Wire FM

The station was duly organised and went on air as Warrington Festival of Music Radio (WFMR) for two weeks in May 1991.

It broadcast from a borrowed portable cabin located behind the Warrington Town Hall Gates on 1602 kHz, with Matthew Newton & Mark Gabler among the presenting team.

It was decided to repeat the broadcast during November 1994, and the decision was made to change the station name from WFMR to Warrington FM.

Throughout this period, programming followed a mainstream commercial format, along with regular community features and local news supplied by the Warrington Guardian.

During 1995, with the licence application pending, the Wire FM management team had initially formed an alliance with the Marcher Radio Group to bid for Warrington.

There was much discussion on Widnes and Runcorn's acceptance of the name 'Wire', however, the Radio Authority later indicated this was a key factor in awarding the licence.

Application documents were submitted during May 1997 and the Radio Authority awarded the licence to Wire FM during November 1997.

Competing applications were : Following the licence award, problems with securing an antenna site caused a six-month delay in getting on-air.

But Orange were in the process of securing planning permission for a new, higher tower on close by land owned by Warrington Golf Course.

Other launch presenters included Pete Pinnington (drive), Lee McGrath (evenings), Bobby Prior, John Seddon (sport) and Tony Johnson (Sunday night).