Vintage Radio – the grown-up choice

That’s what a group of over-50s in Merseyside did – and now Vintage Radio is established as an award-winning local station with listeners worldwide..

Age UK funded the radio station’s setup in 2008. John Cotcher, the Charity’s National Broadcasting Development Officer, continues to work with the Vintage team and encourage other groups of older people to follow their inspiring example.

He says: ‘They’ve done everything themselves - applied for licenses, raised funds, created a website, produced programmes and broadcast from studios which they built themselves. As they would modestly admit, if they can do it, then it must be possible for other groups to do the same.’

A new lease of life

Projects like this can give people a new lease of life. Ken, from Vintage Radio’s technical team, says: ‘We were a bunch of nervous people when we started, and we’re all now so self-confident. I’ve noticed we talk to people easier.’ Helen, a member of the creative team, recalls her son’s proud comment: ‘Mum, you’ve done better than all of us!’

Jackie, who started off providing administrative support to the team, found the confidence to take the leap into presenting. She says, ‘After the programme, you’re wringing wet! But you’re on a high, and you think: I want more of that.’

Giving older people a voice

Vintage Radio’s presenters have grilled councillors on local issues and invited experts to talk about age-related topics. John says, ‘It’s good to have control over our own bit of the media and to cover the issues we want to cover.’

The next plan is to interview residents in local nursing homes. Jackie says: ‘Nobody ever shows an interest in what they’ve got to say. They’re the forgotten generation, and they shouldn’t be, because they’ve all had really interesting lives.’

Not just Vera Lynn

At Vintage Radio, presenters are free to play whatever music they like – and it’s not what you might expect. The Vintage airwaves have carried everything from skiffle through blues and Motown to grunge.

Phil says: ‘There was always going to be a danger that we’re all over 50 so we were going to play certain sorts of music. Well, it isn’t like that at all, because we’re the rock ‘n’ roll generation. Eighteen ‘til we die!’

The value of this non-prescriptive approach is highlighted by the planned demise of Radio 6, loved by fans for its diversity. Perhaps they can tune in to Vintage Radio instead…