Twilight FM was a pirate radio station based in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It broadcast for many years on 105.4 FM, in most recent years it has transmitted on on 107.7 FM. Contents
Twilight FM was set up in 1993 by a DJ who called himself only "Chris H". He originally operated the station from a shed in the back of his parents garden. In the early days the station would play mostly Pop music, although it even had its own show.
Eventually, the demand for dance music was too great to ignore and Twilight FM became the only station in Hull to play dance music.
After a fall out over music policy DJs Sumo and Chris H went their separate ways. Chris continued to run Twilight FM with a more underground dance feel, whilst Sumo went to form "Buzz FM" which broadcast more commercial dance on 106.6 FM.
After both stations were raided and closed down by the DTI, and a third pirate emerged called "Sweet FM", the pair made up, and Twilight FM continued.
After the regional dance station Kiss 105 started, Twilight FM found it hard to compete and the station slowly began to wind down.
After a period of quiet, Twilight came back on air during 2006 on the new frequency of 107.7MHz with a number of not only old-time Twilight DJs but also a number of new voices on the air.
Being an illegal operation, Twilight FM had to constantly find new premises to broadcast from, mostly it would be a friend of a friends spare room. On one occasion the owner of the property became a stand in DJ and was given the name "Caretaker Nick". Other places Twilight FM have broadcast from include DJ Sumo's conservatory and Bransholme flats!
Many businesses advertised on Twilight FM, even though they were helping aid an illegal broadcaster. Many of them were Public Houses, the DJs would regularly pray on the licensee to part with some cash! Typical advertisers heard on air were,
Most of these businesses, with the exception of 35 Taxis are no longer trading.
Typical songs from the halcyon days that are associated with Twilight FM are:
* Bobby Brown - "Two can play that game" (K-Klass Remix). * Artemesia - "Bits and Pieces". * Pulse feat. Antoinette Roberson - "The lover that you are". * Kathy Brown - "Turn me on, turn me out". * La Luna - "To the beat of the drum".
Twilight FM held a number of "Dance Events" in the city featuring various DJs from the station. Listeners would be invited to attend the night and charged a door fee, this would then be used to finance any repairs or equipment needed.
Venues for these club nights included:
* "The Tower Nightclub", on Anlaby Road. * "Club Oasis", on Albion Street. * "Circus Circus", Spencer Street.
All of these premises are now derelict.
It was not unusual for the DJs to be seen on the streets of Hull with a paint brush, a pot of wallpaper paste and a bag of posters Flyposting around the city. Many of the DJs would also give out Flyers at their own club nights to help promote the events.
At the height of its popularity Chris H commissioned some jingles for the station, mainly consisting of sweepers. These were made by the Hessle based production company "NYPD".
* Radical 999 * Rhythm FM
* Buzz FM * Heaven 107
Due to the fact that Twilight FM was a pirate radio station and ran the risk being raided by the Department of Trade and Industry the presenters/DJs preferred not to use their real names, thus ending up with a rather colourful line-up:
* Chris H * Sumo * DJ Funky Zone * Paul Winn * Mikey Bee * Lady J * Poison * Nealy B * Metal Mickey * DJ Reverb * DJ Winney * Shades of Rhythm * DJ Seek * DJ Tiny * 3-Style
* Nervous Neville * DJ Sly * Wavey Davey * DJ Crazyman * MC NRG * Bod * Mr Ben * DJ Dizaster * Tosh * Scoundrel (aka Gazza) * DJ Fyzal * Frenchie * DJ Vortex * DJ Star * Alan B
Twilight FM has been closed down by government officials many times, the result is normally a fine for the DJ on the air at the time and confiscation of all equipment and records. Twilight FM was raided more recently in September 2006 by OFCOM .
Twilight FM no longer broadcasts on FM, instead it transmits on the on the world wideweb as "twilightfm.co.uk" Current logo Current logo
The internet side of the station has kept its original format but is now joint run by a number of the newer members vowing to keep the spirit of Twilight alive!