Twilight FM was a
pirate radio station based in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of
Yorkshire. It broadcast for many years on 105.4 FM, in most recent years it has
transmitted on on 107.7 FM.
Contents
History
Twilight FM was set up in 1993 by a DJ who called himself only "Chris H". He
originally operated the station from a shed in the back of his parents garden.
In the early days the station would play mostly Pop music, although it even had
its own show.
Eventually, the demand for dance music was too great to ignore and Twilight FM
became the only station in Hull to play dance music.
After a fall out over music policy DJs Sumo and Chris H went their separate
ways. Chris continued to run Twilight FM with a more underground dance feel,
whilst Sumo went to form "Buzz FM" which broadcast more commercial dance on
106.6 FM.
After both stations were raided and closed down by the DTI, and a third pirate
emerged called "Sweet FM", the pair made up, and Twilight FM continued.
After the regional dance station Kiss 105 started, Twilight FM found it hard to
compete and the station slowly began to wind down.
After a period of quiet, Twilight came back on air during 2006 on the new
frequency of 107.7MHz with a number of not only old-time Twilight DJs but also a
number of new voices on the air.
Studios
Being an illegal operation, Twilight FM had to constantly find new premises to
broadcast from, mostly it would be a friend of a friends spare room. On one
occasion the owner of the property became a stand in DJ and was given the name
"Caretaker Nick". Other places Twilight FM have broadcast from include DJ Sumo's
conservatory and Bransholme flats!
Advertisers
Many businesses advertised on Twilight FM, even though they were helping aid an
illegal broadcaster. Many of them were Public Houses, the DJs would regularly
pray on the licensee to part with some cash! Typical advertisers heard on air
were,
* White Horse, Carr Lane.
* Tyremen, Anlaby Road.
* Irnwrx, Marina.
* 35 Taxis, Holderness Road.
* Tropical Knights, Marina.
* Kingston Copy Centres, Cottingham Road.
* Club Oasis, Albion Street.
* DJs Record Shop, Princes Quay.
* Happy Homes, Hessle Road.
* Manxman, Marina.
Most of these businesses, with the exception of 35 Taxis are no longer trading.
Twilight Tunes
Typical songs from the halcyon days that are associated with Twilight FM are:
* Bobby Brown - "Two can play that game" (K-Klass Remix).
* Artemesia - "Bits and Pieces".
* Pulse feat. Antoinette Roberson - "The lover that you are".
* Kathy Brown - "Turn me on, turn me out".
* La Luna - "To the beat of the drum".
Dance Events
Twilight FM held a number of "Dance Events" in the city featuring various DJs
from the station. Listeners would be invited to attend the night and charged a
door fee, this would then be used to finance any repairs or equipment needed.
Venues for these club nights included:
* "The Tower Nightclub", on Anlaby Road.
* "Club Oasis", on Albion Street.
* "Circus Circus", Spencer Street.
All of these premises are now derelict.
It was not unusual for the DJs to be seen on the streets of Hull with a paint
brush, a pot of wallpaper paste and a bag of posters Flyposting around the city.
Many of the DJs would also give out Flyers at their own club nights to help
promote the events.
Jingles
At the height of its popularity Chris H commissioned some jingles for the
station, mainly consisting of sweepers. These were made by the Hessle based
production company "NYPD".
Offshoots
* Radical 999
* Rhythm FM
* Buzz FM
* Heaven 107
DJs
Due to the fact that Twilight FM was a pirate radio station and ran the risk
being raided by the Department of Trade and Industry the presenters/DJs
preferred not to use their real names, thus ending up with a rather colourful
line-up:
* Chris H
* Sumo
* DJ Funky Zone
* Paul Winn
* Mikey Bee
* Lady J
* Poison
* Nealy B
* Metal Mickey
* DJ Reverb
* DJ Winney
* Shades of Rhythm
* DJ Seek
* DJ Tiny
* 3-Style
* Nervous Neville
* DJ Sly
* Wavey Davey
* DJ Crazyman
* MC NRG
* Bod
* Mr Ben
* DJ Dizaster
* Tosh
* Scoundrel (aka Gazza)
* DJ Fyzal
* Frenchie
* DJ Vortex
* DJ Star
* Alan B
Raids
Twilight FM has been closed down by government officials many times, the result
is normally a fine for the DJ on the air at the time and confiscation of all
equipment and records. Twilight FM was raided more recently in September 2006 by
OFCOM [1].
Twilight Today
Twilight FM no longer broadcasts on FM, instead it transmits on the on the world
wideweb as "twilightfm.co.uk"
Current logo
Current logo
The internet side of the station has kept its original format but is now joint
run by a number of the newer members vowing to keep the spirit of Twilight
alive!