Global Radio, currently concentrating on closing 20 FM stations across the UK, have also put an end to what was 26 thriving medium wave stations this week.
Original commercial stations such as Radio Trent 301, South Coast Radio, GEM AM, Invicta Radio and Hereward all took their last local breath as Gold went national.
Until recently, each AM station produced a locally recorded four-hour daytime show from 12pm till 4pm, a far cry from when the stations launched, when they were mostly live and local 24 hours a day.
But with recent Ofcom changes, and the introduction of the Digital Economy Act, stations on AM are now allowed to network 24 hours a day in their own country. Which has lead to just one Gold covering England and one Gold covering Wales. A third version operates some local programmes in the Midlands as stations in Birmingham, Coventry and Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, and Telford are owned by a different company to the rest (Orion Media bought the stations from Global Radio due to ownership rules).
Over at [link=http://www.mediauk.com/radio/starting-with/g]Media UK[/link], a list of what these stations were previously known as has appeared. They are:
England: Classic Gold, Brunel Classic Gold, Brunel Radio, Radio Brunel, GWR Radio, Radio West, Radio Mercury, Mercury Extra, Fame 1521, Breeze, Classic Gold Breeze, Chiltern Radio, Chiltern Radio Supergold, The Breeze, Supergold Three Counties Radio, Three Counties Radio, Severn Sound, Invicta Sound, Invicta Radio, Coast AM, Coast Classics, Invicta Supergold, Capital Gold, Fortune 1458, Lite AM, Big 1458 AM, Amber Radio, Classic Gold Amber, Northants Radio Supergold, Hereward Radio, GEM AM, Radio Trent, Classic Gold GEM, WGMS, 1332 The World's Greatest Music Station, Hereward Radio, Plymouth Sound AM, The Gold AM, South Coast Radio, Southern Sound, GWR, Wiltshire Radio
Midlands: 1152 Xtra AM, Capital Gold, Mercia Sound, Xtra AM 1359, Mercia Classic Gold 1359, Classic Gold 1359, WABC, Nice & Easy Radio WABC, Beacon Radio, Classic Gold WABC, Classic Gold 990/1017
Wales: Touch AM, Capital Gold, Marcher Sound 1260, Marcher Sound | Sain y Gororau, Classic Gold Marcher 1260
What are your memories of these stations? Let us know in the comments.