For the Record

For the Record: Celebrating Piccadilly Radio’s 50th Anniversary, 1974 to 2024 looks back at the early years of what became the most popular and successful mixed news and entertainment radio station in the country.

It was listened to and loved by millions of people across the Northwest. Piccadilly was the pioneering and fearless radio station which launched the careers of national personalities such as Chris Evans, Timmy Mallett, Gary Davis, Mark Radcliffe, Andy Crane, Steve Penk and Andy Peebles, plus a host of journalists, TV and film producers, businessmen and women and entrepreneurs.

At the same time, it discovered and nurtured local personalities who had never worked in radio before such as Susie Mathis, Phil Wood, Dave Ward, Mike Shaft, James Stannage, Mike Sweeney, Becky Want and Stu Allen. They all became a huge part of listeners’ daily lives. Written in a fun, light-hearted, anecdotal, and self-deprecating style, the book takes the reader back in time to the characters, music and significant events in Greater Manchester, the UK and across the world between 1974 and 1987.

The book includes photographs of the people who became household names and memories from listeners which provide a poignant snapshot of what the people of the Northwest loved about Piccadilly. It will appeal to all those who remember fondly the station in the 1970s and 80s, when people listened non-stop to the radio, from breakfast to bedtime. Co-authors Brian Beech and Tony Ingham consider themselves very fortunate to have been members of the Piccadilly ‘family’ during the halcyon days of Piccadilly Radio.