LM radio
LM Radio (Lourenço Marques Radio) was a radio station broadcasting from Lourenço Marques (now Maputo ) in Mozambique to South Africa between 1933 and 1975 . It was often referred to as Radio Luxembourg of South Africa.
influence
Until the early 1980s, broadcasting in South Africa was state controlled and the South African broadcasting company SABC was the only broadcaster. LM Radio was privately owned and served a large audience of young people through the broadcast of pop and rock music that was barely broadcast by the SABC stations. Many young South African artists made their debut on LM Radio by broadcasting one of the multitude of shows that toured the country. In addition, a whole generation of radio speakers and disc jockeys learned their trade at LM Radio , who later made their careers in other South African or other stations. For example John Berks, Gary Edwards, Frank Sanders, Robin Alexander, Darryl Jooste, George Wayne and David Gresham, who, after starting out at LM Radio, worked for Swazi Music Radio (SMR), Radio 702 , Springbok Radio and other SABC stations, such as Triple J were successful in Sydney .
history
The first radio station in Lourenço Marques / Maputo went on air on March 18, 1933, but ceased broadcasting temporarily in 1934 due to lack of money. The South African GJ McHarry stepped on the scene and in 1935 the Radio Clube de Moçambique was founded, which broadcast mainly in English. In 1947 Colonel Richard L. Meyer, a former general manager of the International Broadcasting Company of London, took over the management of Lourenço Marques Radio with John Davenport. David Davies and David Gordon became the first speakers for the new commercial radio station. David Gordon joined Springbok Radio in 1950 . In 1948 LM Radio moved into a new four-story building known as the "Radio Palace". The station began with the first radio variety shows in South Africa. In the late 1950s, the station's program addressed the younger generation neglected by the state-run SABC . LM Radio, as it was now commonly known, was famous for the chart show LM Hit Parade and played an important role in promoting young South African artists, but lost much of its luster when it was acquired by SABC in 1972. On September 7, 1974, the station was occupied during a bloody uprising in Lourenço Marques and its administration was taken over by troops of the Mozambican guerrilla movement Frelimo . When, after Mozambique gained independence in June 1975, LM Radio's facilities were nationalized and the station closed on October 12, an era came to an end. LM Radio's place in South Africa was taken by Radio 5, later known as 5FM .