Clyde 1 was born out of the compulsory transmission splitting enforced by the UK regulators from the late 1980s. It used the pre-existing Radio Clyde's FM frequency for a new Top-40 format radio station called Clyde FM, which aired at 4pm on 12 August 1988. The station fully separated from Radio Clyde on 3 January 1990, when it was renamed Clyde 1, while the older station was replaced with
Clyde 2 on the same day. The development of live-streaming and digital radio led to a widening of the station's potential audience through carriage on the station's website and
Bauer Radio's DAB multiplex in Glasgow. Radio Clyde was controlled by
Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) until 2005, when the company was acquired by
Emap. It changed hands again in 2008, when Emap sold their consumer magazines and radio business units to current owner
Bauer Media. The station's Freeview carriage came as a consequence of the closure of its sister station
3C by the station's then-owners, and resulted in UK-wide coverage until it was removed on 30 October 2008. A third service was launched on Monday 19 January 2015 as
Clyde 3, carrying a locally branded version of
The Hits on
DAB, with opt-outs for local news, traffic and advertising. From 1 September 2017, the local City 3 branding of the stations on DAB was withdrawn, in favour of reverting to using The Hits name. A fourth station,
Clyde Rocks, was launched as a 30-day trial on Wednesday 20 April 2016, with the intention of the outcome of the trial being used to form a bid for the 96.3 FM radio licence, which had recently been vacated by its former operator,
XFM Scotland. Ultimately, however, Bauer Radio were unsuccessful in their bid, and the licence was awarded by
Ofcom to another bidder,
Rock Radio. It was announced on 12 January 2026 that, after 43 years in Clydebank, Clyde 1 would be returning to Glasgow city centre. ==Events==