Latest news about Absolute Radio

Absolute Radio Live comedy night returns to The London Palladium

Frank Skinner will return to the London Palladium this November to host the next Absolute Radio Live. The comedy night will feature Dara Ó Briain, Joe Lycett, Judi Love, Angela Barnes, Phil Wang and Glenn Moore and raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. Frank said “I can’t wait to get back on the stage at the London Palladium and host this brilliant live event. After the last year we could all do with a good laugh, and..."...

Charles Esten to host Absolute Radio Country series

American actor, singer, and songwriter Charles Esten will be joining Absolute Radio Country to guest host a new four-part series. Best known for his roles as Deacon Claybourne on the TV series, ‘Nashville’ and as Ward Cameron on Netflix’s ‘Outer Banks’, Charles is also a singer in the country music scene with over 9.5 million streams to his name. He’ll be on-air Sunday evenings from 7pm from 4th July as...

Dave Berry syndicated to Absolute Radio Country

Dave Berry and Bush & Richie will extend their networked shows from the Absolute Radio network to Absolute Radio Country when it launches on Monday. It means the two peak shows will offer nine different playlists on nine different stations. Absolute Radio Country will replace Country Hits Radio with some of the original featured shows transferring to the new brand...

Bauer stations team up with Disney for ticket giveaway

Listeners across some Bauer stations will get a chance to win tickets for Disney’s The Lion King, Frozen the Musical, and Beauty and the Beast this month. In a deal with Disney Theatrical Group, Magic Radio, Magic at the Musicals, Scala Radio, Absolute Radio and KISS will give away over 3,000 tickets to theatregoers who have missed live entertainment throughout the pandemic to its shows. Throughout May, all stations will give away on-air spot prizes...

Chris Kamara joins Absolute Radio for Euro 2021

Chris Kamara is joining the team at Absolute Radio for the Euro 2021 tournament in June. Chris will be on Breakfast with Dave Berry and Bush and Richie’s Hometime show to add the funny to the football in the build-up and during the tournament, giving his views on the daily games, focusing on the lighter side of the tournament. Ahead of then in late May, Kammy will also launch a new...

Jackie Brambles to host Greatest Hits Radio series

The latest Audio Content Fund includes funding a four-part series called Greatest Brits with Jackie Brambles for Greatest Hits Radio. The former BBC Radio 1 host and current BBC Radio Scotland presenter will celebrate 80s and 90s British female artists in the run-up to the 2021 BRIT Awards. It’s one of many projects awarded money in the latest round, bringing the total to £1.7m in the past year. The projects will broadcast across more than 120 different radio stations and will be produced by 19 different independent production companies...

You are invited to Absolute Radio’s Christmas Party

Absolute Radio has announced it is creating the UK’s first virtual office Christmas party, and anybody is invited to join in. Bastille and Blossoms will be the headline performers in the day-long event which is happening on-air on Friday 4th December. Bastille will be performing live tracks and chatting to Dave Berry on the Absolute Radio Breakfast show while Blossoms will be joining Andy Bush and Richie Firth for Hometime. To bring the Office Christmas party to a close, the station is working with KISS FM stablemates the Dixon Brothers who will be doing a special Absolute 80s mix from 7pm...

Skunk Anansie lead singer Skin joins Absolute Radio

Absolute Radio has hired Skunk Anansie lead singer and songwriter Skin to host a new 10-part series. During the programmes, which start in October, Skin will play the songs which have sound-tracked her life as well as the new music she’s listening to. Speaking about joining Absolute Radio and her new show, Skin said “I’m really excited to be part of the team. It’s been a long-term dream of mine to have my own radio show, and this format is exactly the sort of thing I’ve always wanted to do. “I have a lot of personal attachments to various songs. There’s a social and spiritual part of music that people don’t really talk about that much and in this series, I’ll be sharing what certain songs mean to me"...

RAJAR Q1 2020: London and national brands roundup

BBC Radio 2 has lost almost a million listeners in the last year, according to the Q1/2020 audience research from RAJAR. The reach of the UK’s biggest radio station fell from 15.356m at the start of 2019 to 14.362m over the first three months of this year. The two biggest commercial radio networks – Heart and Capital – both lost significant reach over the 12 months too. The Heart network lost 787,000 listeners to leave a reach of 7.737m, while Capital dropped 815,000 to 6.386m. When you add in the other Heart and Capital branded stations – 70s, 80s, 90s, Dance, Xtra and Xtra Reloaded – the Heart brand reaches 9.365m and the Capital brand 7.502m...

Virgin Radio to air Pete Mitchell tribute this weekend

A special show to celebrate the life and career of radio presenter Pete Mitchell, hosted by Chris Evans, will be broadcast on Virgin Radio UK on Sunday evening. Pete died suddenly last month, aged just 61, while out walking near his home in Stockport. His 34 years in radio as a presenter and producer had seen him work at stations including Piccadilly Radio, Key 103, Virgin, Radio 2, 6 Music and Absolute Radio. Perhaps most famous for his partnership with Geoff Lloyd on Virgin Radio in the 2000s, he’d most recently been making ‘Revolutions in Music’ documentaries for the new Virgin Radio...