A Salford-based urban radio station built out of tragedy is celebrating its 14th anniversary.
Unity Radio, now broadcasting from studios in MediaCity, was formed on 10 December 2010, but the journey of the station stretches even further back.
Founder Jon Green set up a pirate radio station in 2001 with close friends Wesley Milne and Robert Hargreaves.
Jon and Robert had grown up together in south Manchester and bonded through their shared experiences in foster care before being adopted.
However, tragedy would strike as Robert was murdered in that same year.
Through the pain of his friend’s murder, Jon wanted to continue the legacy they had built together and continued to run the station between 2001 and 2004 with others in the radio community to help young people in care or who had been victims of serious and violent crime.
Jon said: “In the 90s Hip-Hop as a movement connected everybody together, we used to hang around in a place called sheep store on Tib street.”
However, the journey to creating Unity Radio wasn’t always an easy one.
After being involved in serious incidents and trouble in Manchester, Jon moved to London in 1998 where he worked on a pirate radio station.
The London stations were far more advanced than the ones in the north and that motivated him to bring his experiences and expertise back with him.
Jon had always been inspired by HipHop Culture, Skateboarding and Graffiti, and underground pioneers such as, Gerald, DJ Semtex, Sefton Madface and Femi Bukinola.
Back home he launched 106FM in 2001 in Moss Side and from there to Salford New Bank opposite Strangeways Prison.
The station continued to grow, with the music community.
It wasn’t long until they became Manchester Urban Station.
initial attempts to gain an FM licence failed but eventually succeeded in 2008 paving the way for the launch of Unity Radio on December 10 2010 – 14 years ago.
From humble beginnings they were able to move into their own studios in MediaCity’s Dock 10 in 2018.
The radio station now plays on 92.8FM, and has positioned itself around industry giants ITV and the BBC.
The future looks bright for Unity Radio.
- Find more information about Unity Radio
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