105.2 FM in the West Midlands from 2004 to 2013 when its studios in Lionel Street, Birmingham, 105.2 was turned over to Planet Rock (which was then replaced by Absolute Radio from 2015) in June 2013.
In July 2002, ahead of the Radio Authority's advertisement for a new regional FM franchise for the West Midlands, Kerrang!
The station was broadcast from the grounds of Birmingham City Football Club and was initially on air for one month only.
was subsequently rolled out to DAB digital radio, beginning with transmission in London from 1 November 2003.
's successful bid for the West Midlands regional FM franchise the previous October.
[6] The station was based at new dedicated studios located in Lionel Street, Birmingham, officially opened by Black Sabbath's guitarist Tony Iommi.
Magazine sound, with a wider and less mainstream style, playing a mix of punk and metal bands.
Radio's program schedule and line-up of hosts, former Big Brother UK contestant Kate Lawler was taken on as co-presenter of the "Morning After" breakfast show, alongside Tim Shaw.
[7] By 2009, the station had changed the style of music it played in order to appeal to a wider audience, and radio industry listening figures published in March of that year revealed that the station was broadcasting to 374,000 people across the West Midlands.
Radio transmitted its final FM broadcast just three weeks later, on 14 June, and the station's studios in Birmingham city centre were permanently closed.
[12] In August 2013, the closure of the regional MXR digital radio multiplex for the West Midlands saw Kerrang!
's DAB footprint saw the station become unavailable to radio listeners in Birmingham, in the former FM licence area.
Following the departure of breakfast presenter Kate Lawler to Virgin Radio UK in early 2016, a schedule reshuffle promoted Jake Thomson to breakfast, with his prior daytime show taken over by former In:Demand host Alex James.
[15] In July 2017, Sophie Kostrowski joined the station to host the weekday breakfast show, as the replacement for Jake Thomson who moved to the weekend breakfast show on classic-dance music station Kisstory.
[citation needed] In December 2017, the UK's biggest club night Propaganda began broadcasting their own radio show on Kerrang!
This online only station was launched in August 2019, and focuses on classic rock music from the last 20 years.
Radio was among the initial suite of Bauer stations to launch a premium paid subscription online audio platform in spring 2021;[21] the previously free Kerrang!