History of Radio Luxembourg
The following is based on a article I write sometime ago about radio Luxemburg.
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earliest commercial radio stations broadcasting to Britain. It was an important forerunner of pirate radio and modern commercial radio in the United Kingdom. It boasted the most powerful transmitter in the world (1200 kW broadcasting on medium wave); in the late 1930s, and again in the 1950s and 1960s, it captured very large audiences in the British Isles with its programmes of popular entertainment.
The final broadcast of the old Radio Luxembourg was on 30th December 1992, and I was there to hear it all and tape it. The 2 old C90 tapes I did have now been transfered to MP3 so they will last a bit longer. Never know one day I may put them on here for you to download, if RTL allow me !
A lot of the DJ’s that used to work at Radio Luxemburg came from some of the pirate radio stations of the time, some later went on to be house hold names on TV. Some of the greats include Timmy Mallot, Stephen Williams, Noel Edmonds, Paul Burnett, Neil Fox aka Dr Fox, Tony Prince, Mike Read, Jimmy Savile, David “Kid” Jenson, Chris Moyles under the “broadcast name” Chris Holmes, Mike Hollis, Bob Stewart, Tony Adams, Shaun Tilley, Steve Joy and the Emperer Rosko.
1931: The creation of CLR (Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion). It is a private company with shareholders from different European firms.
1933: March 15th marks the official, on-air launch of Radio Luxembourg. As a European pioneer, the company broadcasts a unique combination of programmes in several languages using the same long wave frequency to Luxembourg, Germany, Great Britain, France and later the Netherlands and Italy. The station rapidly becomes the most popular European commercial radio station. In
1951, Radio Luxembourg transfers its English programming to medium wave on the AM band on a frequency of 1440 KHz, or 208 meters (wavelength). “Two-Oh-Eight” quickly becomes a new musical reference point for young Britons. It was a time of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Radio Luxembourg delivered it in quantity to the masses. ‘208’ becomes the best-known radio wavelength and gains massive acclaim as The Station of the Stars. For the next several decades, this English Service of Radio Luxembourg inspires and influences all those involved in any aspect of the music and recording industries: musicians, DJs, promoters, record companies and bands; even news organizations. Radio Luxembourg’s influence, even in English, included the European continent as well. Listeners, especially at night, numbered in the millions. Some Europeans say today they learned to speak English just by listening regularly to Radio Luxembourg. It’s certainly where they got their rock ‘n’ roll!
1951, Radio Luxembourg transfers its English programming to medium wave on the AM band on a frequency of 1440 KHz, or 208 meters (wavelength). “Two-Oh-Eight” quickly becomes a new musical reference point for young Britons. It was a time of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Radio Luxembourg delivered it in quantity to the masses. ‘208’ becomes the best-known radio wavelength and gains massive acclaim as The Station of the Stars. For the next several decades, this English Service of Radio Luxembourg inspires and influences all those involved in any aspect of the music and recording industries: musicians, DJs, promoters, record companies and bands; even news organizations. Radio Luxembourg’s influence, even in English, included the European continent as well. Listeners, especially at night, numbered in the millions. Some Europeans say today they learned to speak English just by listening regularly to Radio Luxembourg. It’s certainly where they got their rock ‘n’ roll!
1991: For various business reasons, CLT decides to close down the frequency 1440 AM. From that day, Radio Luxembourg broadcast only on short wave, via the ASTRA satellite, and on the radio channel of Sky TV. But this change could not solve the financial problems. The rise of competing, local FM radio stations broadcasting in stereo contributed to the problems for Radio Luxembourg. Though broadcasting via satellite enabled the station to potentially reach millions throughout the whole of Europe, the results were disappointing, and this led CLT (Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télé Diffusion) to finally close the English Service of Radio Luxembourg in 1992.
2005 : The Legend Is Back! The new RTL Group is using the new DR technology to re-launch Radio Luxembourg in English on several short wave frequencies, notably 7145 KHz. But this is not the crackly short wave of years gone by, No! It’s CD-clear and digital. In a test phase lasting through September 2006, current transmissions are ongoing 24 hours daily. Radio Luxembourg now offers a format of Classic Rock. A new generation of “future proof” digital radio receivers featuring DR/DAB/FM/AM are shortly to be available from various manufacturers. These new radios are portable, and will tune in stations by name, not necessarily by frequency. That means you simply enter “Radio Luxembourg,” or scroll through the Electronic Programming Guide to find what you want. The radio does the rest, even following that station to another frequency without you, the listener, ever knowing or hearing about it. Their audio quality is superb and the DR transmission range is vast. The RTL Group and most leading international broadcasters are actively supporting the digital radio/DR initiative, and we encourage you to visit their websites. Radio Luxembourg, The Best In Classic Rock! The Legend Is Back!
2011 : Radio Luxembourg is broadcasting via internet radio, you can listen from your PC or internet radio 24/7 at www.radioluxembourg.co.uk
Info from : www.digitalradiodr.com and www.rtlgroup.com/drm +various web sites
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