 It
was on a midsummer's morning that Radio Tees first took to the
air. Only one group 'Sound Broadcasting (Teesside) Limited' had applied for the franchise to provide
Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire with a commercial
radio service and there was those who thought the groups
enthusiasm would run away with them. It wouldn't be an easy area
to serve with towns and villages dotted across it's area, all
with differing tastes and needs.
 The
station based it's self in Stockton, converting the old
Waterboard offices into studio's and offices for its operation.
From the outset Radio Tees had never been an organisation to do
things in an half hearted way and it had the advantage of being
at the heart of the area's great industries, agriculture, Steel,
Coal, Chemicals and Engineering. Research had shown that
most people wanted a mainly music station, but Radio Tees was
much more than that telling you what you needed to know with
local news, sport and phone-in's encouraging people to join in
on various topics and issues of the day. Radio Tees catered for
everyone with specialist programmes in the evening.
 Managing
Director John Bradford intended Radio Tees to be a local
entertainment station with a sense of duty and service. The
broad base of the station was reflected in it's setup. The
Chairman of the board was Jim Robertson, a former director of
ICI's Agricultural Division. Other directors included a
nightclub owner, a solicitor, a farmer, and a housewife. Finance
for the station came from 33 investors, no one of which had a
dominant shareholding.
 The
stations first Programme Controller was Bob Hopton, an
experienced radio man who had worked for both the BBC and
Commercial sector. Bob was charged with finding the stations on
air talent, which included Les Ross who came from the BBC in
Birmingham, Alistair Perrie whose career had started when he was
15 and Tricia Ruff the stations first female voice. The news
operation was in the hands of Bill Hamilton who had worked for
the Hartlepool Mail, Tyne Tees TV and the BBC in Scotland. Bill
would have a team of 6 reporters working under him, providing
local stories and reports for hourly news bulletins and current
affairs programmes.
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