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97-473: Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. Its brief was to entertain, while its opposite number, London Broadcasting (LBC) , was licensed to provide news and information. In search of

194-481: A Post Office licence. Manx Radio is funded by a mixture of commercial advertising and a yearly £860,000 Manx Government subvention. Ron Onions Onions' career in journalism began with local newspapers in London and on the south coast of England. In the 1960's he joined the BBC 's television and radio news department, working on the nightly current affairs programme Tonight and then reporting and presenting on

291-640: A sub-editor . He was soon fast-tracked into reporting and presenting news on the BBC's new second channel, BBC2, as well as directing film reports on political affairs and elections. In October 1966 he was called on to organise the BBC's emergency television coverage of the Aberfan disaster in South Wales in which 116 schoolchildren and 28 adults were killed when a coal mining waste tip collapsed. For days without much sleep he ensured "the catastrophe’s awful scope

388-508: A Sunday daytime service called CFM, broadcasting a more contemporary mix of music than normally broadcast by the station. This was precursor to the Broadcasting Act 1990 which required all ILR stations to permanently split simulcasting output on both its AM and FM frequencies in order to create new local radio stations and improve choice. Capital responded in 1988 by launching a golden oldies station called Capital Gold , initially at

485-533: A computerised system of playing output which was unreliable and, while at first enjoying over a million listeners, the station was launched into an economic recession. After nine months there was a slump in advertising revenue. Audiences, retuning to news stations while the Gulf War took place, halved to around 500,000 a week. As a result, in February 1991 the station was forced to shed half of its 40 staff. Onions

582-707: A dynamic quality not yet experienced in the United Kingdom." It was this energy that Onions wanted to harness and introduce to Capital's hourly (and in the breakfast show, half-hourly) news bulletins 24 hours a day, in contrast to the BBC's traditional, cautious, moribund news presentation. At Capital Radio he was responsible for introducing to the UK the fast three-minute "synopsis" or "snapshot" bulletin. "Relying on pace, brilliant writing, vivid interview snippets and short, punchy eyewitness reports – immediate, upfront, sometimes brash, and always with an 'angle' – it helped pave

679-498: A larger audience in 1974, Capital Radio rapidly moved from a general and entertainment station with drama, features, documentaries and light music to a more successful pop music-based format. In 1988 it became two stations: 95.8 Capital FM and Capital Gold . After some national expansion with the purchase of other radio stations the Capital Radio Group merged with GWR Group in 2005 to form GCap Media which in turn

776-410: A new high-powered medium-wave station at Saffron Green , Barnet, was completed. In the meantime Capital Radio set about obtaining premises from which to broadcast and employing staff and on-air personnel, setting up temporary headquarters at 96 Piccadilly in London's Mayfair . Michael Bukht was appointed programme controller, Aidan Day Head of Music and Ron Onions Head of News, while Gerry O'Reilly

873-573: A number of owners and different formats. By 1992 it was owned by an Australian company and was facing a fight to renew its licence in 1993. Onions, who felt the station had lost its way, joined some other senior figures who had worked with him at LBC/IRN to launch a bid to win the franchise and take over the two frequencies the Australian company used. Onions’ team, London News Radio , won the new franchise in September 1993. Short of finance to run

970-643: A number of seasoned radio reporters, all experienced practitioners of the Onions news style. Onions was still faced with pitifully low advertising income, increasing financial problems and continual industrial unrest, prompted by pay demands at a time of fast-rising inflation. A round of voluntary redundancies placed Onions' staffing at risk but throughout 1974, supported by the Editor-in-Chief Marshall Stewart and Output Director Peter Robins (both recent BBC imports), he began to build up

1067-729: A perceptible demotion, was given a new title, beneath the MD, of editorial director. Despite that, in 1979 Onions was voted Local Radio Personality of the Year by the Local Radio Association. In 1980 he was also appointed to the Board of LBC. In 1982 a profound influence on LBC/IRN's development was seen when Britain went to war with Argentina in the South Atlantic. Onions fought trenchantly, and ultimately successfully, against

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1164-613: A plumber, and Elizabeth Amelia Onions, née Lewin. He was raised in hard financial circumstances in neighbouring Enfield and educated at Edmonton County Grammar School . On leaving school Onions carried out two years' national service in the Royal Air Force as an Aircraftman First Class , serving as a clerk in Equipment Accounts at RAF Abingdon in Oxfordshire. Onions learnt his trade in journalism on

1261-601: A reluctant Ministry of Defence for one of his reporters, Kim Sabido, to be allowed to join the accredited press ranks, travel to the Falkland Islands and be embedded with the troops on the front line. Sabido's reports, and those of another IRN reporter, Antonia Higgs, stationed in Buenos Aires , gave IRN, LBC and all the other independent radio stations around the UK a new and unprecedented level of credibility. Onions later remarked of that time: "It left us with

1358-585: A second tranche of contracts were awarded. All stations were awarded an AM and an FM frequency, on which they broadcast the same service. In July 1981, the Home Secretary approved proposals for the creation of Independent Local Radio services in 25 more areas. However some of these areas were not licensed during the IBA's time as the regulator and did not receive a commercial station until after its successor, The Radio Authority, came into being in 1991. In

1455-447: A specific section of the community or for smaller areas than ILR stations cover. 22 stations went on air, most of which were eventually acquired by the large radio groups and absorbed into their networks. As of 2024 only a few remain independently owned and operated. The regulatory model these stations were under was a precursor to commercial radio stations licensed by the incoming Radio Authority. The Broadcasting Act 1990 provided for

1552-636: A talk and phone-in service. The new stations were launched in October 1994. Onions did not stay long at London News Radio once transmission had started. He had now reached retirement age. "Thirty-five years in the rough and tumble of broadcasting, BBC and commercial, home and abroad, was more than enough," he later maintained. London News Radio was his last job in broadcasting. The Press Gazette , in writing about Onions, celebrated his "characteristic combination of vision and chutzpah ... Many will remember not only Onions' brisk and exacting standards, but also

1649-486: A year with Southern TV, Onions joined the BBC in their new local television and radio operation in Southampton to write, report and present news programmes. He remained with the BBC in Southampton for four years. In 1965 Onions returned to London to join the production staff of the BBC's early evening flagship current affairs programme, Tonight , where he served for a short time before moving to BBC Television News as

1746-558: A year – and to reduce the criteria for a "viable service area" with the introduction of Small Scale Local Licences (SALLIES) for villages, special interest groups and small communities. By this time the medium wave band had become unpopular with radio groups and the majority of new stations were awarded an FM licence only, even when an AM licence was jointly available. In 1994 the Radio Authority introduced regional stations (Independent Regional Radio, again usually grouped under

1843-470: Is also home to Capital's parent company, Global . The studio complex is shared with many other stations, including Heart , Smooth Radio , Classic FM , Capital XTRA , Radio X , LBC and Gold . The station launched its website in September 1996 resulting in high demand which led to it crashing within a few hours. Beginning in late 2005, the station went through a number of changes. In December 2005, Chris Brooks moved from weekend breakfast to host 1–4 in

1940-494: The BBC ) nor local with all of the frequencies now used by Bauer or Global , and almost all of them are now relays of one of either company's national brands, with all remaining locality reduced to a weekday regional programme and localised news, weather and peak-time travel information. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland . Until the early 1970s, the BBC had a legal monopoly on radio broadcasting in

2037-653: The Capital Radio Helpline which helped listeners through matters ranging from how to cook a turkey at Christmas time to suicide prevention. In this era the station also lent its support to London-based orchestras, choral societies, the British Film Institute Children's Film Festival and many other ventures. 1976 saw the launch of the Flying Eye , a traffic-spotting light aircraft, which could see traffic congestion below on

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2134-628: The Enfield Gazette and as a sports reporter and sports editor for the Tottenham Weekly Herald in North London. In 1958 he moved to Brighton on the south coast of England to become a sub-editor on the local Evening Argus . In 1960 Onions left print journalism to join the newsroom of Southern Television , an independent broadcaster based in the port city of Southampton in southern England. After less than

2231-605: The Home Office sanctioned in principle the idea that different services could be broadcast on each station's FM and AM frequency and six experiments of split programming on Independent Local Radio of up to ten hours a week took place, although the first experimental part-time split service had taken place two years earlier when Radio Forth created Festival City Radio for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival . The first station to permanently split their frequencies

2328-780: The BBC's coverage of major events. Notable among them were the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy, the Mỹ Lai massacre in Vietnam, the fatal student protests at Kent State University and the achievements of the Apollo 11 crew in landing on the Moon. Onions enjoyed notable successes in this role. As the UK Press Gazette reported, "It was a golden professional period. Far from being daunted by history in

2425-677: The BBC, realising "the need to have field producers organising coverage of big breaking stories", appointed him to the "prestigious" newly created post of Television News Organiser, based in New York, covering North and South America and the Caribbean from an office in the Rockefeller Centre in Manhattan . Here, for five years, working with correspondents of the stature of Charles Wheeler and Gerald Priestland , he orchestrated

2522-528: The Capital Countdown show, he was replaced at breakfast by the former Radio London partnership of Kenny Everett and Dave Cash (known for The Kenny & Cash Show ). Immediately after going on air, Capital Radio suffered co-channel interference from Radio Veronica , a pirate radio station off the coast of the Netherlands . Veronica began broadcasting in the 1960s and it was suggested that

2619-491: The Editor-in-Chief was on sick leave, and without consulting Onions, the new chairman trimmed LBC's already meagre budgets. In 1977, the Editor-in-Chief left and Onions took over his job, but was not given his title. 1978 saw another new chairman who, despite listening figures reaching two million, was increasingly concerned about the station's industrial relations. He brought in a new managing director, and Onions, in

2716-610: The Help a London Child charity, which aimed to raise money for London's poorest children. The charity appeal went on to become one of the longest-running in broadcasting and the most recognised in British radio. In recognition of this, Network Southeast named British Rail Class 47 47710 "Capital Radio's Help a London Child", in August 1991. In 1976, Capital Radio, Thames Television , London Weekend Television and British Telecom launched

2813-464: The London local radio market ratings, recording the lowest-ever share of the London audience and for the first time falling behind Emap -owned station Magic and Heart , now owned by Global. Capital 95.8's audience share slipped from 4.6 to 4.1 per cent over the quarter. The station then returned to the "London's Hit Music Network" tagline on 10 December 2007, with ex- Absolute Radio presenter Greg Burns replacing Lucio on drivetime, and Lucio moving to

2910-581: The Midlands. FM reception remained unaltered. Capital continued broadcasting, having been a 24-hour station from the beginning. The so-called ' needle-time ' restrictions on playing recorded music were eased, which meant it could play more of it, although they were not abolished entirely until 1988. They're even worse because they had the chance, coming right into the heart of London and sitting in that tower right on top of everything. But they've completely blown it. I'd like to throttle Aiden Day. He thinks he's

3007-542: The Mike Allen hip hop show was influential during this time to bring the new music culture to the UK. In 1987, a new programme controller Richard Park , oversaw an overhaul of Capital's output from a full-service station to a music-intensive CHR format, which proved highly successful. The revamp was underlined by a new on-air imaging package, known as 'Music Power'. As part of an IBA experiment in split broadcasting on Independent Local Radio , in 1986, Capital runs

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3104-440: The UK government closing down the popular pirate radio stations. The new Minister of Post and Telecommunications and former ITN newscaster, Christopher Chataway , announced a bill to allow for the introduction of commercial radio in the United Kingdom. This service would be planned and regulated in a similar manner to the existing ITV service and would compete with the recently developed BBC Local Radio services (rather than

3201-399: The UK. Despite competition from the commercial Radio Luxembourg and, for a period in the mid-1960s, the off-shore " pirate " broadcasters, it had remained the policy of both major political parties that radio was to remain under the BBC. Upon the election of Edward Heath 's government in 1970, this policy changed. It is possible that Heath's victory was partly due to younger voters upset by

3298-960: The abolition of the IBA and its replacement by the Independent Television Commission . The IBA continued to regulate radio under the new name of the Radio Authority, but with a different remit. As a "light-touch" regulator (although heavier than the ITC), the Radio Authority was to issue licences to the highest bidder and promote the development of commercial radio choice. This led to the awarding of three national contracts, known as Independent National Radio to Classic FM , Virgin 1215 (later Virgin Radio and then rebranded Absolute Radio ) and Talk Radio (later Talksport ). The Radio Authority also began to license Restricted Service Licence (RSL) stations – low-power temporary radio stations for special events, operating for up to 28 days

3395-468: The afternoon and Richard Bacon presenting The Go Home Show between 4–7. A new policy started of two advertisements in each break to win favour with listeners, though there were more frequent breaks as a result. This policy was changed within a few months. On 9 January 2006, the station was relaunched under its original name Capital Radio , with a modified line-up of presenters and a slightly tweaked music format. After this re-launch turned out not to have had

3492-541: The allocation of 539 metres to ILR may have been an attempt to block reception of overseas broadcasts – a battle which preceded the launch of BBC Radio 1 . Capital finally moved into office blocks in Euston Tower in September 1973, just a few yards away from Thames Television headquarters. Euston Tower was, at the time, London's tallest office tower. In 1975, the IBA opened the transmission facilities at Saffron Green which allowed both LBC and Capital Radio to move up

3589-432: The applicants for the entertainment franchise invited Onions to become its Head of News if it won the franchise. Onions accepted but the applicant failed in its bid. Onions was disillusioned by the BBC and its news department and wanted to develop and work on a different style of news broadcasting after being impressed by radio news in New York. In the spring of 1973 Onions approached a former BBC colleague, Michael Bukht ,

3686-687: The banner "ILR" by most commentators) and began to license the commercial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) multiplexes in October 1998. The Radio Authority was replaced by the Office of Communications ( Ofcom ) in 2004, which also replaced the ITC, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Radio Communications Agency and the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel). Ofcom has stated that they plan to continue

3783-565: The broadcaster's new channel, BBC Two . After taking charge of the BBC's emergency coverage of the Aberfan disaster in Wales in 1966, he was appointed the broadcaster's first news organiser in the Americas at a momentous period of US history. There he produced the BBC's coverage of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy and of the Apollo 11 Moon landing . Onions

3880-523: The desired success, a new Programme Controller was appointed that September. Scott Muller came from the Nova group in Australia, and the station saw another tweak in style. The changes continued seeing Capital re-branded back to "London's Hit Music Station", a play on the station's earlier brand of "London's Number One Hit Music Station" with noticeable improvements – leading to a rise in audience figures at

3977-853: The development of Independent Local Radio, with an emphasis on digital broadcasting, and to "ensure the character" of local stations, following the mergers and loss of local identities that followed the 1990 Act. In 2005, there were 217 licensed analogue ILR and IRR services in England; 16 in Wales; 34 in Scotland; eight in Northern Ireland; and two in the Channel Islands . These are licences rather than franchises . Some licences are grouped nationally, regionally or by format to provide one service; other licences cover two or more services. There were three national analogue services. There

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4074-556: The dial. Capital moved to 1548 kHz mediumwave (194 m) and LBC to 1152 kHz (261 m). Saffron Green needed to be highly configured as it was sharing the same frequency as other ILR stations and needed to prevent co-channel interference from new ILR stations in Birmingham and Manchester . Previously the aerial wire suspended between the towers of Lots Road site gained Capital and LBC the semi-humorous nickname of "Radio Clothesline" however both stations could be heard as far away as

4171-501: The end of 2006. The station also changed its on-air name to 95.8 Capital Radio , incorporating the frequency of "95.8" back into the station since it was dropped at the January 2006 re-launch. In March 2007, the station was then renamed Capital 95.8 and its slogan became "The Sound of London". The marketing campaign combined outdoor, cinema, and print adverts. RAJAR figures for Q2 2007 showed Capital 95.8 slipping to fourth place in

4268-424: The end of his life of his role at Aberfan was "self-effacing ... and gives little hint of the pivotal part he played or the emotional reaction I know he felt," wrote his former BBC News colleague Tony Crabb. Onions' multi-abilities in presenting, reporting, directing, producing and facilitating the work of others, particularly as demonstrated by his work at Aberfan, were highly regarded by BBC News. In November 1967

4365-545: The evening show. Lucio took over from Bam Bam ( Peter Poulton ) who left Capital in early December 2007. On 6 June 2008, Global completed its £375 million takeover of Capital's owner GCap Media . On 3 January 2011, the Capital brand began to be rolled out across the UK when Capital London became a founder member of a nine-station Capital network as part of a merger of the Global owned Hit Music and Galaxy networks and with

4462-512: The exception of weekday breakfast and drivetime plus weekend mornings, all output was simulcast with the rest of the network. On 12 May 2011 it was announced that 95.8 Capital remained the most-listened-to commercial radio station in London, on both share and reach, beating rival Magic 105.4 . However, on 4 August that year it was announced that rival Magic 105.4 had overtaken the position. As of April 2019, only one programme - weekday drivetime - remains local, with all other programming coming from

4559-613: The family home in Surbiton , overlooking the River Thames in London. He was 82. On Onions' death the Press Gazette stated that "almost every news programme on British television and radio bears the stamp, in some degree, of the mercurial genius who in the 1970s and 80s created the whole ethos of commercial radio news and current affairs ... The list of people who passed through Ron Onions' tutelage at LBC/IRN now reads like

4656-502: The family's problems and joy in looking after her, combined with a memoir of Ron Onions' professional life. The book was the idea of Onions' elder daughter, Sarah, also a journalist, and "it rescued Ron from the black-dog melancholy that had sometimes been the dark side of his creative spirit." It was published shortly before Onions' death. As well as his OBE in 1983, Onions was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. He died unexpectedly in his sleep on 27 May 2012, at

4753-490: The feeling that we had more than made our mark in the story of radio reporting in Great Britain." He also observed that research figures taken during the war showed LBC's audience to be at its highest ever. However, once the war was over, listeners, tiring of news, returned to the music stations and LBC's figures dropped to almost their lowest. Later in 1982 Onions fought, against keen competition, for LBC/IRN to win

4850-469: The first six months of Capital Radio provided the key. "Almost every significant change in the practice of radio news gathering in the final quarter of the last century was pioneered at LBC," one media commentator has written. "LBC/IRN made a major contribution to radio journalism and, unfettered by the caution and smugness of the BBC, innovated to the point of recklessness." The sound of British news "became much more immediate and altogether fresher and part of

4947-809: The four national BBC services). The Sound Broadcasting Act received royal assent on 12 July 1972 and the Independent Television Authority (ITA) accordingly changed its name to the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that same day. The IBA immediately began to plan the new service, placing advertisements encouraging interested groups to apply for medium-term contracts to provide programmes in given areas. The first major areas to be advertised were London and Glasgow , with two contracts available in London, one for "news and information", one for "general and entertainment". The London news contract

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5044-501: The happy alliance of these to his handsome charm and an unexpectedly quirky good humour." Onions, it went on, "never forgot the human side of what he was doing, either in the workplace or in terms of the output he editorially oversaw. Instinctively kind and considerate beneath the demands of his professional nature, he won many friends among his employees." . Onions married his "childhood sweetheart" Doris Moody in Edmonton in 1951. She

5141-423: The impresario Robert Stigwood , the then radio producer John Whitney , the record and electronics company EMI , and Mecca Leisure Group . The theatre director Peter Hall (director) supported Artists in Radio. The successful franchisee, however, was Capital Radio Limited. This company, with shareholders including Rediffusion Radio Holdings Limited, Local News of London Limited and The Observer (Holdings) Limited

5238-673: The late 1980s, the expansion of ILR continued at a similar rate. Under the Broadcasting Acts, the IBA had a duty to ensure that any area it licensed for radio could support a station with the available advertising revenue. Therefore, many areas were not included in the IBA's ILR plans as it was felt that they were not viable. This did not prevent Radio West in Bristol getting into financial trouble and having to merge with Wiltshire Radio on 1 October 1985; nor did it prevent Centre Radio going into receivership on 6 October 1983. In 1986

5335-563: The licence such as Lord Willis and John Whitney had joined the board. Test transmissions by the IBA commenced in January 1973 using the VHF frequency 95.8 MHz for FM from the Croydon transmitter and the MW frequency 557 kHz (539 m) for AM from London Transport 's Lots Road Power Station , Chelsea. The location of the medium-wave transmitter and the frequency used were only temporary until

5432-576: The making, Onions relished his instinct for it." At the end of Onions' five-year term in America, the BBC invited him to replace their correspondent Charles Wheeler in Washington, D.C. when Wheeler returned to London. Largely for family reasons, Onions turned down that opportunity and also a subsequent offer to become the BBC's news organiser in Tokyo. In 1972 he returned to London. There he was offered

5529-495: The modern world", Martha Kearney has maintained. One-time LBC phone-in presenter Brian Hayes has reported that "it was more alive and you had reporters telling stories in a way that made you think as a listener that you knew them and then you therefore started to trust them." Despite the growing success of the station in terms of output and listener appreciation, it was still severely hampered by low revenue, industrial strife and management turmoil. Onions later recalled that "there

5626-645: The national Capital network. Source: The station formerly hosted the Capital Awards, also known as Capital Music Awards. Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990 , and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003 , most commercial stations are now neither independent (although they remain independent from

5723-484: The national radio stations provided by the BBC . In October 1972 the Independent Broadcasting Authority invited applications for two local radio licences in London: one for a general and entertainment station, the other for news and information. The licence for the entertainment service saw eight organisations applying, many of them with established entertainment pedigrees. Associated Television , run by Lew Grade ,

5820-441: The operation themselves, they sold their interest to the news agency Reuters for £5-million. This left the team unencumbered by financial problems and free to set up the two new stations they envisaged. The FM frequency provided a general service of rolling news, similar to WINS in New York which had been Onions' original inspiration, repeating and updating the news every 20 minutes. The medium-wave service offered London Forum Radio,

5917-518: The post of deputy foreign editor but, finding himself increasingly at odds with the BBC, he declined. He later recalled: "In a foolish display of petulance, I said I didn't see myself as deputy to anyone". Despite his "restlessly creative spirit" he returned to the sub-editors' desk. In 1973 Independent Local Radio was launched in the United Kingdom. Applications were invited by the Independent Broadcasting Authority for two franchises in London, one for an entertainment station and one for news. One of

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6014-401: The presentation, reporting, writing and producing expertise the station needed. There were a few original LBC staff who had shown promise like Jon Snow , Adrian Love and Peter Allen and others who had arrived with BBC experience (though several of them left within months, despairing at the lack of resources and the inexperience of much of the staff recruited from newspapers). Others added to

6111-783: The programme controller of the winner of the entertainment franchise, Capital Radio. Bukht told Onions he was looking for a Head of News and invited him to meet the company's chairman, Richard Attenborough , and the managing director, John Whitney . They immediately offered Onions the post and he left the BBC to join Capital in late July 1973, ten weeks before the station was to go on air. Onions recruited an 18-strong team of mostly unknown radio writers, editors, reporters, producers and presenter/newsreaders to run Capital's round-the-clock news service. Some came from BBC radio, some from hospital and industrial radio services, some from Australia, New Zealand and Canada with experience in commercial radio, and one or two from theatre and television. A number of

6208-409: The proposed channel going ahead. As a lifetime lover of Jazz , in 1989 Onions advised a group interested in opening a jazz music radio station in London. Using his expertise in franchise applications learned while with LBC/IRN, Onions took an active part in the process. There were 30 other applications, two of which were also based on jazz, but the bid with which Onions was involved was successful. He

6305-496: The renewal of its licence. Negotiations were tense, but the Independent Broadcasting Authority agreed that the franchise would be renewed. "Somehow," wrote Onions in his memoir of the time, "we battled our way through, but for me it was one of those climactic moments in life and convinced me that it was time to move on." He was further convinced when a subsequent surprise change to programme schedules

6402-581: The self appointed Minister of Public Enlightenment. We've just written a new song called Capital Radio and a line in it goes "listen to the tunes of the Dr Goebbels Show". They say "Capital Radio in tune with London". Yeah, yeah, yeah! They're in tune with Hampstead. They're not in tune with us at all. I hate them. What they could have done compared to what they have done is abhorrent. They could have made it so good that everywhere you went you took your transistor radio – you know, how it used to be when I

6499-399: The situation, you used very short news clips, you always had to make sure you were there, gathering the material yourself." The Press Gazette maintained that Onions' approach to radio news "swept away the more traditional 'bulletin of record' style. In an Onions bulletin "news was always moving forward, rather than just a summary of recent history." Despite ensuring that Capital Radio News

6596-415: The station went on air. His choice of DJs was queried by the board. They made some appointments with which Onions disagreed and other presenters to whom Onions had offered jobs were rejected. But his ability to spot and encourage young talent brought two presenters to the station who later enjoyed sustained success in jazz radio broadcasting: Helen Mayhew and Jez Nelson . Jazz FM had initial problems with

6693-510: The streets of Central London. LBC also had a similar service but was forced to suspend operations due to cost. Capital's aircraft was originally a Piper Seneca model, and, later, a twin-engined Grumman Cougar . Charlie Gillett had his world music programme The World of Difference on Sunday evenings. Several of Capital's early presenters had moved on, to be replaced by newer disc jockeys, some of whom had experience presenting on Radio Luxembourg. Although it would only broadcast for three years,

6790-643: The team were BBC incomers Bob Holness and Douglas Cameron , whose double-headed AM breakfast programme attracted more London listeners than the BBC's Today programme. Former Capital Radio newsreaders Tricia Ingrams and Robin Houston and deputy-editor Tony Tucker boosted the presentation team, while Capital reporters like Bill Spencer, Ian Gilchrist, Paul Michaels and Christopher Hourmouzious joined "Onions' squad of dynamic young reporters", and constantly scooped their BBC rivals. Increasingly, also, Onions recruited experienced writers and producers. Gradually, Onions

6887-457: The way in this country for the modern concept of 'rolling news'." It was a "lighter, jauntier approach ... akin to that of a tabloid newspaper," wrote the Times . Broadcaster Martha Kearney , later to be one of Onions' journalist "finds", described the new style: "Everything was live, much more immediate, and for reporters ... everything had to have actuality: it was about sound, it was being in

6984-530: The weekend prior to going full time on 1 November, on its AM frequency while Capital on FM became 95.8 Capital FM , a chart contemporary music station. Both stations received brand-new jingle packages from Californian jingle house Who Did That Music (later Groove Addicts, now GrooveWorx ), that went on to become well known and essential parts of its music programming. From 1997, the studios of 95.8 Capital FM have been based in Leicester Square , which

7081-480: The young team, such as Tricia Ingrams from United Biscuits Network , Robin Houston from a voiceover and technical theatre background and Greg Grainger from Australian radio, were later to become household names. With the addition of its secretarial support, Onions' Capital Radio newsroom was seen as "surprisingly extensive". When in New York, Onions had been a keen admirer of the non-stop all-news radio stations, CBS and WINS . He later recalled that "they had

7178-503: Was Guildford's County Sound who rebranded the FM output as Premier Radio and turned the AM output into a new golden oldies station, County Sound Gold in 1988. By 1988, the government had decided that the practice of splitting was beneficial and a quick way to increase choice for listeners. The IBA then began encouraging ILR stations to split their services and most soon complied. The usual format

7275-508: Was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music with a teaching diploma in speech and drama. The couple had two daughters, the younger of whom, Louise, was born without a thyroid gland, and her resulting severely-disruptive symptoms posed a huge challenge to her family. After her death in 2009, which caused Onions "huge grief", the family jointly authored a book, Don't Bring Lulu: Her Family's Tale of Trial and Triumph , about her life and

7372-553: Was a pioneer in the new, vigorous and brisk presentation of news, Onions' time at the station was brief. He later recalled: "I spent only six months working for Capital but I now think of it as perhaps the happiest time of my life." Under heavy pressure from the Independent Broadcasting Authority, concerned at the low quality of presentation achieved by Capital's London news competitor, the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and Independent Radio News (IRN), Onions

7469-449: Was able to send a few reporters overseas on important stories, and the station's parliamentary unit began to break a number of leading political exclusives. Using rolling news , reportage, vox pops and phone-ins , airborne traffic reports and parliamentary broadcasting – and the sprightly vigour of its presentation – LBC/IRN began to increase its listening figures. All the while the news style which Onions had successfully established in

7566-440: Was also the first ever legal radio commercial on LBC. Capital's programming remit, as with all ILR stations at the time, was to appeal to the broadest range of people as possible, which included specialist music programmes, radio plays, classical music, community features and news documentaries. The host of Capital's first show was former BBC Light Programme and former BBC Radio 1 presenter David Symonds . After Symonds moved to

7663-410: Was among them, being fired as Programme Director before the station's first year was up. In a light-hearted piece Onions had written for The Guardian in the days just before Jazz FM launched, he complained: "Really, I'm just a hack. I should have stayed with News. I shouldn't have left the BBC. Or LBC. Or Visnews. I'm good at news." In the time since Onions had left in 1983, LBC/IRN had gone through

7760-581: Was appointed Chief Engineer. On 16 October 1973 Capital commenced regular transmissions with the British national anthem " God Save the Queen ", then a message from director Richard Attenborough "...This, for the first time, is Capital Radio" followed by the Capital Radio theme jingle, made by Blue Mink : Simon & Garfunkel 's song " Bridge over Troubled Water " followed the jingle. The first radio commercial came from Birds Eye fish fingers, which

7857-406: Was at school. I'd have one in my pocket all the time or by my ear'ole flicking it between stations. If you didn’t like one record you'd flick to another station and then back again. It was amazing. They could have made the whole capital buzz. Instead Capital Radio has just turned their back on the whole youth of the city. — Joe Strummer The mid-1970s saw Capital Radio expand with the launch of

7954-489: Was awarded to London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and they began broadcasting on 8 October 1973. The London general contract went to Capital Radio , who began broadcasting on 16 October 1973. In total, 19 contracts were awarded between 1973 and 1976. Due to government limits on capital expenditure and turbulence in the broadcasting field (mainly due to the Annan Report ), no further contracts were awarded until 1980, when

8051-462: Was carried out while he was on leave, without him being consulted. Onions left LBC/IRN nine-and-a-half years after he joined the station, in October 1983. "Both modest and a realist", wrote the Press Gazette , "Onions knew the revolutionary impact of LBC/IRN, but would always downplay his role, preferring to credit the talent of the teams he employed." Nevertheless, later in 1983, Onions was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting. In 1983 Onions

8148-506: Was head-hunted to move to LBC. "'No!', I said 'Not that!'", he recalled later. "Not easily, I decided to join LBC". Early in April 1974 he left Capital Radio to join LBC. In 1974 Onions was appointed Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and Editor of Independent Radio News (IRN). LBC had won the franchise for the London news station with responsibility also for IRN which

8245-403: Was headed as chairman by the actor and film director Richard Attenborough . Other board members at that time included record producer George Martin , actor and film director Bryan Forbes , theatrical producer Peter Saunders , and a millionaire dentist and long-time commercial radio enthusiast Barclay Barclay-White. By the time of Capital Radio’s launch in October 1973 some of the competitors for

8342-475: Was invited to join Visnews , a leading distributor of news film to television stations all over the world. His task was to launch a non-stop news channel aimed at the growing cable television market. The project was called World News Network and was much trailed by Onions around the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, but the lack of enthusiasm from potential purchasers together with financial problems prevented

8439-473: Was invited to join the board of the company, Jazz FM , and was appointed Station Director. He had only six months from the winning of the franchise to employ staff and work on programme policy before the station's first day on air in March 1990. By his own account, he found the task difficult. There were differences of opinion with his fellow board members and strains within management, which persisted even after

8536-656: Was later Head of News at Capital Radio in London where he introduced his pioneering news presentation with immediate success. He was then appointed Editor-in-Chief of the London Broadcasting Company and Independent Radio News , where the style was developed and sustained. As a result of its success it was copied and established permanently throughout British radio. Onions was born in Edmonton in North London on 27 August 1929 to Benjamin Onions,

8633-537: Was one national DAB multiplex (Digital One) and 47 regional DAB multiplexes, owned by 10 and operated by nine companies (each multiplex carrying multiple services). The first licensed commercial radio station in the United Kingdom is often stated to be Manx Radio , which launched in June 1964. However, since the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, Manx Radio is not considered to be an ILR station and launched with

8730-423: Was one of them, as was the long-established Isle of Man broadcaster Manx Radio . Others were specially formed companies: Piccadilly Radio under the leadership of the film producer Lord Brabourne , Network Broadcasting headed by the writer Lord Willis and the broadcaster Ned Sherrin , the actor and comedian Bernard Braden ’s London Radio Independent Broadcasters and London Independent Broadcasting which included

8827-413: Was properly understood and told". In a "remarkable and humane piece of broadcasting" Onions' arrangements for the televising of the children's funerals placed five cameras in the village and in the cemetery and he insisted that commentary would be superfluous and intrusive, and so the edited images were transmitted with only the natural sound of the procession and the ceremony. Onions' recollection towards

8924-418: Was quite a militant union which had got used to running the place itself, and which wanted pay parity with the BBC, for understandable reasons. But the money just was not there. At one point we had just one commercial running on the station ... bringing in an income of about £5000 when we had a wage bill running at 20 times that." There was a change of managing director and a change of chairman. At one stage when

9021-479: Was taken over by Global Radio in 2008. In 2011, Capital was launched nationally, apart from the daily breakfast and weekday drivetime shows, becoming part of the Capital FM Network. In 2019, the breakfast show also became national, with 11 regional drivetime shows. The Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 allowed for the establishment of local commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom to operate alongside

9118-524: Was to "nurture and professionally stabilise a chaotic and financially vulnerable" LBC/IRN by introducing the authority, energy and brisk news presentation style that had proved successful at Capital Radio. "It meant straightening out some of the early problems that seemed horrendous at the time," Onions remembered years later. "...growing up was traumatic, and all of those early problems one wouldn't want to go through again. One can look back and reminisce about them and now laugh about them in some instances, but it

9215-582: Was to have a "gold" (oldies) service on AM and pop music on FM, although Radio City tried "City Talk" on AM before abandoning the format. By the start of the 1990s, most stations had done 'the splits' with the final stations ending waveband simulcasting by the mid-1990s. Incremental Radio was a new type of radio licence given out by the IBA between 1989 and 1990. These were additional radio services introduced into areas already served by an Independent Local Radio station and most had to offer output not already available on ILR, such as specialist music, programmes for

9312-541: Was to provide a news service for local independent radio stations around the UK as they began operating. In starting up it had employed mostly newspaper journalists who had little or no experience in radio broadcasting, and it was said to be "disorganised and amateurish, unstable, financially precarious, beset by union problems". The Independent Broadcasting Authority judged LBC's output as a news-based 24-hour speech station to be extremely poor, audience figures were low and there were severe financial problems. Onions' task there

9409-524: Was tough going." The most immediate problem of inexperienced personnel was eased by Onions rapidly headhunting staff from the BBC and recruiting from his former team at Capital Radio. Further expertise arrived in December 1974 when Capital, facing its own financial problems, closed its newsroom and made the 12 remaining staff redundant. As a result, LBC was boosted from Capital by two newsreader/presenters who were already well known to London listeners, and

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