Tempo FM is the local community radio station for

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

Boston Spa Boston Spa is a village and civil parish in the Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and th ...

and the surrounding villages in the

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

areas. The radio station mainly plays

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and is run entirely by volunteers as a "Not for Profit" company.

Background

The radio station was the idea of Bob Preedy who applied for the licence. With the help of a team of volunteers, it commenced broadcasting on 107.4 MHz on 11 September 2006 in

. The station plays

music, during the day with specialist live and recorded programmes during the evenings. A wide range of music is played during the evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays presented by many local presenters. The radio station is funded partly by advertising, supplemented by donations and grants. The current Programme Controller is Steve France, who is also a member of the management team comprising:- Alan Everard, Eric Ovenden, Jon Beeson and Mike Davison. In November 2011, Tempo FM presenter Wayne Bavin set a record by presenting a 60-hour-long radio show, raising some £1800 for "Children in Need" and beating the record set by Chris Moyles of Radio 1 by several hours. Similar broadcasting attempts have been made and all are subject to final confirmation by Guinness World Records. The current licence period for Tempo FM expires on 10 September 2026.

Broadcast Area

The station was originally based at the Engine Shed, Wetherby. In October 2012 it moved to new purpose built studios in the One Stop Centre in Westgate, Wetherby. At the same time it moved its transmitter to higher ground near Collingham. It covers

, Collingham,

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

, and Harewood, the station can also be heard in many places in the neighbouring county of

. The station also 'streams' on-line around the world. In July of 2024 it submitted to Ofcom a bid to provide a small scale DAB service for the area.

Presenters

Steve France, Mike Davison, Eric Ovenden, Tony Haynes, John Appleson, Simon Suter, Paul Winn, Steve Pexton, John Leetch, Kevin Rouse, Norah Barnes, Nick Brown, Jools Greenwood, Rebecca Webb, Stuart Newcombe, Andy Lister, Ray Drake, Ben Dickinson, Bruce Howard, Harry Meaden, Jon Bee, John Marley, Pete Issatt, Andy Andrews, Rob Allen, Pete Willett, Chris Helmes, Emily Kerr, Guest features by: Wetherby U3A Creative Writing Group, Wetherby High School – Radio Academy,

Slogans

* ''Your easy connection to Wetherby and Boston Spa'' (2006–2008) * ''Easy listening radio from Wetherby'' (2008 to 2009) * ''Your Radio out of Wetherby'' (2009 to 2010) * ''Wetherby's Brighter Radio Station'' (2010 to 2011) * ''Good Times...Great Songs from the Heart of Yorkshire'' (2011 to October 2014) * ''Good Times...Great Songs'' (October 2014 to present)

References

External links

Tempo FM

Key commitments to Ofcom

Ofcom service area map
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