - The Audio Files

SIMON CUMMINGS - Broadcasts From His Hospital Bed in 1987

Simon Cummings was a very popular broadcaster on County Sound from its initial inception in 1983 - very sadly Simon died in December 1996 after a very long illness that he bavely fought and that his listeners were unaware of.

In 1987 Simon was in hospital and special arrangements were made for him to broadcast his daily programme from his hospital bed. The following article was run as an IBA feature in 'Television And Radio 1988':

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

'The show must come first', runs the old saying. And that was certainly true in the case of a very brave presenter with County Sound Radio at Guildford.

Simon Cummings persuaded station executives to let him front his afternoon programme from his sickbed, despite being in great pain and undergoing treatment which meant he could barely move. Simon, 28, had a childhood illness which left both legs crooked. This had effectively barred him from playing many sports but he instead developed a deep interest in music. He was one of County Sound Radio's original presenters when it went on air in April 1983 and his weekday programme between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. is the most popular in the station's Surrey and north-east Hampshire transmission area.

Simon Cummings meets Frank Allen of 'The Searchers'

Many other local celebrities also dropped in to be interviewed at Simon's bedside at the Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital, Alton. They included Major Ronald Ferguson, the Duchess of York's father.

But most of his army of fans never realised that he often presented his show in great pain and only colleagues appreciated what a strain it could be. Then doctors at the Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital at Alton decided to Make renewed efforts to straighten Simon's legs. Long periods in special traction were prescribed. This meant, though, that Simon would be off-air for several weeks. But he had other ideas...

'He persuaded us to let him present the programme from the hospital,' says the station's Deputy Programme Controller, Malcolm Deacon.'Some of us, to be honest, were very sceptical. We weren't at all sure how hospital staff and patients would react and, of course, we wondered whether Simon really was up to it. We were very worried it could actually worsen his condition. In the end, though, both he and the hospital authorities were so keen on the idea we decided to give it a try'.

The result was a perfect example of Independent Radio taking its programmes to the community - no matter how unusual the circumstances.

Simon was installed in a private room next to Ward 1 at the Lord Mayor Treloar and was attached to a web of traction wires with heavy weights on the end. He could move only his head, arms and the upper part of his body; for some time he remained strapped up like this for up to 23 hours each day.

While doctors and nurses did their bit, British Telecom and County Sound engineers were also at work. A music-quality landline was set up between the hospital and the station's main studios 20 miles away in Guildford and a receiver, mixer and microphones rigged in Simon's room. For three weeks that room became 'Studio 6' as station staff soon dubbed it.

Each morning, while Simon was undergoing his treatment and therapy, County Sound Radio Programming Assistant Mark Chivers would begin to get together all the administration essential to the makeup of any radio programme. He would compile the list of music to be played, sort mail, messages and dedications sent to Simon at the studios, and put together a pack containing these plus the log of commercials to be played, 'What's On' announcements for the day and even blank forms for financial and livestock market reports. Then a senior member of the station staff would drive to the hospital to cheek over the broadcast equipment, go through the afternoon's programme with Simon and meet that day's special guest.

Deputy Programme Controller Malcolm Deacon checks the day's programme with radio presenter Simon Cummings, who spent up to 23 hours a day in traction, but would not give up on the job.

While radio presenter Simon Cummings fronted his programme from his hospital bed, Programming Assistant Mark Chivers controlled the broadcast from 20 miles away at County Sound's Guildford studios.

During the three weeks of broadcasts many celebrities called in to be interviewed. They included the Duchess of York's father, Major Ronald Ferguson, who lives in the nearby Hampshire village of Dummer, author and playwright William DouglasHome, snooker player John Virgo and stars from the music world, such as Rick Wakeman, Frank Allen of The Searchers and Justin Hayward. A member of the hospital staff was also interviewed each day - from senior doctors to catering staff.

While Simon actually fronted the programme, Mark Chivers was in the County Sound Radio studios, 20 miles away in Guildford effectively 'driving' the show. He played-in the music and commercials and set up telephone callers, and was in constant touch with Simon on what's known as 'talkback.' Mark's job was difficult enough - Simon's much more so. It is not unusual for presenters to front their programmes on outside broadcasts while an engineer or technical assistant works the studio many miles away. In fact in County Sound Radio's case it is very common. But there were several times in the first few days when we wondered whether Simon really could carry on,'says Malcolm Deacon. 'He was in a great deal of pain at times and it was as much as he could do to talk for a few seconds, introduce a record, read a dedication or whatever and then lie back during the music'.

Nurses marvelled at his strength of will - one told a television interviewer they all thought he was very brave. After a few days, though, things did get easier. While Simon was still decidedly uncomfortable, the treatment became more bearable. And he was also buoyed up by the number of getwell cards, presents and messages from listeners which were festooned around his bed, much to the delight of the nurses who took him to their hearts.

'Everyone at the hospital was fantastic,' says Simon. 'They were all so kind and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Because most of the time I could hardly move, they had to do everything for me. And they had to put up with all the extra problems of the broadcast equipment in the room and guests and station staff coming in and out.'

Simon was released after three weeks, his legs much straighter and stronger, although he still has to undergo regular physiotherapy. And he still chuckles over a get-well card sent by the newsroom. One message on it read: 'You can come back - no strings attached!'

COUNTY SOUND and the Music Computer

MICROCHIP MIRACLE - An Orwellian nightmare or a distinctive station sound?

Mike Powell, Managing Director of County Sound, looks at the impact of the music computer.

Selektor - County Sound's Music Computer

Selektor - County Sound's Music Computer

Independent Local Radio stations all over the United Kingdom are quietly going through one of the most Important revolutions in British sound broadcasting. In a graphic illustration of the domino effect, stations are failing one by one to a space age invader.

From the south coast to Scotland, from Essex to Ulster, radio presenters are giving up one of their previously cherished and most basic functions: choosing the music for their programmes. Taking their place is a microchip miracle called the'Music Computer'.

In the past, current chart records were generally chosen by the presenter according to a simple manual rotation worked out each week by the Head of Music. Oldies were generally the presenter's free choice, as long as they conformed to a 'general station sound', though on some stations they were laboriously checked for each show.

But however good the manual system, it was diffilcult to avoid repetition, and it was even more difficult to avoid presenters scheduling their favourite songs and ignoring those they did not like. This often led to an inconsistent station sound. You could tune in at breakfast and hear a totally different radio station than you might hear later in the morning. This was fine, as long as it corresponded to what research said the audience wanted. More often, the choice of music was less than scientific. Presenters not born until the 1960s, for example, would not generally have a wide knowledge of music of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. They would be more likely to restrict their choice of oldies to the music of the 70s and 80s.

As a result, programme controllers spent much time policing and monitoring music played on their stations and the varied music selection generated immense amounts of paperwork. Royalty returns have to be made on every record played and without computer support presenters had to write down the name of the song, the artist, the composer, publisher, the record label, the record number and the exact duration played. The record librarian then had to compile and check all the returns before sending them off to the relevant copyright bodies. This administration was doubled for stations who chose to exercise their newfound freedom to offer separate services to their AM and FM frequencies.

But all these problems are a thing of the past for stations which have opted for music computerisation. The programme controller no longer wastes so much time in monitoring and policing the music; the computer is impartial and simply follows the rules it is given. The presenter has more time to spend on the speech content of the programme concerned because he or she does not have to spend hours choosing the music and further hours on paperwork. The computer generates a log which tells the presenter what has to be played and then compiles all the necessary royalty returns.
County Sound 96.4 - The Premier FM

My own station was the first to split its AM and FM output across the entire week. Our FM service, County Sound Premier, has a mix of current music and oldies. Our AM service, County Sound Gold, was the UK's first all oldies station. The same music computer now happily programmes both stations. We save thousands of staff hours every year - and the music sounds great.

County Sound Gold - 1476 AM

At first, particularly to old hands, music computerisation sounds like an extension of an Orwellian nightmare. The questions are by now predictable: 'Can it choose records that have the same tempo? Can it avoid having two female soloists in a row? Can it avoid scheduling three Tamla Motown records within a quarter of an hour?' It can. In fact, an easier way of handling the queries about music computerisation is to say: 'The answer is yes. Now what is the question?'

A number of computer programmes for scheduling music are now available. One, from Radio New Zealand, was launched at this year's UK Radio Festival, for example. However, early into the field and the system that has particularly caught the imagination here is 'Selector', which has been developed over many years by a New York based company, RCS. Its successful invasion of UK radio is largely thanks to the enthusiasm of its British sales representative, former senior BBC music producer, Angela Bond, who helped RCS penetrate the U K market by assisting them to write a special version of the software to take into account our complicated copyright rules.

But producing accurate royalty returns is just one of a music computer's more basic talents. It can follow hundreds of music policy rules favoured by a station and can even avoid musical key clashes between records.

Critics fear that a music computer takes the soul out of choosing music for the radio and believe that a really good music programmer can beat a computer any day. In fact, a music computer has the soul of the individual station programmers who have set up its many policies and parameters. It dictates nothing to the programmer but relies on his expertise and experience while making available a range of powerful programming tools and facilities.

Set up correctly, a music computer can produce staggering results - irrespective of what type of radio station it is working for. It is just as happy programming an all-oldies station as it is programming an adult contemporary station. It can programme a country music station or an all classical music station. Even in its most unsophisticated mode, it's a matchless tool for ending repetition. It also avoids that basic problem of presenters scheduling music by favouritism or prejudice.

I first fell in love with music computerisation without really knowing it. On a trip to the United States I was listening to KLUV, an all-oldies station in Dallas, and just could not work out why the music sounded so good. After all, there was very little they were playing that we didn't play. So why did each hour sound so much better than the best of British programming? Of course, for a start, at that time we didn't have all-oldies stations in Great Britain. But switching over to KVIL, the number one station in Dallas - a recognisable, almost ILR 50/50 speech/music mix with oldies and current records - the music still sounded miles better!

Ironically it was only after signing up to be one of the UK's first handful of music computer customers that I discovered that KLUV and KVIL were among 600 American stations which use the same system.

These days when ILR music programmers get together the talk is rarely about how respective stations are operating their playlists, but rather how they are operating their music computers. As the UK radio market becomes more competitive, understanding music computerisation will become one of the programme controllers' most important skills. That is, if they want to stay ahead of the game. The older hands who don't know a hard disc from a floppy, and wouldn't know how to 'boot a system' even if their life depended on it, are going to have to learn fast!

[Source: IBA 1988]

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