Student Radio Association

Shock Radio is the University of Salford's student radio station. We're dedicated to bringing the best of Salford's extensive radio talent to the airwaves, and work hard to ensure we maintain a professional image within the industry.

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Station Founded 1998

Shock Radio began its life as Storm FM in the late nineties. The station was run by students from all three Manchester Universities; but after various problems Storm could no longer continue broadcasting and broke down. Undeterred by the disaster, a bunch of dedicated Salford students led by Dave Daly decided to continue and form their own radio station. Their first ever meeting took place in the function room of the Pint Pot, where a number of interested students turned up to join. Plans and potential names for the station were discussed at the gathering; including the title ‘Blade FM’, which was quickly rejected because of its violent connotations. Eventually though, the committee decided upon ‘Shock FM’ and the station we know and love today was born. Within its first week of becoming an official society, Shock FM’s popularity escalated. It became the second most popular society in the entire union, received full support from the media department and in particular lecturer Mike Henfield who helped greatly with the licensing application. Everything looked rosy for the station, but the positive atmosphere was soon to change. After a number of problems, the media department decided to opt out of supporting the application. To make matters worse the station’s manager Dave Daly stepped down after an offer was made to him by the BBC; Shock’s future seemed to be in tatters. But in November 1999, first year student John Last was elected as the new Station Manager. His first job was to work on a business plan to reduce the cost of the station’s equipment. He presented a 48 page document to the Student’s Union, who seemed impressed with the proposals; but they refused to give Shock more than £100 a year to fund the station. Though they were downhearted, the team weren’t about to give up the fight to get on air. Thankfully, the SU did allow the station its own office and studio near to the old Sub Club in the Allerton Building; it was in here that the magic happened. Although Shock was still not on the air, they were given the opportunity to broadcast pre-recorded shows in Lowry’s bar, or as it is now known, Yours Bar. Hours were spent in the tiny studio recording a number of shows; but due to complications, the plug was pulled on the idea and the shows were never broadcasted. Things started to look up in the year 2000 when the SU gave Shock £1,000 to spend on studio equipment. This money was invested on making an internal broadcast, and while the kind donation seemed to help, as a society Shock was not seen as a priority in the SU’s eyes. In December 2000, John Last temporally passed the torch to Brendan Keville, Shocks Treasurer, while he recovered from an injury. However when he returned to the station to see nothing had changed, he decided to step down and enrol Keville as Shock’s Manager permanently. Although he had left, Last was still determined to make the union listen to Shock’s proposals. He managed to persuade Presidential Candidates and other SU members to place in their manifestos a commitment to Shock for the following year. Matt Haley, or Salford’s ‘Scally’ as he has been referred to circulated a petition. It was only with two and a half years of hard work and protesting, that the Student’s Union finally paid attention to the station’s requests. Ten years on and thankfully the station is up and running, but it has had a number of problems to contend with on its way. Despite some hard times, the station has prospered over the past decade and is now making itself known all over Manchester. Without the help of Dave Daly and John Last to name but a few, Shock would not be the station it is today.

Station Manager: Riain McAuley

Station Manager: salfordshock

Station Manager: Riain McAuley

Programme Controller: Riain McAuley

Head of News: Richard Tree

SU Sabbatical: Ricky Chotai

Presenter: Robert Midgley

Presenter: Matthew Hemmaty

North West & North Wales Region