XFM HEADS NORTH

After a massive battle, what's already being called "the highly lucrative Manchester FM licence" has been given to XFM. The decision to give the licence to the network, owned by the recently-merged GCap, is the first time either side (Capital and GWR) has actually won a licence battle since they won their original franchises.

"If ever there was a radio station made for Manchester, Xfm is it," Xfm managing director Graham Bryce said.

Eh? Surely XFM was made for London; Piccadilly was made for Manchester, until it got watered down by an increasingly strained EMAP. Oh, yes, we know what he means, but even so... no, XFM Manchester is a station slightly reformatted for Manchester.

Reuters, however, knows exactly what he means, and explains the musical importance of Manchester:

In addition to being the home of numerous groundbreaking acts, Manchester is also well known for hosting a 1976 concert by punk rockers the Sex Pistols, a gig that became legendary for inspiring a number of people in the tiny audience to go on to become future stars.

That's what we always think of when we hear the word "Manchester", certainly.

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