More than four decades of broadcasting history will be wiped from the airwaves as West Sound Radio bites the dust.
The station, launched in 1981, is to be rebranded as "Greatest Hits Radio" as parent company Bauer creates Scotland’s first ever nationwide commercial radio station.
West Sound, which formerly held a base in Ayr's Holmston Road, was the soundtrack to the 80s and 90s across Ayrshire with a string of presenters cutting their teeth before going on to the big time.
Jackie Brambles, Dean Park, 'Tiger' Tim Stevens and Tommy Truesdale were among those to host slots on the local station throughout its tenure.
In 1996 the station was acquired by the company that became Scottish Radio Holdings and launched 96.7 West FM to sit alongside its AM sister.
Hugely successful breakfast shows were hosted on the FM brand by Colin McArdle and Billy Kirkwood, with the latter hanging up his mic at the turn of the year.
The station began its withdrawal from Ayr back in 2017 when operations were centralised to Glasgow.
Down the years, the popular Saturday afternoon sports broadcasts and Sunday evening indie-rock show with Innes Young were both casualties of cuts.
Today's news confirms that West Sound in both Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway will join with Clyde 2, Forth 2, MFR 2, Northsound 2, Tay 2 under one name as they rebrand to Greatest Hits Radio.
Ewen Cameron and Cat Harvey will host the Breakfast Show across all stations, with the details of the full schedule to be announced shortly.
Victoria Easton-Riley, Content Director for Bauer Scotland, said: “Entertaining hundreds of thousands of listeners a week, West Sound is much-loved for its playlist of classic hits and entertaining content, so rebranding as Greatest Hits Radio just makes total sense.
"Strengthened under its new name, we’re so excited by the scope of opportunity ahead, including national marketing campaigns and more.”
Station frequencies will stay the same for listeners in April, and they’ll be able to find the station online, via smart speaker and the station app by searching for “Greatest Hits Radio” and their relevant area.
Bosses pledged that West Sound will continue to support disadvantaged young people across Ayrshire through Bauer’s Cash for Kids charity.
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