Background Until Northsound Radio's establishment, the only local radio output available to listeners in the North East of Scotland was a regional opt-out from the
BBC at Beechgrove, which broadcast specialist music programmes for a couple of hours a week along with some opt-out regional news coverage. In the late 1970s, a commercial radio franchise for Aberdeen, Peterhead and the surrounding areas was advertised by the then-regulator, the
Independent Broadcasting Authority. Several organisations applied for the licence, with most additionally seeking a licence covering
Inverness and the
Moray Firth region – these included Aberdeen Inverness Radio (AIR), North of Scotland Radio, Radio Caledonia and Radio North-East. The only organisations to apply for operations in only one of the broadcast areas were Moray Firth Community Radio (MFCR) and Aberdeen Radio for the Community (ARC).
North of Scotland Radio ultimately won the franchise for Aberdeen on 27 December 1979. It was unsuccessful in its submission for the Moray Firth which was granted to MFCR.
Establishment After a change of name,
Northsound Radio commenced broadcasting at 6am on 27 July 1981 from King's Gate. The station was initially broadcast from 6am to 8pm each day on 1035 kHz (290 metres) and 96.9 FM (VHF).
Later years In October 1988, the station was purchased by
Radio Clyde for £1.383million. The parent company was renamed
Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) in 1994. For a two-year period from 1994, the station was the main sponsor of
Aberdeen Football Club, with the logo appearing on the players' shirts. On 9 January 1995, Northsound Radio was renamed Northsound 1 and
Northsound 2 was established as a
classic hits station using the station's AM frequency. Both stations have since started broadcasting on
DAB radio and online. In 2005, SRH was bought by
Emap, which then sold its radio stations to
Bauer Media Group in 2007. In March 2025 it was announced that Northsound's studio building was to close and be put up for sale. ==Free concerts==