Pirate roots Kiss FM first broadcast 7 October 1985 as a
pirate radio station, initially to South London then across the whole city, on 94FM. Kiss FM was founded by Gordon "Mac" McNamee, George Power (of
London Greek Radio), and Tosca Jackson, with its engineer Pyers Easton. Transmitting seven-days from the start, it would be regularly taken off-air by the authorities and so became a weekend operation shortly afterwards. Gordon Mac approached a successful London club promoter, Guy Wingate, to discuss ways of improving the Kiss FM profile. As a result, Wingate launched the very successful Kiss nights at the Wag Club (which included the first ever UK
acid house party – an idea put forward by
Colin Faver and
Danny Rampling, both DJs on the station). These nights increased the station's credibility with its target audience and Wingate joined the Kiss team, followed shortly thereafter by Lindsay Wesker. Kiss would also run its own night at
Dingwalls and adopted the slogan
Radical Radio. The
Channel 4 documentary
Radical Radio followed Kiss as it came off air as a pirate station, gained its licence, built its new studios, and commenced legal broadcasting.
Kiss 101 (Bristol) Starting out as a
Bristol pirate radio station, it became part of the
Galaxy Radio network broadcasting to
South Wales and the
West of England, playing
pop,
dance,
hip hop,
urban,
R&B and
electronic music as Galaxy 101. It was eventually bought by EMAP and became
Kiss 101 in September 2006 and part of the Kiss network.
Kiss 102 (Manchester) and Kiss 105 (Yorkshire) The
Faze FM group licensed the name and logo from Kiss 100 to launch
Kiss 102 in
Manchester in October 1994. In February 1997, it expanded into
Yorkshire launching
Kiss 105. The group was later sold to
Chrysalis Radio, and by September 1997 both stations became part of the
Galaxy Radio network.
Kiss 105–108 (East Anglia) The East Anglian and Severn Estuary versions of Kiss were previously known as Vibe FM with DJs Nikki Elise and Ric Groves. EMAP bought the stations from
Scottish Radio Holdings in August 2005, and rebranded them in September 2006. In July 2023,
Ofcom approved Bauer's request to the change the format of Kiss in the East of England. This meant that from the 12th September 2023, Kiss on 105.6 (Cambridge), 106.4 (Ipswich and Suffolk) and 107.7 (Peterborough) would have its format changed and carry Greatest Hits Radio instead. Kiss would however continue to broadcast on FM to Norwich and Norfolk across 106.1 effectively becoming a small local licence instead of a regional one. The change was approved despite opposition from
Nation Broadcasting and
Star EMAP rebranding and criticism EMAP took full control of Kiss 100 as early as 1992, but with Mac having left the station in March 1998, EMAP would embark on a rebranding of the station and to align it with the rest of its radio operations. In December 1998, one of the station's most popular DJs, Steve Jackson, was dismissed resulting in a high-profile court case, whilst the changes led to criticism from both former presenters and listeners alike, concerned that Kiss 100 was losing its musical direction. DJs
Coldcut, Bob Jones, and Manasseh quit the station in January 1999 in protest at the changes being implemented. Other DJs at this time were being lured away by the increasingly dance-oriented
BBC Radio 1. Mark Story (previously of
Magic 105.4) was appointed as the new Director of Music Programming, along with moving the Kiss studios and office to EMAPs main premises at Mappin House,
Central London, and creating a new logo. Andy Roberts became Kiss Programme Director. In July 1999,
The Independent reported: "In preparation for the new ad campaign, the biggest in the station's history, EMAP has spent twelve months changing the output of the station. Over ten DJs have parted company with the station, including Steve Jackson, who won the Sony breakfast show award this year. In the words of Mr Cox [EMAP marketing director], the music on the station has been "smoothed out"."
Ofcom record fine In June 2006, Kiss 100 was fined () by media regulator Ofcom, a record fee for any UK commercial radio station. Ofcom punished Kiss 100 for "numerous and serious breaches" of broadcasting codes after receiving ten complaints from April to November 2005. They involved prank calls on the
Bam Bam breakfast show where consent was not sought from the "victims" and controversial material aired when children were likely to be listening. Kiss 100 said it accepted the findings and apologised for any offence
Second rebranding and Kiss network EMAP introduced a second major revamp of the Kiss brand on 6 September 2006. This included a new logo designed by oddlondon, a renewed focus on dance music, more specialist shows and a new website for all three
Kiss stations, replacing the previous website. The relaunch was implemented simultaneously with the rebranding of Kiss 100's sister dance stations, Vibe 101 and Vibe 105–108 as
Kiss 101 and
Kiss 105-108 respectively. Changes at Kiss 100 were introduced to address falling listener figures and to keep the station competitive in the highly contested London market. Roberts became its Group Programme Director. A year later, EMAP sold its radio division to
Bauer Radio.
DAB changes and Rodigan departure In December 2010, Ofcom approved the request from Bauer to drop local programming content from the three Kiss stations, creating a national service on the condition that Kiss would be available on 35 DAB multiplexes around the UK on the day local information is dropped, rising to 38 within three months of the changes. On 27 December 2012, Kiss 100 appeared nationally on Digital One's national DAB multiplex.
David Rodigan, who had been with Kiss since its legal launch in 1990, resigned in November 2012, citing the "continued marginalisation of reggae music" on the station. Under Roberts, Kiss extended its stations, launching
Kisstory in May 2013.
Norway and Finland On 26 February 2016, Kiss was launched in Norway rebranded from
The Voice Hiphop & RnB Norway and Finland.
FM changes In January 2023, station owners Bauer submitted plans to Ofcom to change the format of the FM frequencies held by Kiss on 105.6 MHz (Cambridge), 106.4 MHz (Suffolk) and 107.7 MHz (Peterborough). The application was approved in July 2023, with the frequencies becoming relays of
Greatest Hits Radio, leaving Kiss on 100 MHz (London), 97.2 MHz (Bristol), 101 MHz (Severn Estuary) and 106.1 MHz (Norwich). In August 2024, Bauer announced that Kiss would be replaced on FM in London, the Severn Estuary and Norwich by
Hits Radio, with Kiss retaining its frequency in Bristol. Then on 20 September 2024, Bauer announced that the switch will take place on 23 September, sooner than expected as it was believed that Bauer would wait until the new Media Act became law, eliminating the need to make a format change request to Ofcom. It was also announced that the 97.2 frequency in Bristol will also carry Hits Radio. On 22 September 2024, at 10 pm, Kiss became digital only.
DAB+ Switchover In February 2025, it was announced that Kiss, along with Kisstory and several other Bauer-owned stations would be switched to stereo DAB+ from 31 March 2025. == Programming ==