This site was set up as there seems to be no others that remember 'The UKs biggest Commercial radio station', 'Longwave radio Atlantic 252' during its peak days controlled by Managing Directors / Programme Directors Travis Baxter, Paul Kavanagh and Henry Owens.
Atlantic 252 was a long wave radio station broadcasting to the United Kingdom and Ireland on 252 kHz. It was launched at 8am on September 1st 1989 by Gary King as a joint venture between RTE and RTL Group / Radio Luxembourg to play a pioneering format of non-stop mainstream pop and rock music. The first ever record played on Atlantic 252 was "Sowing the seeds of love" by Tears For Fears.
Longwave radio Atlantic 252s fun format with non stop pop music ran from 1989 to 1998. In late '98 Atlantic 252 became a "Real Music Radio" Indie & Dance format and achieved it's lowest Rajar figures since going on air in 1989.. In February 2000 the station relaunched as "The New Atlantic 252" with a Rhythmic CHR / Dance and R & B format which pulled the station back up to over 1.2 Million listeners until December 20th 2001 at 4.53pm when Enda Caldwell presented the last ever livebreak at the end of the track "It feels so good" by Sonique on Atlantic 252 which was followed by a specially produced two hour tribute show documenting the stations great 12 year history year by year until the station went into unidentified automation for around two months playing uninterrupted music and commercials.Automation on 252 was eventually replaced by test transmissions for the failed "TEAMtalk 252"from Leeds which lasted less than a few months during 2002 until the station closed leaving both Mornington House and the giant 252 Longwave signal both dormant for much of 2003.
Mornington House is now a regional office of Meath County Council and Atlantic 252's purpose-built transmission site at Clarkestown,Moynalvey near Summerhill in County Meath has now been reclaimed by Radio Teilifis Eireann to rebroadcast RTE Radio One on 252 khz Longwave all over Europe.
At the peak of its popularity in the mid-1990s, Atlantic 252 had in excess of four million listeners.
More DJs and pics will be added soon!
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