BBC Radio London name to return after 27 years of rebrands

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/28/bbc-radio-london-name-rebrands

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The BBC’s local radio station for London is to ditch more than a quarter of a century of rebrands and return to its original name, BBC Radio London. The station, current BBC London 94.9, will go back to its roots next Monday on the 45th anniversary of its launch as the first local station in London. The BBC station for the capital dropped the BBC London name when it relaunched as GLR in 1988, featuring a lineup including Chris Evans, Chris Morris and Danny Baker. The talent thrived but the name didn’t stick and the station went through a number of rebrands over the subsequent 27 years, the latest of which will see it go back to its roots. The station was set to announce the new name on Monday with a W1A-style spoof video with Tony Blackburn, the only presenter to span Radio London in its old and new incarnations. BBC Radio London editor David Robey said: “It has been a long-held ambition of mine to return to the original name of this radio station because it’s such a clear statement of what we are. “However, it’s not just about the past because, in a digital age, our current name BBC London 94.9 only reflects one platform on which we broadcast (FM), when in fact we can now be heard in so many other ways, from digital radio and TV to online via your portable device or PC. “BBC Radio London connects the past with the present and future and tells listeners exactly what we are and what we do – the only radio station entirely dedicated to London covering every aspect of life in this great city.”