The frequency was originally issued to
Sunset 102 Radio - The Kickin FM but that suffered some financial problems. In May 1993, the
Radio Authority made a decision to prematurely terminate Sunset's licence, apparently accusing the station of providing inaccurate information about its financial and management affairs. In August 1993 the station reportedly had its transmission facilities withdrawn by NTL for non-payment. Following a brief return to the air the liquidator was called in and Sunset's frequency finally fell silent. The liquidator was later to re-apply on behalf of Sunset Radio for its re-advertised licence. Faze FM won the re-advertised licence for Manchester. Like Sunset, Faze FM's remit was to broadcast dance music, licensing the brand name "Kiss" from London station
Kiss 100FM and the station launched as Kiss 102 on the 16 October 1994. The licence win was spearheaded by Eugene Perera's Level Broadcast and included shareholders
UKRD, Eastern Counties Newspaper Group and
3i. The format was the brainchild of two highly experienced UK radio programmers - Managing Director, Guy Hornsby and Programme Director, Mike Gray who first worked together at the original
BBC Radio London where they produced the station's highest profile presenters
Tony Blackburn and
Robbie Vincent. Kiss 102 station won awards for its coverage of social issues and was acknowledged by writers like
Dave Haslam and commentators such as
Tony Wilson as helping to prolong and grow dance music in
Manchester. The station achieved a 10 per cent reach at its height (RAJAR, Q2, 1997), giving heritage station
Key103 its first serious commercial competitor in the city. Unusually for a small UK radio station aimed at the youth market, it had a dedicated news service (at one point providing a news-reading service to its sister station in London
Kiss 100), a nightly entertainment magazine sponsored by
The Guardian, and was noted by
Independent Radio News for its coverage of the 1996
Provisional Irish Republican Army bombing of the city and also for its policy of linking sport and music for example with the
Manchester United Red Cafe and the
Manchester Giants shows. It was also noteworthy for its policy of social integration, led by the influence of the
club scene which brought about sponsorship of such events as the
Manchester Mardi Gras during its years of greatest expansion. In common with other specialist music stations it handed over many hours of output to club DJs, artists and music producers who had little or no experience of radio presentation leading to ground-breaking - if at times anarchic - entertainment from groups like
Fat City Records,
Autechre and
808 State. ==DJs/presenters==