1974 in British radio

Events

January

• No events.

February

• 19 February – BRMB begins broadcasting to the Birmingham area.

March

• 17 March – Solid Gold Sixty is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 for the final time. It is replaced the following week by a one-hour programme which just features the top 20.

April

• 1 April – BBC Radio Teesside is renamed BBC Radio Cleveland.
• 2 April – Piccadilly Radio begins broadcasting to the Manchester area.

May

• No events.

June

• No events.

July

• 15 July – Metro Radio begins broadcasting to the Newcastle upon Tyne area.

August

• 30/31 August – Radio North Sea International ceases broadcasting to the UK at midnight.

September

• American-born music presenter Paul Gambaccini makes his first broadcasts on British radio, initially on BBC Radio 1.
• 30 September – Swansea Sound, the first Independent Local Radio station in Wales, begins broadcasting to the Swansea area.

October

• 1 October – Radio Hallam begins broadcasting to the Sheffield area.
• 21 October – Radio City begins broadcasting to the Liverpool area.

November

• 22 November – The first regular programme in the UK for the black community, Black Londoners, launches on BBC Radio London, presented by Alex Pascall. The programme is initially launched as a trial run of six programmes before becoming a weekly, and from 1978, a weeknight, fixture in the schedules.

December

• No events.

Unknown

• BBC Radio Leicester launches a weekly programme for the Asian community.

Station debuts

• 19 February – BRMB
• 2 April – Piccadilly Radio
• 17 April – Hospital Radio Lynn
• 15 July – Metro Radio
• 30 September – Swansea Sound
• 1 October – Radio Hallam
• 21 October – Radio City

Programme debuts

• 20 April – The Betty Witherspoon Show on BBC Radio 2
• 22 November – Black Londoners on BBC Radio London

Continuing radio programmes

1940s

• ''A Book at Bedtime''

1950s

• ''Your Hundred Best Tunes''

1960s

• ''The Organist Entertains''

1970s

• ''Newsbeat''

Births

• 15 January – Edith Bowman, Scottish music critic, radio disc jockey and television presenter
• 22 February – Chris Moyles, disc jockey
• 28 March – Scott Mills, disc jockey
• 24 April
• * Jon Holmes, writer, comedian and broadcaster
• * David Vitty, radio presenter
• 26 April – Adil Ray, broadcaster and comic actor
• 28 April – Vernon Kay, broadcast presenter
• 21 June – Natasha Desborough, radio presenter
• 24 June – Rob da Bank, disc jockey
• 2 July – Dan Tetsell, comedy writer-performer
• 14 July – David Mitchell, comedy writer-performer
• 24 July – Lisa Francesca Nand, journalist and broadcaster
• 2 August – Phil Williams, radio news presenter
• 6 October – Andy Zaltzman, satirical and cricket broadcaster
• 24 November – Stephen Merchant, comedy writer-performer and radio presenter
• 13 December – Sara Cox, disc jockey
• Ros Atkins, broadcast journalist
• Natalie Haynes, broadcaster, classicist, comedian and writer

Deaths

• 23 February – Raymond Glendenning, radio sports commentator
• 4 May – Ludwig Koch, German-born British natural sound recordist