WGR Community Forum

📻 Real Radio North East Status: 🔴 Real Radio name closed / rebranded Region: North East England Years as Real Radio: 2009–2014 Previous Name: Century Radio Became: Heart North East Format: Popular Music • Local News • Chat • Sport • Entertainment About Real Radio North East Real Radio North East was a major regional radio station serving listeners across North East England. Its history actually stretches back further than the Real Radio name. The station originally launched as Century Radio in September 1994, bringing a mixture of music, personalities, speech and local content to the North East. In March 2009, Century was rebranded as Real Radio, joining Guardian Media Group's wider Real Radio network. 🎙️ Music, Chat & North East Life Real Radio became well known across the region for combining mainstream popular music with local personalities, news, entertainment and listener interaction. Sport was also an important part of the station's history. The station carried live match commentary involving Newcastle United and Sunderland, and listeners may also remember its football phone-in programming. For many North East listeners, Real Radio was one of those stations you'd hear in the car, at work or around the house. 🔴 What Happened to Real Radio? Real Radio didn't simply disappear because nobody was listening. Guardian Media Group's radio business was bought by Global Radio in 2012. Global later announced that the Real Radio stations would become part of its Heart network. During spring 2014, the Real Radio branding was gradually removed. Then, at 6am on Tuesday 6 May 2014, the Real Radio network came to an end and Real Radio North East became Heart North East. So while the underlying North East radio service continued, Real Radio North East as a station name and brand was gone. 🕰️ Do You Remember Real Radio North East? Did you listen to Real Radio around 2009–2014? Do you remember the presenters, football phone-ins, competitions, jingles or particular shows? Have you still got any: 📻 Old recordings 🎙️ Presenter/DJ names 📸 Photos 💻 Website screenshots 🎵 Jingles 📺 Adverts ⚽ Football broadcasts 📰 Real Radio memorabilia Post your memories and anything you've saved below. Let's preserve another piece of North East radio history. WGR Old Radio Stations Archive Remembering the stations, DJs, presenters and sounds that disappeared from the North East airwaves. The important distinction for your archive is that Real Radio itself is dead as a brand, but its North East licence/service continued as Heart North East. The Real Radio branding was phased out in spring 2014, with the full Heart relaunch on 6 May 2014