Piccadilly Radio was the first commercial radio station in Manchester when it began broadcasting in 1974. The station later became part of the group of Magic Radio stations with regional programming from the north of England.
The Piccadilly Radio collection was initially deposited with the North West Sound Archive in 1983. When this closed in 2015, the collection was transferred to Manchester Central Library. The complete archive contains over 1,700 items.
For the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project three distinct programmes were chosen.
Arena – a documentary programme on social and cultural issues.
Top Twenty – a series of short drama productions based on popular music.
Sweeney’s Gang – a talk show hosted by Mike Sweeney featuring musicians, sportspeople and other prominent entertainment figures.
You can listen to these radio shows at the Archives+ search room at Manchester Central Library. You can read about the Piccadilly Radio collection online at the British Library’s Sound and Moving Image catalogue. The British Library collection reference is UAP009. The local reference is PICC and PICC2.