Magic (former radio network)

Magic was an AM radio network based in Northern England.

Magic
Broadcast areaNorthern England
SloganThe Greatest Hits
Programming
FormatHot Adult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerBauer Radio
History
First air date
July 1990
Last air date
4 January 2015
Former frequencies
MW, DAB

History

The Magic brand in UK radio originated with Magic 828, the sister station of Radio Aire in Leeds which was launched in July 1990, although no other stations were branded 'Magic' until the Emap group purchased the Metro Radio group in 1995. It can be regarded as the successor to Great North Radio which was a small network in the North East that consisted of what became Magic 1170 and Magic 1152. Preston's Red Rose Gold was the last to be converted to the Magic brand, in 2000, two or so years since the conversion of the majority of the stations. In London, Melody FM was rebranded Magic 105.4 in 1998.

The regional AM stations played Hot Adult Contemporary music. The playlists of these Magic stations predominantly consisted of hits from the 1960s and 1970s, although music from other decades was included in the mix.

The London station is more laid-back and its playlist more contemporary, playing soft adult contemporary hits from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The London station is branded with the tagline, "More music, less talk".

On 5 January 2015, the network merged with the Greatest Hits Network of Scottish AM stations to form the Bauer City 2 network.[1] The London-based Magic became available nationally via DAB at the same time.

Directory of stations

RegionCityStation
North EastNewcastleMagic 1152
Stockton-on-TeesMagic 1170
North WestLiverpoolMagic 1548
ManchesterMagic 1152
PrestonMagic 999
YorkshireHullMagic 1161
LeedsMagic 828
SheffieldMagic 990, 1305 & 1548

Television channel

Following the success of the radio stations, Emap set up a corresponding Magic TV channel which is available through satellite and cable television systems and plays non-stop videos of songs established as typical of the Magic brand.

Magic albums

The Magic network released several albums since the formation of the network in the late 1990s. The albums predominantly feature music on the Magic 105.4 play list, but were also promoted on the Northern England stations too.

Title Release
The Sound of Magic 31/05/1999
The Sound of Magic Love 01/10/1999
The Sound of Magic Vol. 2 15/05/2000
Magic 12/03/2001
Magic Summer Feeling 13/06/2003
Magic the Album 2005 28/11/2005
Magic Summer 15/05/2006
Mellow Magic 26/02/2007
Magic the Album 2007 20/08/2007
Magic Decades 80s 90s 00s 19/11/2007

References

  1. Bauer City 2 network gears up for launch Archived 20 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Radio Centre, 19 December 2014
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