Beloved Liverpool radio show PMS ends after 46 years
A long-standing Liverpool radio show has said goodbye after 46 years on air.
PMS, or The Popular Music Show, was first broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside in 1977 and entertained listeners for the final time on Sunday evening (March 30).
The show, which has been a staple in the alternative music scene, has struggled to garner an audience at Svara Radio, where it has been hosted for the past year.
Announcing its final broadcast in a social media statement last month, the PMS team said: “We have had a good year's residency at Svara Radio and they have supported us well for which we thank them, but we have struggled to get an audience which matches the quality of our programming.
"In a crowded radio market, we lacked ways to promote ourselves and exhausted our options for alternative platforms for our broadcasting. It seems best to end 'the longest-running alternative music programme on UK radio' before it exhausts itself entirely.
"Whilst we will not be actively seeking new platforms for 'PMS', we are happy to consider others' proposals for its future."
The show's website will continue to operate and will feature links to some of its broadcasting highlights.
Roger Hill, who took over the weekly rock programme in 1982, had been instrumental in the show's longevity. He even picked up a Lifetime Achievement gong at the inaugural Liverpool Music Awards in 2012.
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The final show was presented by the team who also hosted the BBC Radio Merseyside shows including Roger alongside Rory Ballantyne, Karen Timms and George Maund and featured a wide varied mix of music from different alternative genres alongside musical requests from fans.
The team shared that they were proud of the show and thanked listened for all of the memories made over the years.
"We'd like to think that the example the programme has set over the decades has done something to make possible the diversity of current music broadcasting. Thanks to all who listened to and contacted the programme over the years,” they said.
“We will take away a lot of great memories and feel proud of what we have done with our chance to broadcast the best to the best."