Greatest Hits Radio South Wales

Swansea Sound began broadcasting at 6am on the 30th of September 1974. The first voice heard on the station was that of its launch managing director, Charles Braham:

“Bore da. Good Morning. As managing director I am very proud to say for the very first time that this is Swansea Sound bringing independent radio to Wales, to entertain, to inform and above all give yourselves a real involvement in community matters...”

DJ Chris Harper started the inaugural breakfast show with MFSB’s Love Is The Message. At its launch, it was the first and only commercial radio station in Wales and the seventh in the United Kingdom,[1] - it was also the first independent radio station to broadcast a bilingual service in the English and Welsh languages.[2]

Originally, the station broadcast on 257 metres (1170 khz) AM and 95.1 FM before moving its FM frequency to 96.4 in the early 1980s.

Until the early 1990s, FM adoption in the UK was relatively low, so it was common practice amongst stations to simulcast their programming on both AM and FM frequencies. Starting in the late 1980s, the UK government and the IBA required that ILR and BBC stations cease simulcasting and provide separate services on their AM and FM frequencies. This change occurred at Swansea Sound in 1995. Their FM frequency became a CHR (contemporary hit radio) station called 96.4 Sound Wave (now 96.4 The Wave), while Swansea Sound continued to broadcast as normal on 1170 AM.

In 2006, UTV Media purchased the Wireless Group, owners of radio stations across the UK including Swansea Sound. It gave the station a new jingle package, logo and slogans, as well as a significant expansion to local programming.

In late 2016, UTV’s television assets were sold to ITV plc. The radio division of the company was later sold to News UK, and renamed back to its original name, the Wireless Group.

At News UK, its sister stations included TalkSport and the relaunched Virgin Radio UK.

The final Swansea Sound logo used before its rebrand.

On 8 February 2019, Swansea Sound was sold alongside The Wave and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations to Bauer Radio. The sale was ratified in March 2020 following an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.[3]

Under the terms of the deal, Swansea Sound, along with its sister station The Wave, and over 40 others acquired in the deal had to remain in a “hold separate” ownership until early 2020.[4]

On 27 May 2020, Bauer announced that Swansea Sound would rebrand and join the Greatest Hits Radio network from 1 September 2020.[5]

Most of the station's local output - including Breakfast, Drivetime and Welsh language shows - was retained due to OFCOM rules restricting programme sharing between the UK nations.

Bauer’s Swansea newsrooms broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and from 7am to 1pm at weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins. National bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried at other times.