The first voice on air was breakfast presenter John Evington and the first song played was Beautiful Noise by Neil Diamond.

[2] Originally, Signal Radio aired as a single full service station on 104.3 MHz and 1170 kHz (257 metres).

The station's name was derived from Signal, the local newspaper in the Five Town novels by Staffordshire writer Arnold Bennett.

Signal Radio was bought in 1999 by The Wireless Group, which was subsequently acquired by UTV Media six years later for £97 million.

On 8 February 2019, Signal 1 and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations in Great Britain were sold to Bauer.

[10] The announcement marked the end of the Signal Radio brand after over 40 years of broadcasting[11] The station's local programming was not affected as a result of the relaunch.

Until 2024, Signal 1's studios were based on Stoke Road in the Shelton area of Stoke-on-Trent in a building previously occupied as a warehouse.

Teaching takes places both at the college in Burslem as well at Signal's studios in Shelton, with specialist input from the station's staff.

Most Street Team members are part of the Signal Radio Media Academy and many have gone on to other roles across the network including presenting, producing and sales.