Written by Spencer James:

"Broadcast... Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your lounge"

Those were the words uttered from Gareth Corbin's mouth in 1997, as the early stages of a student radio station in Aberystwyth were coming together. It all happened, as it always does when it comes to students and media, one idle Tuesday when Gareth and a number of other friends sat down in the pub and said, "What Aberystwyth needs is a student radio station".

From the start, the long-term plan was to build a radio station serving the student population of Aberystwyth. After working with the Guild of Students, Bay Radio came to life at 10am on 11th January 1999. First broadcasting from the DJ booth from the union restuarant with a mixer, 2 CD players and a Mini Disk player. Over the first year more equipment was bought, and the Bay Radio News room was opened in Llanbadarn. From there, daily news was produced and sent to the studio in Penglais.

As the second year of broadcasting began, the on-air hours expanded and the station ran from 9am until 7pm in the evening.

After more fundraising and generation of income through advertising, Bay Radio got its hands on the first, and most essential, part of a professional broadcast studio, a brand new mixer. As the news rooms moved into a new office in the Guild buildings in Penglais they also got a number of different pieces of kit.

By 2001, Bay Radio was on the move again, this time to their present home in the depths of the Union (after sharing their offices with the student magazine "The Courier"), where a dedicated team of volunteers work to make the station essential listening for the students and staff of U.W.A.

After all the hard work put in during those early years, 2001/2002 saw a downturn in the fortunes of the station. By early 2002, the station was shut down and broadcasting ceased. But hope was on the horizon. Later that year, with an influx of new and enthusiastic freshers and a new management team in place, Bay Radio returned to the airwaves reclaiming its home in the students union.

The past three years have seen Bay Radio broadcast to the SU on a daily basis and this year there is much excitement with the prospect of the station streaming over the internet and finally realising that initial dream of broadcasting to all Aberystwyth students. Bay Radio's fortunes have been mixed over the years but the future is looking bright as it moves into a new era.

It was in the summer of 2005 that some of the "old gang" met up for an evening of reminising and having a general catch up. At that time, a fair amount of them were registering with ASRA (Association of Student Radio Alumni) and rumblings were starting to go around for the need of a reunion! And so in the last weekend of September 2005, the old, and the new are meeting up for a bit of fun, and re-kindling memories of the past, and looking towards the future of Bay Radio.

Many of the old members of Bay Radio have, since gradution, moved into the media, with news editors, radio station managers, programming managers, radio presenters, media advisors, writers, press officers for the government all being sprung from the seeds that Bay Radio had sown. Many of these people are taking time out to get together and lend some guiding hands and pointers for the new recruits, to build on the successes of Bay Radio... Oh, and having a beer here or there too!"

Written by Spence, a former Bay Radio presenter