Clock ticking for Buckie Radio veterans to mark 50th anniversary of iconic local community station
The final countdown is on for veterans of a former Moray radio station to sign up for a milestone anniversary celebratory event.
Thursday, November 27 at the Mill of Tynet Hotel will see a special reunion lunch held to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the iconic Radio Buckie.
The hospital broadcasting service was the brainchild former Pirate Radio 270 DJ Jeff Jones while he was Principal Teacher of Chemistry at Buckie High School.
The station began with a volunteer team of 12 to 15 enthusiastic Buckie High pupils and staff, and from the outset enjoyed tremendous support from the local community, Matron of Seafield hospital, Miss MacKinnon, and the then-headteacher, George McKenzie.
With financial and practical backing from the school, a makeshift studio was created in the old Low School (now Pringle Court), making use of a large storage cupboard and a redundant staff room.
From 1974, Radio Buckie initially provided music shows within the school itself, broadcasting to the pupils in the display area at lunchtime. Then, at exactly 2pm on February 12, 1975, it made its first landline broadcast to Seafield Hospital. The service later expanded to include Netherha Nursing Home and the community centre (then in the former West Church) in 1976.
Former Radio Buckie Production Controller Keith Gordon Fraser said: “Thanks to Jeff’s remarkable music industry connections, the station received regular promo packs from major labels like CBS, EMI, Polydor and A&M and was one of the first stations in the UK to play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody on its release in 1975.
“Bruce Springsteen, not yet a household name in the UK, was championed early on by Radio Buckie. Interviews with stars such as Tammy Wynette, David Essex, and The Corries (recorded live at the Fishermen’s Hall in 1977) were standout moments, with many artists happy to give their time once they learned Radio Buckie was a hospital station.
“Sadly, rising GPO landline costs in the 1990s proved too great a burden, and Radio Buckie’s broadcast reach diminished. Jeff Jones, by then presenting regularly on Moray Firth Radio, handed over the reins to John Sandison. The station returned to its roots, broadcasting once more to Buckie High School pupils at lunchtime before eventually ceasing operations.
“The upcoming reunion will also mark what would have been Jeff’s 80th birthday on November 27. We warmly invite all former volunteers, supporters, and anyone connected with Radio Buckie from 1973 onwards to join us in celebrating a truly unique part of Buckie’s broadcasting history.
To register your interest in attending, please email Keith Gordon Fraser at kgfraser+RadioBuckie@mac.com
This station in completely separate from the current Radio Buckie.