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Xfm Radio

Xfm Radio

This is the station for lovers of indie music. Alex Zane presents the breakfast show daily between 6 and 10 am, and a cool selection of presenters take you through the day and night with all the best indie hits.

Xfm as we know it was launched in September 1997, but its origins go further back. It began in 1989 as a pirate radio station which in turn became Q102, a Restricted Service Licence London station. It was at Q102 that BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq made his name.

The road to popularity was a rocky one. After becoming Xfm, the station aired from Charlotte Street and set out to broadcast a wide range of music. The death of Princess Diana on the day before the launch meant that the station didn’t get much attention to begin with. A relaunch in 1998 heralded a more mainstream playlist in a bid to win attention, but this went down badly and listeners protested outside the studios. There was even more trouble ahead in 1999 when the station came under fire for being too male-oriented and Ôladdish’.

Something had to be done, so Xfm managers decided to get famous DJs and presenters on board. Radio legend Zo‘ Ball was recruited, along with comedians Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Kevin Greening of Radio 1. This move paid off, and listening figures started to rocket. On the back of this success, Xfm invited Zane Lowe and Christian O'Connell to join the ranks.

Changes were afoot once again in 2007 when Xfm’s parent company Gcap Media decided to switch their daytime presenter-led broadcasts to a jukebox format whereby listeners would request tracks on the internet.

Xfm’s popularity lies in its dedication to alternative music. It is well known for its quality output of indie, hip-hop, rock and dance music. Recently the station has been playing more commercially successful indie. A raft of talented presenters has made the station what it is. Former hosts include Russell Brand, Karl Pilkington, Simon Anstell and Dermot O’Learly.

At the moment Alex Zane has the weekday breakfast slot. Ian Camfield hosts drivetime, and Graeme Smith presents the weekend afternoon shows.