United Biscuits Network
| |
---|---|
Ownership | |
Owner | United Biscuits |
History | |
First air date | 1 September 1970 |
Last air date | 16 December 1979 |
United Biscuits Network (UBN) was an internal radio station serving the factories of United Biscuits (UB) in Britain that operated from 1970 to 1979.[1]
In 1970 the
Description
UBN broadcast from Osterley to UB factories in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow 24 hours a day. Presenters who later achieved wider public recognition included Roger Scott, Roger Day,[3] Adrian Love, Steve Allen, Nicky Horne, Graham Dene, Peter Young,[4] and Dale Winton.[5][6] The first Programme Director when the station opened in 1970 was Neil Spence, the former pirate Radio London DJ known as Dave Dennis.[7]
Because there were no legal commercial radio stations in 1970, the network became notable in introducing new acts and presenters.[8] In 1972 Independent Local Radio (ILR) was introduced by legislation in the UK; in 1979 the UBN was closed, with ILR played in the factories instead.[9]
Distribution of the "radio" from the Osterley studios to the various factories was via GPO landlines, then 100 V loudspeaker systems in each factory. Each pair of workers had their own loudspeaker and volume control. To accommodate the already high ambient noise levels in the factories, the audio was highly compressed.
UBN's programme content was similar to contemporary commercial radio, except that "commercials" did not promote products but encouraged safe work practice, among other subjects, and music requests were from workers on various production lines.
Programming was similar to
Influence
As the UBN was the only independent "broadcaster", operated 24 hours a day, and had high quality equipment and musical sources, it was an excellent opportunity for entertainers to rise from small-scale
The growth of Independent Local Radio ultimately led to the closure of UBN as unnecessary; the many people it trained in broadcasting were available to man the new independent broadcasters. Andrew Ellinas, who broadcast on UBN's last hour on 16 December 1979, said "UBN was the beginning of the golden age of radio. Its legacy lies in every commercial station in the UK."[2]
In popular culture
The Chris Petit film Radio On was partly filmed at the UBN studio. The protagonist is a DJ at an industrial radio station similar to UBN.
References
- ^ Korczynski, Marek (2013). Rhythms of Labour: Music at Work in Britain. Cambridge UP. p. 229.
- ^ a b c Morris, Kieran (5 November 2020). "Cracker factory records: the surprising story of United Biscuits' radio station". The Guardian.
- ^ "Roger Day".
- ^ Tessler, Gloria (10 January 2019). "Obituary: Peter Young - Legendary DJ and radio presenter who pioneered the multi-genre 'Soul Cellar'". www.thejc.com. The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "List of Presenters". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ISBN 9781448135448.
- ^ Billboard, 30 April 1977
- ISBN 9781847712912.
- ^ "UK On air thread". Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ "Report on UBN launch (audio)". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)