1983 in British radio

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This is a list of events in British radio during 1983.

Events

January

• 4 January – BBC Radio 2 revives Music While You Work.
• 17 January – BBC Local Radio comes to south west England with the launches of BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.

February

• 12 February – Sounds of the 60s is broadcast for the first time on BBC Radio 2.

March

• No events.

April

• 18 April – Prior to the launch of a commercial station covering Gwent, the BBC launches BBC Radio Gwent. It broadcasts at peak time, opting out of BBC Radio Wales. The station broadcasts on VHF/FM and therefore becomes the only part of Wales where English-language radio programming for Wales can be heard on VHF/FM.

May

• May – The first Birmingham Walkathon is staged by Birmingham's BRMB to raise money for charity, and takes place around the city's Outer Circle bus route.

June

• 13 June – Gwent Broadcasting becomes the first station in the UK to occupy the newly released 102.2 to 104.5Mhz part of the VHF/FM waveband.

July

• 2 July – BBC Radio Medway is expanded to cover all of the county of Kent and is renamed accordingly.

August

• 19 August – "Pirate" radio station Radio Caroline resumes broadcasting to Britain in an album-oriented rock format from MV Ross Revenge anchored in the Knock Deep outside UK territorial waters off the Thames Estuary.

September

• No events.

October

• 6 October – Centre Radio stops broadcasting after running into financial difficulties. A take-over bid is rejected by the IBA and the station goes off air at 5.30pm.
• 22 October – BBC Radio Brighton is expanded to cover all of the county of Sussex and is accordingly renamed BBC Radio Sussex.

November

• No events.

December

• 18 December – Sounds of Jazz is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 for the final time. The show is transferred to Radio 2 in the new year.
• December – Kenny Everett leaves BBC Radio 2 a couple of weeks after he made a risqué on-air joke about Margaret Thatcher.

Station debuts

• 17 January –
  • BBC Radio Devon
  • BBC Radio Cornwall
• 4 April – County Sound
• 11 April – BBC Radio Tweed
• 16 April – BBC Radio Solway
• 18 April – BBC Radio Gwent
• 13 June – Gwent Broadcasting
• 4 July – BBC Radio York
• 29 August – Southern Sound Radio
• 5 September –
  • Signal 1
  • Marcher Sound
• Unknown – Bridgend Hospital Radio

Programme debuts

• 1 February – In Business on BBC Radio 4 (1983–Present)
• 12 February – Sounds of the 60s on BBC Radio 2 (1983–Present)

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
• Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
• Down Your Way (1946–1992)
• Letter from America (1946–2004)
• Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
• A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

1950s

• The Archers (1950–Present)
• The Today Programme (1957–Present)
• Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
• Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

1960s

• Farming Today (1960–Present)
• In Touch (1961–Present)
• The World at One (1965–Present)
• The Official Chart (1967–Present)
• Just a Minute (1967–Present)
• The Living World (1968–Present)
• The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

1970s

• PM (1970–Present)
• Start the Week (1970–Present)
• Week Ending (1970–1998)
• You and Yours (1970–Present)
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
• Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
• Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
• Newsbeat (1973–Present)
• The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
• File on 4 (1977–Present)
• Money Box (1977–Present)
• The News Quiz (1977–Present)
• Breakaway (1979–1998)
• Feedback (1979–Present)
• The Food Programme (1979–Present)
• Science in Action (1979–Present)

1980s

• Radio Active (1980–1987)

Closing this year

• 6 October – Centre Radio (1981–1983)

Births

• 19 January – MistaJam, born Peter Dalton, DJ
• 19 July – Helen Skelton, broadcast presenter
• 6 August – Lloyd Langford, Welsh comedian
• 16 August – Colin Griffiths, TV presenter and DJ

Deaths

• 22 February – Sir Adrian Boult, orchestral conductor, BBC director of music (born 1889)
• 24 December – Alan Melville, scriptwriter and war reporter (born 1910)

See also

• 1983 in British music
• 1983 in British television
• 1983 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1983