Don’t Tell Me I Can’t… …start a radio station
Kath Lord-green’s daring venture received a great reception
Staring at the mixdeck, I grabbed my headphones and played Ain’t No Stopping Us Now by
Mcfadden & Whitehead.
It was July 2016 and, at the age of 53, I’d finally done it. I’d launched a radio station. But it wasn’t as simple as flicking a switch and playing a track. Getting to this point took two years of non-stop hard work.
My love of radio began at a young age. In my teens, I loved listening to pop music. I would record the Top 20 and edit the tape to cut out the DJ’S voice. Then in 1991, when I was 28, I realised my dream was to have a career in radio. I decided to move myself and my three children, Martin, nine,
Emily, seven and Rhianna, four, from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland to my mum’s place in Lancashire to study Radio at Salford University. Bringing up a family, working night shifts at a pub and balancing my studies was tough, but I was determined.
In 1994, I moved back to Scotland and got my first job as a correspondent at a small commercial radio station. Though the pay wasn’t great, I absolutely loved it, but by 1996 I was ready for a new challenge. I went back to college to study a degree in Business Management and afterwards got a job working as the service manager at a drug project. It was a highly rewarding job and it felt great to give back to the community, but there were times I missed working in radio.
Then on New Year’s Day 2011, I was rushed into hospital unable to breathe.
I was diagnosed with double pneumonia and was convinced I was going to die. A near-death experience truly opened my eyes and I knew it was time to get back into my true passion.
In the summer of 2013, I moved back to Lancashire and discovered a man was trying to set up a community station in Ribble Valley. ‘I’d love to be involved!’ I said.
In July 2014, we were told Ofcom had granted us a radio broadcast licence. Now was the start of the hard work. We had just two years to get on air or the licence would be revoked. But things were about to get a lot harder when the person I’d applied for the licence with moved, leaving me to set up the station alone.
I had to find a building, get a site for a transmitter, build the studios, find presenters, test transmissions and go live, all by July 2016.
I started business networking, set up social media and a website and started asking for volunteers.
In January 2016, with just six months to go, I managed to secure some rundown rooms in the back of a music venue. Wires were hanging from the ceiling, the carpets were rotten and it was full of rubble. But it was a start. Friends and family helped clean the venue and I did the painting. I went around every local business asking for help.
After countless days and sleepless nights, by July 2016 we were ready for broadcast. ‘Good morning, you’re listening to Ribble FM!’ I beamed as I presented the first breakfast show.
Since its first transmission, the station has continued to go from strength to strength. We were awarded Silver Station of the Year nationally at the Community Media Awards in 2017 and I won an award for Outstanding Women in Business in the North West in 2018. Now we have anywhere up to 40,000 listeners tuning in via the app, radio or online.
By November 2019, I was ready for yet another challenge. With the help of my son, Jamie, 22, I created an app that plays exclusively upbeat music and good news. Myhappy Radio launched in March 2020 and aims to ‘raise the vibration of the nation’. I can’t wait to see where this next venture goes and I’m lucky that my passion is my job!
✱ Download the
Ribble FM and
Myhappy radio apps via the app store
‘I WAS READY FOR A CHALLENGE’