Manchester central library needs public’s help in preserving legacy of Piccadilly Radio tapes 

Radio buffs are being asked to help the revival of the golden era of Piccadilly Radio by providing home recordings of beloved shows.

Last year work began on digitising archives from the defunct radio station with proceeds from a £99K grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Piccadilly Radio was the city’s first commercial radio station to broadcast with DJ Rodger Day playing the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations in April 1974. Much-loved shows included Susie Mathis and Dave Ward’s daytime shows, James Stannage’s late night shock jock antics, and Mike Shaft’s ‘Taking Care of Business’  

Another iconic and memorable host is Stu Allan and his legendary show ‘Bus Diss’ and Steve Penk’s hilarious prank calls, part of a handful of recordings missing from the archives. 

Over 1,600 Piccadilly Radio shows have been saved in digital format since January and are available to listen to and explore on the Library’s Sound + Vision listening pods in the library.

Live shows

Not all live recordings were kept and archived by the station but may exist in homes of local radio lovers, in attics, cupboards or old storage boxes. The library is eager to find episodes of the children’s show Tripe & Onions with Judith Weymont and Chris Evans and Michael Gate’s Gambon and Defreitas detective series. 

Fans and listeners of Piccadilly Radio with tapes and recordings are invited to contact Manchester Library and can have their tapes digitised, making fan favourite shows available for all to listen to when feeling nostalgic. 

The call for old recordings started as a part of the Piccadilly Radio Archive: Nobody Did It Better! exhibition, hosted at Central Library until 31 December. The exhibition highlights Piccadilly Radio’s extensive history and the unique voices that created Manchester’s airwaves from 1974 to the early 2000s. 

Councillor John Hacking said: “The Piccadilly Radio Archive project is doing incredible work to preserve Manchester’s broadcasting history, and his public call-out is a chance for all of us to be part of it. If you’ve got old tapes of your favourite shows from back in the day, now’s the time to dig them out and help fill in the archive.”

Listeners can send recordings to [email protected]