Gaydio



Gaydio is Manchester's first radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community. The station went on air at midnight on 2006-08-14, although this was just a test message. The station officially launched on Tuesday 2006-08-15 at 7am with the "Abby and Ste breakfast show".

The first broadcast came from Princess House, based in the city's gay village, from the offices of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation. This building also houses several other venues aimed at the gay community. The station broadcast on both 87.7FM across Manchester and online via the Internet.

The broadcast supported the Manchester Pride festival, and provide coverage of the parade, the main stage and several events around the festival sites. It also had a show that broadcast from AXM bar on Canal Street, who were the main sponsors of the radio station.

Gaydio also came back for a broadcast on World Aids Day 2006 completing a joint broadcast with BBC Radio Manchester, taking over their DAB frequency for most of the afternoon and evening.

A second Restricted Service Licence - this time for 28 days - commenced on 5th February 2007 and ended 4th March 2007.

Gaydio returned - as planned - for a third and very successful broadcast on 6th August 2007 for another four weeks with Chris & Emma at breakfast and Brian Day back again in the afternoons for an extended show. This period offered a number of new shows, including the Terry Longdon and Rowetta drivetime show. Numerous outside broadcasts included the live broadcast of the Mr Gay UK competition from Blackpool. Some old favourites returned including The A.M.P. (Alternative Music Programme) and The Matinee with James Dean and Madame Aries (Showtunes).