{"id":353477,"date":"2026-01-05T15:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/353477\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T15:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:03:18","slug":"at-the-radio-station-where-all-voices-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/353477\/","title":{"rendered":"at the radio station where all voices matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

As she laid her next record on the turntable, the radio host told listeners they were being treated to a rare Finnish rallying cry against corporate greed and climate breakdown. <\/p>\n

Using her network of European contacts, Angharad Denby had got her hands on one of only 100 vinyl copies of Ecdysis by Unearthly Rites, a sought-after item on the underground metal scene.<\/p>\n

While keen to expound on the musical merits of heavy metal to a somewhat sceptical journalist, the 63-year-old DJ is not limited by genre. \u201cI\u2019ve played music by elephants, by whales, I\u2019ve played songs backwards and I\u2019ve played songs from Polish children\u2019s TV,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"Angharad<\/p>\n

Angharad Denby presenting her show<\/p>\n

RACHEL ADAMS FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

Denby\u2019s rule seems to be the more esoteric, the better. The hosts of the show just before hers took a very different tack, chaining Christmas hits<\/a> and chatting about roast dinners. An hour of African proverbs and afrobeats was to follow. <\/p>\n

An afternoon at Manchester\u2019s All FM radio is like travelling through space and time. Broadcasting from an old library in Levenshulme, an up-and-coming neighbourhood in the south of the city, the station prides itself on the diversity of its hosts and their interests. <\/p>\n

Depending on the time of day, listeners tuning in might find themselves immersed in a show about Iranian feminist politics, musical theatre, blues or life as a carer. There are programmes in a dozen languages including Polish, Mandarin, Spanish, Punjabi and Urdu. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Meet the music fans fighting to save grassroots venues<\/a><\/p>\n

True to its motto, \u201cby the community, for the community\u201d, the station trains its volunteers \u2014 from pensioners to students and people with disabilities \u2014 in the art of broadcasting before letting them loose on the mic.<\/p>\n

\"Levenshulme<\/p>\n

All FM is based in Levenshulme Old Library<\/p>\n

RACHEL ADAMS FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

It has twice been named Station of the Year at the National Community Radio Awards and in 2020 was given a Queen\u2019s Award for Voluntary Service. <\/p>\n

Ed Connole, the station\u2019s director, believes it is about empowering those on the sidelines. \u201cWe often work with people who are classed as hard to reach,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t tell them what music to play, or what to say. Here no one is interrupting you or telling you to be quiet. We essentially give them a blank canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Ed Connole<\/p>\n

RACHEL ADAMS FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

For Denby, who has Asperger\u2019s and has struggled with confidence, taking to the airwaves provides an opportunity to connect with people. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a bit of a loner, because I can\u2019t read body language,\u201d she said. \u201cHere, I\u2019m talking to God knows how many thousands of people out there, but it\u2019s just me on my own. That\u2019s a much more manageable thing. If I was doing this in an auditorium, I\u2019d panic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The station features professional broadcasters, such as Jacob Quarm, 32, a foreign correspondent from Ghana who spends half his year in the UK. His show serves the large diaspora community in Manchester with music and news from Africa. <\/p>\n

\"Presenter<\/p>\n

Jacob Quarm<\/p>\n

RACHEL ADAMS FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

Martin and Annette Logan do the same for their Irish listeners. The pair, who fell in love across the mixing desk, have been regaling audiences on both sides of the Irish sea with traditional folk music<\/a> for more than two decades. Tuning into their programme \u2014 where hundreds of messages pour in with news of wedding anniversaries, birthdays and deaths \u2014 is to become convinced that there is no one in Ireland they do not know. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody loves this show because they hear all the news, what\u2019s happening, who\u2019s died, what\u2019s going on anywhere,\u201d Mrs Logan, who greets regular listeners like old friends, said. <\/p>\n

That sense of intimacy is what Connole strives for when building the station\u2019s schedule. He sees the line-up not just as a series of shows, but as a living \u201caudio tapestry\u201d that reflects the city\u2019s complex identity. <\/p>\n

Over the years, the station has provided a platform to everyone from Ukrainian refugees seeking a sense of home, to people battling addiction and looking to re-enter the workforce. \u201cIt comes down to a self-confidence thing,\u201d Connole said. \u201cIf you can make someone believe their voice matters, the next stage is that they matter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As she laid her next record on the turntable, the radio host told listeners they were being treated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-353477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}