History of BBC Radio 1

The British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, runs the United Kingdom's most famous and popular radio stations. Unlike American radio stations, the BBC is owned and operated by the British government. In fact, its radio shows are so popular and respected that they are widely broadcasted around the world.  BBC Radio 1 is one such radio station and has been in production for over four decades.

BBC Radio 1's First Broadcast

The premiere broadcast of BBC Radio 1 was on September 20, 1967 at 7am. Although the British Broadcasting Corporation has been in existence since the early 1920s, BBC Radio 1 was not created until the British Parliament decided it needed to create a new station to help curb the increasing popularity of "pirate" stations that were becoming more and more abundant in British airwaves, particularly amongst younger people. 

Style of Music

BBC Radio 1 caters mostly to a young crowd of listeners, airing popular music during the day and changing to club or dance music in the evening. 

High Popularity

Soon after its inception, BBC Radio 1 soon become the most popular radio station, not just in Britain, but worldwide. By the 1970s it was boasting about ten million listeners daily with twenty million listening during its popular morning show. This can be attributed in large part to the huge "British invasion" popular music movement that began to dominate during the end of the 1960s with British bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Radio 1 Roadshow

During the 1970s, BBC Radio 1 introduced a traveling roadshow that was created in order to advertise and promote newly emerging independent musical artists. This would then go on to help build the radio station's popularity even further.

Resurgence in Popularity

After the 1980s, BBC Radio 1 saw a decline in popularity. Perhaps this can be attributed to the dominance of cassette and CD music sales. However, with the new wave of "Brit pop" music acts enjoying popularity, the station is enjoying a resurgence as well. The launch of the BBC Radio website, through which listeners worldwide can listen to Radio 1 online, and the advent of satellite radio have also helped to introduce BBC Radio 1 to a new generation of listeners and reintroduce it to its previous audience.