Timeline of BBC Radio 1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio 1, a British national radio station which began in September 1967.
- 1967
- 30 September – BBC Radio 1 launches at 7am, replacing the BBC Light Programme as well, with Tony Blackburn presenting the first programme. He welcomes listeners to "the exciting sound of Radio 1" and then plays the station's first track: The Move's "Flowers in the Rain".[1] Other presenters members of the launch team include John Peel, Stuart Henry, Terry Wogan, Jimmy Young, Dave Cash, Simon Dee, David Symonds, Tommy Vance, Emperor Rosko, Kenny Everett and Ed Stewart.
- Saturday Club, Junior Choice, Easy Beat, Pick of the Pops and Radio 1 Breakfast are broadcast on Radio 1 for the first time.
- 1 October – The first Peel Session takes place. Aired as part of his new show Top Gear, the session features psychedelic rock band Tomorrow.[2]
- 2 November – Dave Lee Travis joins, presenting the Thursday lunchtime programme Pop North.[3]
- 1968
- 27 January – Tony Blackburn presents the breakfast show on Saturdays for the final time. Rather than replace him, Radio 1 simulcasts the entirety of The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
- 2 June – Jimmy Savile joins, presenting the Savile's Travels programme.[4]
- 1969
- 18 January – Saturday Club is broadcast for the last time.[5]
- 26 April – Johnnie Walker joins the station for the first time.[6]
- Noel Edmonds joins, Simon Dee leaves.
1970s
- 1970
- 5 April – The In Concert brand starts to be used for the station's live and recorded concerts.[7] The station is already airing concerts since the start of the year, as part of the programme The Sunday Show, with both of these programmes being hosted by John Peel.[8]
- 20 July – Kenny Everett is dismissed after making remarks about the wife of the Transport Minister's driving test and for publicly criticising the BBC.[9] His Saturday morning programme is taken over by Noel Edmonds.[10]
- 19 August – Bob Harris joins to present the Wednedsay edition of Sounds of the 70s[11] until 9 September.[12]
- 9 October – Round Table, a weekly discussion of the week's new releases, begins. The programme's first presenter is Emperor Rosko.[13]
- 19 October – David Symonds leaves the station.[14] He is replaced as the Monday presenter of Sounds of the 70s by Bob Harris, who joined the station two months earlier.[15]
- 1971
- Radio 1 launches its first promotion badges using the slogan Go Radio 1 Better on 247.[citation needed]
- 9 September – Dave Cash leaves.
- 1972
- 9 January – Radio 1 airs its first documentary: The Elvis Presley Story, narrated by Wink Martindale.[16]
- 31 March – Terry Wogan leaves the station to join Radio 2,[17] and is replaced as the weekday afternoon presenter by Alan Freeman.[18]
- 24 September – Alan Freeman steps down from presenting Pick of the Pops, which was the original singles chart that was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme.[citation needed]
- 1973
- 8 April – Kenny Everett briefly returns before moving to Capital Radio and Radio 2 in 1981.
- 1 June – Tony Blackburn presents his final Radio 1 Breakfast, having fronted the show since the station went on air in 1967.
- 4 June – Noel Edmonds takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast with Tony Blackburn moving to the mid-morning slot, he takes over from Jimmy Young who leaves the station to join Radio 2. One of the new features is The Golden Hour, an hour of records that charted in the same year.
- 27 June – Tommy Vance leaves the station for a while to join Capital Radio.
- 23 July – The first Radio 1 Roadshow takes place, broadcast from Newquay, Cornwall. It is hosted by Alan Freeman.
- 10 September – Newsbeat bulletins air for the first time and Richard Skinner joins the station, as one of the new programme's presenters.[19]
- 5 October – Paul Gambaccini joins, as a reporter on the new programme Rockspeak. This show airs as the Friday edition of Sounds of the 70s, and is presented by Michael Wale.[20]
- 1974
- 17 March – Solid Gold Sixty is broadcast for the final time, it is replaced the following week by a one-hour programme which just features the Top 20 singles chart.
- 24 March – Paul Burnett joins as the presenter of a new Sunday morning programme, called All There is to Hear.[21] In addition, a weekly request show is introduced, with Dave Lee Travis being the first presenter.[22]
- Radio 1 hosts its first Fun Day.
- 1975
- 1 January – Stuart Henry leaves the station,[23] with his Wednesday programme being taken over by Annie Nightingale,[24] and his Saturday morning programme by Emperor Rosko, whose programme, formely heard at lunchtime, is extended to three hours.[25]
- 6 January – Broadcasting hours are reduced, due to budget cuts at the BBC. All evening programming stops on Radio 1 and the station simulcasts Radio 2 every evening from 7pm. Consequently, Sounds of the 70s ends and Bob Harris leaves the station for a while. Also, the weekday afternoon programme, presented by David Hamilton, is broadcast on both stations and John Peel's show is moved to the drivetime slot.
- 11 January – Alan Freeman broadcasts a live performance by Pink Floyd which featured a performance of The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. The performance was recorded at the Empire Pool on 16 November 1974.
- 25 September – The final edition of Top Gear is broadcast.
- 27 September – Paul Gambaccini, who joined the station the previous year, presents his first American chart countdown programme.
- 28 September – Annie Nightingale replaces Dave Lee Travis as the host of the Sunday request show, which is renamed The W1A 4WW Show.[26]
- 29 September – Some late weeknight evening programming returns and John Peel's show moves back to late evenings. For this, Radio 1 uses Radio 2's VHF/FM frequencies on weeknights again (having previously done so from October 1971 to December 1974, for shows hosted by Peel, Annie Nightingale and Bob Harris among others). This one-hour show on weeknights is the only time of the evening that Radio 1 broadcasts its own programmes and the station now ends weekday transmissions an hour earlier at 6pm.
- Mike Smith joins.
- 1976
- JAM Creative Productions of Dallas, Texas begins a 20-year relationship with Radio 1 when it produces its first jingle package for the station. JAM also created Radio 2's jingles.[27] Previously, Radio 1's jingles had been produced by PAMS. (PAMS was also based in Dallas and the company was purchased by JAM Productions).
- 2 May – Radio 1 launches Playground, a "magazine programme of special interest to young listeners". The new programme incorporates Young Ideas in Action which had previously been broadcast as part of Junior Choice.
- 2 July – Johnnie Walker leaves the station[28] for a while to work in America. His weekday lunchtime show is taken over by Paul Burnett.[29]
- 11 July – Simon Bates replaces Paul Burnett as the presenter for All There is to Hear.[30] This is Bates' first regular show on Radio 1, but he was heard on the station as far back to 1972, first as a Radio 2 presenter of programmes simulcast on Radio 1, then starting in November 1975, as a stand-in presenter.[31]
- 18 September – Emperor Rosko leaves the station[32] to return to America. His Saturday morning programme is shortned back to two hours, with David Jensen joining the station,[33] while the Friday Round Table programme that Rosko presented leaves the airwaves for a while,[34] as Dave Lee Travis' programme It's D.L.T. OK! gains a Friday show.[35]
- 25 September – Stuart Colman joins the station to host a rock programme named It's Rock 'n' Roll.[36]
- December – The first Festive Fifty is revealed by John Peel.
- 1977
- 4 April – Radio 1 extends its weeknight broadcasting hours. The station's daytime weekday programmes are extended by an hour to 7pm and the John Peel show is also extended by an hour to two hours. Consequently, Radio 1 now borrows Radio 2's VHF/FM frequencies for two hours each weeknight, between 10pm and midnight.
- 20 November – Peter Powell joins, to take over the All There is to Hear programme.[37] This is not his first apperance on the station, however, as he presented eight programmes from 1971[38] to 1972.[39]
- 28 November – From that day, Radio 1 has its own all-day weekday schedule with the launch of a new afternoon programme presented by Tony Blackburn. David Hamilton's show, simulcast on both stations since January 1975, moves to Radio 2 only. Blackburn is replaced on mid-mornings by Simon Bates. Consequently, Radio 1 now has its own all-day schedule on weekdays. However, the station continues to simulcast Radio 2 each night from 7pm apart from the weekday late night John Peel's programme.
- 1978
- Mike Read joins and Mike Smith leaves the station for a while to join Capital Radio.
- 17 April – David Jensen replaces Dave Lee Travis as host of the weekday drivetime programme[40] and his Saturday mid-morning show is taken over by Adrian Juste who joins the station.
- 28 April – Noel Edmonds presents Radio 1 Breakfast for the final time.
- 2 May – Dave Lee Travis takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast.[41]
- 26 August – Alan Freeman leaves the station[42] for a while to join Capital Radio.
- 12 November – The Sunday teatime chart show is extended from a Top 20 countdown to a Top 40 countdown. Simon Bates is the presenter, having taken over as host from Tom Browne earlier in the year.
- 17 November – Tommy Vance, one of the station's original presenters, rejoins the station to present a new programme, The Friday Rock Show.[43] Consequently, John Peel is now on air four nights a week instead of five.
- 23 November – Radio 1 moves from 247m (1214kHz) to 275 & 285m (1053 & 1089kHz) medium wave as part of a plan to improve national AM reception and to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.[44][45]
- 22 December – Industrial action at the BBC by the ABS union which started the previous day, extends to radio when the radio unions join their television counterparts by going on strike. It forces the BBC to merge its four national radio networks into one national radio station from 4pm named the BBC All Network Radio Service. The strike is settled shortly before 10pm on the same day with the unions and BBC management reaching an agreement at the government's industrial disputes arbitration service, Acas.[46][47][48][49]
- 1979
- 29 January – Radio 1 begins its delayed weeknight mid-evening programme with Andy Peebles joining the station to host it. It had originally been scheduled to launch on 13 November 1978, but was delayed as a result of trade union disputes.
- 26 August – Simon Bates steps down from Sunday Top 40 hosting.
- 2 September – Tony Blackburn replaces Simon Bates as host of the Sunday Top 40.
- 30 December – Annie Nightingale quits the presenting job of the Sunday request show.[50] Her show is taken over by a three-person rotation, consisting of Stuart Colman,[51] Paul Gambaccini[52] and John Peel,[53] until it briefly leaves the airwaves in April 1980.[54]
1980s
- 1980
- 5 January
- Tony Blackburn replaces Ed Stewart as host of Junior Choice, as Stewart leaves the station to join Radio 2.
- Steve Wright joins the station to present the Saturday evening show.[55]
- 31 March – Radio 1's broadcast hours are cut back. The station starts broadcasting on weekdays an hour later and Saturday evening programming ends. The station simulcasts Radio 2 during this additional downtime although, by the end of the year, Radio 1 has stopped broadcasting Radio 2 through the night.
- 29 May – David Jensen leaves for a while to work for the Turner Broadcasting System WTBS cable superstation in Atlanta, Georgia.[56][57]
- 6 December – Andy Peebles interviews John Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York City, two days before Lennon is assassinated.
- 5 January
- 1981
- 2 January – Dave Lee Travis steps down from presenting Radio 1 Breakfast.
- 5 January – Mike Read succeeds Dave Lee Travis as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast.
- 11 February – Listeners in London are, from this day, able to hear Radio 1 on VHF and in stereo on weeknights between 8pm and 10pm. This begins on the day that BBC Radio London begins broadcasting in stereo. BBC Radio London switches to Radio 2 at 10pm when Radio 1 begins its nightly 'borrow' of Radio 2's VHF frequencies.
- 21 September – Steve Wright, who joined the station the previous year, takes over the weekday afternoon slot.[58] His new show, later named Steve Wright in the Afternoon, brings the zoo format to British radio.
- 5 October – David Jensen returns to the station to present a new weekday evening show from 8pm to 10pm.[59]
- 1982
- 3 January – Tony Blackburn hosts the Sunday Top 40 for the final time, as he counts down the best selling singles of 1981.
- 10 January – Tommy Vance replaces Tony Blackburn as host of the Sunday Top 40 show.
- 27 February – The final editions of Junior Choice and Playground are broadcast.
- 6 March – After the end of Junior Choice, the weekend show is renamed as Tony Blackburn's Saturday/Sunday Show, with Toni Arthur (who would leave in June)[60][61], Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin (who were both on Playground) joining Tony Blackburn as co-presenters.[62][63]
- 9–10 April – Radio 1 broadcasts a non-stop Marathon Music Quiz. Featuring two teams, Radio 1 and the Music Industry. It is scheduled to run continuously for 26 hours plus 385 minutes with Mike Read as quizmaster for the whole of the quiz. The overnight portion is broadcast live. [64]
- 6 September – Pat Sharp joins.[65]
- 23 October – Paul Burnett leaves.[66]
- 4 December – The transmission time lost in March 1980 is regained. Programmes once again begin at 6am, finally ending all simulcasts between Radio 1 and Radio 2.[67] Mike Smith returns to the station to present the new weekday early show. Weekend early shows are introduced with Adrian John and Pat Sharp who joined the station in September to host the new programmes. The station also recommences Saturday evening broadcasting with Janice Long and Gary Davies also joining the station to present the new shows. Programming is also extended by two hours on Sunday evenings with Annie Nightingale's request show returning to the airwaves after three years away. Thus, Radio 1 is now on air daily from 6am until midnight.
- 1983
- 28 February – Adrian John takes over the weekday early show from Mike Smith, who takes over the weekday lunchtime show.
- 27 March – Noel Edmonds leaves.
- 1 October – Mark Page joins, to take over the Saturday early slot from Adrian John,[68] who continues in the same position on weekdays.[69] In addition, Page replaces Pat Sharp as the Sunday early show presenter.[70]
- 18 December – Sounds of Jazz is broadcast on Radio 1 for the final time. From the new year, the show will be broadcast on Radio 2.
- 1984
- 1 January
- Tommy Vance steps down from hosting the Top 40 show, as he counts down the best selling singles of 1983.
- Robbie Vincent joins the station on a permanent basis to present a Sunday evening soul music show.
- 8 January – Simon Bates returns to the Sunday teatime Top 40 programme, but only for eight months as Richard Skinner will take over as host on 30 September.
- 26 March – Gary Davies replaces Mike Smith as the host of the weekday lunchtime programme, as the latter leaves for a while to present BBC1's Breakfast Time.[71]
- 31 March – Dixie Peach joins, to take over Gary Davies' Saturday evening show.[72]
- 28 June – David Jensen leaves the station[73] to join Capital Radio. He is briefly replaced by Richard Skinner[74], before Janice Long takes over on 3 September.[75]
- 10 September – Bruno Brookes replaces Peter Powell as the presenter of the teatime show. He had been with the station for a short time already, deputising for holidaying presenters on an ad-hoc basis.
- 23 September – Tony Blackburn, the first voice heard on Radio 1, presents his final show as he leaves the station[76] to rejoin BBC Radio London.
- 29 September – The weekend breakfast show is revamped with Peter Powell replacing Tony Blackburn as the presenter.[77] The children's requests element of the show is dropped.[78]
- 30 September – Richard Skinner replaces Simon Bates as the host of the Sunday teatime Top 40 programme.
- Rod McKenzie joins.
- 1 January
- 1985
- 31 March – The Ranking Miss P becomes the station's first black female DJ where she begins presenting the station's first reggae programme.
- 6 July – Andy Kershaw joins.[79]
- 13 July – Radio 1 broadcasts full live coverage of the Live Aid concert.
- Producer Johnny Beerling replaces Derek Chinnery as station controller, as Chinnery leaves the station.
- The station's studios move to Egton House.[80]
- 1986
- 15 February – Paul Gambaccini presents his final American chart programme,[81] as he leaves the station for a while to join Capital Radio.
- 23 March – Richard Skinner presents the Sunday Top 40 for the final time.
- 29 March – Richard Skinner leaves the station for a while to join Capital Radio.
- 30 March – Bruno Brookes takes over as the host of The Official Chart.
- 18 April – Mike Read presents his final Radio 1 Breakfast show after five years in the hot seat.
- 3 May – Simon Mayo joins.
- 5 May – Mike Smith rejoins the station for the last time, after spending the past two years working for television, to take over Radio 1 Breakfast from Mike Read.[82] The same day also sees Radio 1 begin broadcasting on weekdays 30 minutes earlier, at 5:30am.
- 9 May – The record review programme format returns to Radio 1, as Singled Out debuts on that day. The new programme is hosted by Janice Long.[83]
- 1987
- 17 January – Johnnie Walker rejoins the station to present a new Saturday afternoon programme: The Stereo Sequence. It runs for 5+1⁄2 hours, and incorporates the previous stand-alone Saturday afternoon shows, including the weekly look at the American charts which is shortened to an hour.
- 3–4 October – Radio 1 makes some changes, as Simon Mayo replaces Mark Page as the weekend early show presenter.[84] Mike Read takes over Dave Lee Travis' Saturday mid-morning show,[85] with Travis keeping his Sunday mid-morning programme.[86] In addition, Read also takes over the Sunday lunchtime "retro" timeslot from Jimmy Savile.[87] Robbie Vincent replaces Simon Mayo's Saturday evening show,[88] while Nicky Campbell joins the station to succed Dixie Peach as the Saturday night presenter.[89] On Sunday, the game show Radio Scruples, hosted by Simon Mayo, makes its debut,[90] while Liz Kershaw and Ro Newton joins the station to present the magazine Backchat.[91] Also from this day, the new Top 40 is released on the Sunday afternoon chart show.[92] Previously, the programme had played songs from the chart which had been released the previous Tuesday. Finally, Andy Peebles's Soul Train makes its debut, taking over Robbie Vincent's Sunday evening time slot.[93]
- 9 October – Mike Read replaces Janice Long as presenter of the Singled Out record review programme,[94] and Jeff Young joins the station to present a new weekly Friday evening dance and rap music programme.[95]
- 31 October – Radio 1 begins launching its FM frequency, starting in London, initially on 104.8MHz before moving to the 97–99 frequency range allocated to the station.[44]
- 8 November – Bruno Brookes reveals the 600th UK No. 1 single on The Official Chart as "China in Your Hand" by T'Pau. Over the following three weeks and to mark the musical milestone, Radio 1 plays all 600 singles to have reached number one since the UK Singles Chart was launched in 1952.
- 26 December – Nicky Campbell replaces Simon Mayo as the presenter of the weekend early morning programme,[96] with Campbell's Saturday night programme being taken over by Mark Goodier, who joins the station.[97]
- 30 December – Janice Long leaves.[98]
- 1988
- January – The station has a More Music Day which limited presenter chat to news, weather and travel. Designed as an answer to those who thought that DJs talk too much, it has not been repeated since.
- 23 May – Simon Mayo takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast, replacing Mike Smith who leaves the station.[99] The new programme takes on a zoo format by introducing co-hosts and new features.
- 2 July – Johnnie Walker ends his second stint at the station as he leaves for a while and Roger Scott takes over as host of The Stereo Sequence.[100] This is not Scott's first appearance on the station, however, as he presented eight programmes from 1972[101] to 1973[102] under the name of Bob Baker.
- 1 September
- The Radio 1 FM 'switch on' day which sees three new transmitters brought into service covering central Scotland, the north of England and the Midlands. With 65% of the UK now covered by the station's new FM frequency, the pop duo Bros fly around the country in a helicopter to encourage listeners to switch over.[44]
- To coincide with the switch-ons, Top of the Pops is simulcast on the station for the first time giving listeners the chance to hear the programme in stereo.[103]
- 25 September – Peter Powell leaves and dropping the early show as Nicky Campbell moves to weekdays.
- 29 September
- Radio 1 'borrows' Radio 2's FM frequencies on a weeknight for the final time.
- Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM in South Wales and the west of England.[104]
- 1 October
- Radio 1 extends its broadcasting hours, closing down at 2am instead of midnight. This results in a new weekday evening schedule with John Peel moving to an earlier evening slot, Nicky Campbell taking over the late show and Richard Skinner rejoining the station, after two years with Capital Radio, to host the new midnight to 2am show.
- Mark Goodier and Liz Kershaw replace Peter Powell as presenters of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show.
- The Stereo Sequence is renamed The Saturday Sequence.
- 2 October
- Radio 1 stops borrowing Radio 2's FM frequencies on Sunday evenings after 7pm.
- The UK Top 40 is the only remaining programme left to continue to borrow Radio 2's frequencies between 5pm and 7pm on Sundays.
- 24 November – Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM in Belfast and Oxfordshire with a simulcast of Top of the Pops.[105] To mark the event, the next day's breakfast show and Simon Bates programmes are broadcast live from the two areas.[106]
- Jackie Brambles joins.
- 1989
- Some BBC Local Radio stations broadcast Radio 1 during their evening downtime, doing so because Radio 1's network of FM transmitters does not currently cover their broadcast area.
- 15 January – Alan Freeman rejoins the station to revive his Pick of the Pops and The Rock Show radio shows.
- 1 April – Radio 1 starts broadcasting slightly earlier each morning and is now on air between 5am and 2am seven days a week. Tim Smith joins the station to host the new weekend early show and Bruno Brookes replaces Mark Goodier as co-host of weekend breakfast with Liz Kershaw.
- 3 July–13 September – Simon Bates and producer Jonathan Ruffle set off on an 80-day circumnavigation of the world to raise money for Oxfam. Their progress is charted in a broadcast each weekday morning.[107]
- 29 September – Adrian John leaves the station after presenting the weekday early show for the past six years. He is replaced the following week by Jackie Brambles who had joined the station the previous year.
- 8 October – Roger Scott hosts his final show before his death.
- 31 October – Roger Scott dies four weeks after his final Radio 1 show. Richard Skinner takes over the hosting duties for The Saturday Sequence,[108] and Andy Peebles briefly takes over Scott's Sunday late show until the end of the year. [109]
- 19 December – Radio 1 starts transmitting on FM across the whole of south-east England (replacing the temporary London transmitter), in East Anglia,[110] in north Cumbria and south Scotland[111] and in the Cardigan Bay area.
- 30 December – Radio 1 broadcasts on Radio 2's FM frequencies on Saturday afternoons for the final time and Robbie Vincent leaves.[112]
1990s
- 1990
- 7 January – Bob Harris rejoins the station as Roger Scott's Sunday late show replacement.[113]
- 8 January
- A new 30-minute news programme News 90 replaces the teatime edition of Newsbeat; it is presented by Sybil Ruscoe and Allan Robb.
- A new jingles package, Music Radio for the 90s, is launched.
- 11 February – Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM in most of south-west England.[114]
- 17 March – Shortly after joining the station, Gary King replaces Tim Smith at weekends before moving to weekdays to take over the weekday early show. He replaces Jackie Brambles who moves to the weekday drivetime show.
- 25 March – Radio 1 'borrows' Radio 2's FM frequencies for the final time. However, Radio 1 on FM is still unavailable in some parts of England so some BBC local radio stations broadcast the Top 40 programme so that many listeners in England where Radio 1 is still only available on MW can continue to hear the programme in stereo.
- 12 April – Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM throughout north-east England (having previously had a low-power transmitter for Newcastle upon Tyne for a period) and because this area is a renowned heartland of heavy rock music, Tommy Vance hosts a special Friday Rock Show live from Newcastle to mark the switch-on.[115]
- 24 May – Radio 1 begins FM transmission in central-southern England with Steve Wright's show broadcast from Goodwood Racecourse.[116]
- 27 July – Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM in Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.[117]
- 28 September – The Ranking Miss P leaves.
- 30 September – Mark Goodier replaces Bruno Brookes as host of Radio 1's Top 40 show.
- 1 October – A shake-up of the station's evening schedules sees the debut of a new-music show The Evening Session presented by Mark Goodier, as John Peel's show moves to weekends.
- Paul Gambaccini rejoins, Jenny Costello joins to host the Weekend Early Show.
- Radio 1 starts broadcasting split travel bulletins during the Simon Mayo Breakfast Show. This allows for the London area to receive a separate bulletin from the rest of the country. One is broadcast live, the other recorded during the preceding record.
- 1991
- Lynn Parsons, Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley join; Richard Skinner leaves.
- 6 January – For the first time, Radio 1's Sunday chart show plays all 40 tracks and the show is renamed The Complete Top 40.[118] The programme's duration in increased, starting half an hour earlier at 4:30pm.
- 11 January – Pete Tong joins the station, to present a new Friday evening dance show called The Essential Selection.
- 4 April – Pete Tong presents the first edition of the station's first show dedicated solely to rap music. Called The Rap Selection, the show is broadcast on Thursday evenings and lasts until March 1992.
- 1 May – Radio 1 begins broadcasting a continuous 24-hour service on a permanent basis, but only on FM as the station's MW frequencies are switched off each night between midnight and 6am.[119]
- 5–30 August – Phil Collins, The Pet Shop Boys, Jason Donovan, and Whitney Houston are Bates' Mates who deputised for Simon Bates on Radio 1.[120]
- 29 August – Top of the Pops simulcasts on Radio 1 for the last time, the programme is introduced by Jackie Brambles.[121]
- 27 September – Mike Read leaves the station to join Capital Radio.
- 28 September – Johnnie Walker rejoins for the third and final time to begin his third stint as the station's Saturday afternoon presenter.[122] He replaces Mike Read and Richard Skinner.
- Tim Smith, Jenny Costello and Jeff Young leave, Paul McKenna joins to present the Weekend Early Show, but later leaves.
- 1992
- 9 February – The final edition of Bruno Brookes' and Liz Kershaw's Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show is broadcast as Liz herself leaves the station, ahead of major changes to the station's weekend programming line-up. Johnnie Walker hosts the show in the interim, until Gary Davies takes over on 14 March.
- 21 February – Gary Davies presents his final 'Bit in the Middle' weekday lunchtime show.
- 24 February – Jackie Brambles replaces Gary Davies as presenter of the weekday lunchtime show.
- 6 March – Round Table is broadcast for the final time.
- 9 March – The station undergoes a schedule revamp with several changes at the weekend, including Gary Davies becoming host of the weekend breakfast show. Gary King and Andy Peebles leave. The changes also see the introduction of a new jingles package, based on the theme Closer to the Music. As part of the changes, The Rap Selection is broadcast for the final time.
- 15 March
- Chris Evans makes his Radio 1 debut as he joins the station, presenting a short-lived Sunday early-afternoon show called Too Much Gravy.
- Bruno Brookes begins his second stint as host of the UK Top 40 programme. It is extended once again and now airs from 4pm until 7pm, allowing sufficient time for all songs to be played in full.[123]
- 20 April – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, an open-air concert in tribute to the late Freddie Mercury who died in November 1991, is held at London]'s Wembley Stadium. The concert is broadcast on BBC2 and Radio 1 in the UK and is televised worldwide.[124][125]
- 30 August – 100,000 people attend Radio 1's biggest ever Radio 1 Roadshow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the station. The event, held at Sutton Park in the West Midlands, features live performances from bands including Del Amitri, Aswad, The Farm and Status Quo.[126][127]
- 27 September – Chris Evans leaves the station for a while to co-present Channel 4's new breakfast show The Big Breakfast with Gaby Roslin.
- 27 December – Pick of the Pops is broadcast on Radio 1 for the final time.
- 1993
- Claire Sturgess joins.
- 26 March – After nearly 15 years of presenting The Friday Rock Show, Tommy Vance leaves to join the new station Virgin 1215 and Claire Sturgess takes over.[128]
- 18 April – The Official 1 FM Album Chart show is broadcast for the first time. Presented by Lynn Parsons, the 60-minute programme is broadcast on Sunday evenings, immediately after the Top 40 singles chart.
- 8 August – Dave Lee Travis resigns on air and leaves the station stating that he could not agree with changes that were being made to Radio 1. He tells his audience that changes are afoot that he could not tolerate "and I really want to put the record straight at this point and I thought you ought to know, changes are being made here which go against my principles and I just cannot agree with them".[129]
- 16 August–20 September – Loud'n'proud, a series presented by DJ Paulette, is the UK's first national radio series aimed at a gay audience.
- 3 September – Simon Mayo leaves Radio 1 Breakfast after five years in the chair, ahead of his move to mid-mornings to replace Simon Bates.
- 6 September – Mark Goodier takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast and hosts the show until the end of the year.
- September – Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley both join the station and they replace Mark Goodier as co-presenters of The Evening Session.
- October – Major changes take place, designed to reposition the station to attract a younger audience, following Matthew Bannister replacing Johnny Beerling as controller. Long-standing DJs, including Simon Bates, Gary Davies, Bob Harris, Paul Gambaccini and Alan Freeman leave around this time. They are replaced with several new younger presenters and specialist music programmes, previously heard late at night are given weekend afternoon slots.
- 25 October – Simon Mayo takes over weekday mid-mornings from Simon Bates. Mark Radcliffe takes over the late night 10pm-midnight slot and Lynn Parsons takes over from Bob Harris on the midnight to 4am slot.
- 30 October
- As part of the roll-out of the new schedule, Andy Kershaw and John Peel move from night time to Saturday afternoons and Danny Baker takes over the weekend morning show as he joins the station.[130]
- The first Essential Mix dance music programme is broadcast.
- 24 December – Steve Wright in the Afternoon ends its thirteen-year run on Radio 1.[131] It would return on Radio 2 in July 1999.[132]
- 1994
- 1 January – Kevin Greening joins the station and takes over Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show from Gary Davies.
- 8 January – Adrian Juste presents his last show on the station and leaves, having presented his Saturday lunchtime programme of music and comedy since 1978.
- 10 January
- Steve Wright becomes Radio 1's latest breakfast show presenter.[133] Other changes on this day see Mark Goodier present a new early afternoon show with Nicky Campbell hosting the drivetime show and Emma Freud as the host of the lunchtime show (as Emma herself joins the station) to replace Jackie Brambles who leaves the station for a career in America.
- The teatime edition of Newsbeat returns after four years away. The bulletin airs in its old slot between 5:30 and 5:45pm.
- 1 May – Annie Nightingale hosts the request show for the final time, having presented the programme since 1975. Lynn Parsons takes over as the show's presenter the following week, but it is dropped entirely six months later.
- 8 May
- In the early hours of Sunday morning, Annie Nightingale launches her career as a club music DJ, presenting the first edition of The Chill Out Zone.
- After six months of rocking Sunday afternoons, the rock show moves to mid-evenings, swapping slots with The Steve Edwards Soul Show.
- June – Radio 1 begins broadcasting announcements on its medium wave frequency voiced by Nicky Campbell, telling listeners to retune to FM because it will no longer be broadcasting on medium wave from 1 July.[134]
- 25 June – For its final week of broadcasting on MW, the station broadcasts on the frequency only between 6am and 9am.
- 1 July – Radio 1's last broadcast on medium wave. Stephen Duffy's "Kiss Me" is the last record played on MW just before 9am.[135]
- 19 September – Danny Rampling joins.[136]
- Radio 1 starts broadcasting on satellite, using audio carriers on the Astra satellite.
- 19 November – Clive Warren joins the station and takes over Weekend Breakfast from Kevin Greening who moves to Weekend Lunchtime.
- 10 December – Tim Westwood joins to present the station's first long-standing rap show, although Pete Tong had hosted The Rap Selection in 1991 and 1992, a continuation of the National Fresh segment in Jeff Young's Friday night show in the late 1980s.[137]
- 1995
- Radio 1's FM network is completed and the station now has the same coverage on FM as the other BBC national stations.
- Having been known on air as Radio 1 FM or even simply as 1FM since the start of the decade in order to promote the station's move to FM, the on air name reverts to Radio 1.
- January – As part of the major changes taking place at Radio 1, older music (typically anything recorded before 1990) is dropped from the daytime playlist and Emma Freud hosts her final weekday lunchtime show as she leaves the station, she is replaced by Lisa I'Anson who joins the station.
- 21 April –Bruno Brookes and Steve Wright[138] present their final shows as they leave the station.
- 23 April – After Bruno Brookes' departure, Mark Goodier begins his second stint as presenter of the Sunday afternoon Top 40 show.
- 24 April – Chris Evans takes over Radio 1 Breakfast from Steve Wright, following differences with the station's new management over restructuring as he rejoins the station. Dave Pearce joins the station to take over the early breakfast show.
- 9 May – Wendy Lloyd joins and hosts her first show.
- July – The station holds its first Ibiza weekend.[139]
- 27 September – Radio 1 begins to broadcast digitally following the commencement by the BBC of regular Digital Audio Broadcasting from the Crystal Palace transmitting station.[140]
- 21 October – Ahead of a schedule revamp, Johnnie Walker leaves the station. The changes include Clive Warren moving from the weekend breakfast show to the weekday early show, replacing Dave Pearce who launches a new weekend mid-morning show, replacing Kevin Greening. Kevin takes over the weekend breakfast show which includes a new weekend breakfast Newsbeat, presented by Peter Bowes.[141]
- 1996
- 4 February – Trevor Nelson joins the station to present the UK's first national R&B show Rhythm Nation.
- June – Radio 1 starts live streaming on the internet.[142]
- 27 June – Wendy Lloyd hosts her final show as she leaves the station.
- September – Danny Baker leaves to rejoin BBC Radio London.
- Lynn Parsons leaves and Mary Anne Hobbs joins.
- Lisa I'Anson moves to weekends.
- Radio 1 moves from Egton House to Yalding House.[80]
- 1997
- 31 January – Chris Evans leaves Radio 1 Breakfast and the station, after he was dismissed for demanding Fridays off to work on his Channel 4 show TFI Friday.
- 17 February
- Mark and Lard become the breakfast show's new presenters.[143]
- Jo Whiley begins presenting a weekday lunchtime show.[144]
- July – Claire Sturgess leaves.
- 27 July – The first edition of Radio 1's Dance Anthems is broadcast, hosted by Dave Pearce.[145]
- 28 July – Chris Moyles joins and becomes the new host of Early Breakfast.[146]
- 31 August – Regular programming on the BBC's radio and television stations is abandoned to provide ongoing news coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales with Radio 1 airing a special programme from BBC Radio News which is also carried on Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live and The Official Chart doesn't air for the first time.[147]
- 13 October – Mark and Lard move to an afternoon slot and Zoe Ball joins the station as Kevin Greening and Zoe herself replace them as presenters of the breakfast show.
- October – Nicky Campbell leaves the station to join Radio 5 Live and Judge Jules joins.
- 1998
- Fabio and Grooverider join.
- March – Andy Parfitt replaces Matthew Bannister as station controller.
- April – Emma B, Aled Haydn Jones and Gilles Peterson join.
- 25 September – Kevin Greening leaves the weekday breakfast show, leaving Zoe Ball as its sole presenter as he moves back to weekends to replace Clive Warren as host of the Sunday weekend breakfast show.
- 12 October – Chris Moyles replaces Dave Pearce who moves to a new evening show. Scott Mills joins the station as the new host of early breakfast.
- 1999
- February – Lisa I'Anson leaves.
- 24 April – Jamie Theakston joins.
- 26 July–27 August – The Radio 1 Roadshow is broadcast for the final time.[148]
- 19 August – Radio 1 broadcasts its first split programming when it introduces weekly national new music shows for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One of the new presenters is Huw Stephens who joins the station and Bethan Elfyn also joins.[149]
- 2 September – Colin Murray joins.
- 19 September – The first edition of a new Sunday evening advice programme called The Surgery is broadcast and Sara Cox joins.[150]
- 25 September – Sara Cox co-hosts a new Saturday lunchtime show with Emma B.
- Radio 1's Live Lounge is established and launched as part of the mid-morning show with Simon Mayo, later Jo Whiley and Fearne Cotton and later Clara Amfo and Rickie, Melvin and Charlie.
2000s
- 2000
- 16 January – Kevin Greening leaves the station to join Radio 5 Live. The following week, a new weekend breakfast show, The Breakfast Club, hosted by Sarah HB, launches as Sarah herself joins the station.
- 10 March – Zoe Ball presents the Radio 1 Breakfast show for the final time as she leaves the station.[151] Scott Mills begins a three-week stint as the show's temporary presenter.[152] By coincidence, Mills would succeed Ball as the presenter of the Radio 2 breakfast show 25 years later.
- 3 April – Sara Cox takes over as presenter of Radio 1 Breakfast and Mark Chapman joins and starts hosting his first ever Newsbeat sports bulletins.[153]
- 16 June – Andy Kershaw leaves to join Radio 3.[154] He had presented the station's world music programme since 1985.[155]
- September – Clive Warren leaves.
- October – Nemone joins.
- The Dreem Teem join.
- BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend takes place for the first time.
- 2001
- 19 February – Jo Whiley takes over the morning show and begins presenting The Jo Whiley Show. She replaces Simon Mayo who leaves to join Radio 5 Live and Radio 2.
- 10 May – Radio 1 loses its crown as the UK's most listened to radio station to Radio 2.[156]
- Radio 1, along with other stations, stop broadcasting via Sky's analogue satellite service.
- 2002
- March – Danny Rampling leaves and Rob da Bank, Bobby Friction and Nihal join.
- 16 August – Sister station BBC Radio 1Xtra launches.
- 28 September – Jamie Theakston leaves.
- 31 October – The Evening Session is broadcast for the final time.
- 17 November – Mark Goodier presents the Top 40 for the final time on the 50th anniversary of the chart and leaves the station due to falling audiences and BBC bosses considering him "too old for the job."[157][158][159]
- 2003
- 9 February – Wes Butters joins and becomes the new presenter of The Official Chart. Various presenters had hosted the show since Mark Goodier's departure in November 2002.
- 29 March – Edith Bowman joins as Colin Murray and Edith herself present their shows together until 2006.
- 3 May – Radio 1 cancels the first day of their Big Weekend at Heaton Park, Manchester due to poor weather. However, the second day of the event goes ahead as scheduled.[160]
- 7 September – Sarah HB hosts her final show as she leaves the station.
- 13–14 September – Radio 1's second One Big Weekend festival takes place at Cardiff.[161]
- 19 December – Sara Cox presents her final breakfast show and Chris Moyles presents his final drivetime show.
- Zane Lowe joins the station to present a new weeknight evening show.
- The Dreem Teem leave.
- 2004
- 4 January – Vernon Kay joins.
- 5 January – Chris Moyles takes over breakfast show with a return of the zoo format and Sara Cox moves to drivetime until her maternity leave.
- 26 March – Mark and Lard (Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley) present their final show as Radcliffe leaves the station to join Radio 2 and Riley also leaves the station to join Radio 6 Music after 11 years of broadcasting and one failed eight-month stint on Radio 1 Breakfast in 1997.
- 7 June – Scott Mills takes over as presenter of drivetime show.
- July – JK and Joel join.
- 29 July – Annie Mac joins.
- October – Carrie Davis joins and starts reading her first ever Newsbeat sports bulletins for The Chris Moyles Show.
- 14 October – John Peel presents his final show on the station, before leaving for a working holiday in Peru. He dies eleven days later.
- 2005
- 30 January – Wes Butters leaves the station as he presents his final The Official Chart show.
- 5 February – Sara Cox returns from maternity leave to take over the Saturday and Sunday 1pm–4pm weekend lunchtime show.
- 6 March – JK and Joel take over as presenters of The Official Chart.
- Emma B leaves.
- September – Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton join and Nemone leaves the station to join Radio 6 Music.
- 13 October – Radio 1 hosts the first John Peel Day, a year after he presented his final show for the station which was two weeks before his death.
- November – Radio 1 Podcasts launches.
- 2006
- 8 March – Radio 1 launches its YouTube channel.
- August – Edith Bowman becomes the sole presenter of her own weekday lunchtime show.
- 25 September – Colin Murray becomes the sole presenter of his own weekday late-night show.
- 2007
- 1 June – Greg James and Chris Smith join.
- 30 September – JK and Joel leave.
- 14 October – Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates take over as presenters of The Official Chart.
- 18 December – Radio 1 is forced to backtrack on a decision to begin playing a censored version of The Pogues' 1987 Christmas hit "Fairytale of New York". The song which sees Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan trading insults has the words "faggot" and "slut" edited out to "avoid offence", but after a day of criticism from listeners, the band and MacColl's mother, the decision is reversed and the original version is played in full.[162][163]
- BBC Introducing is launched, providing a vital platform for thousands of emerging musical talent. A decade later, over 460,000 tracks have been uploaded to the BBC Music Introducing website and 170,000 artists are registered.
- Nick Grimshaw and Kissy Sell Out join.
- 2008
- MistaJam joins.
- 1 August – Dave Pearce leaves.[164]
- 2009
- 20 February – Radio 1's Minimix launches.
- 18 September – Jo Whiley presents her final weekday mid-morning show and Edith Bowman also hosts her final weekday lunchtime show as they move to weekends.[165]
- 21 September – Fearne Cotton takes over the weekday mid-morning show and stops presenting The Official Chart and also Greg James takes over the weekday lunchtime show.
- 27 September – Reggie Yates becomes the sole presenter of The Official Chart.
- 24 December – Mark Chapman leaves the station after hosting his last Newsbeat sports bulletins to work for BBC Sport and ESPN.
- Colin Murray, Steve Lamacq and Bobby Friction leave and Dev joins.