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Why did you start the station?
The main reason why we started the station was because
there no outlets for black talent in this country. There is a lot of
black youth who have good ideas and a wealth of musical talent
and they get no airplay or interviews.
Look how many unemployed are working hard in bands and get no
airplay, no encouragement.
Most rock & pop is catered for by the IBA and the
BBC, even country and western, but soul and reggae gets very little
in comparison. People say there is no demand but Rising Star
has an audience between 60 and 70,000. People aren't getting enough
of this music.
Are you trying to be legalised?
If people want to put a radio station on the air
they should have the right, or at least the right to a fair hearing
from the authorities to show them you have the capability to put on a
decent station with a petition of 12,000 names to back us up.
How successful have you been so far?
We demonstrated at the BBC in Birmingham to try to
get more black programming. We got one hour on a Sunday afternoon: It
was a token, while editorial control, no real chance to express black
points of view.
How representative is your programming?
It's not just young blacks who listen to us but a broad
spectrum of black people, us well as a large white audience. It's
pretty multicultural. It is important to show a cater for all the
different aspects of black culture and not just put all the weight
behind one aspect, such as Rastafarianism, and our programming shows
this . We have advise for the elderly, programmes on gospel,
rastafari, soul and much more. We even had someone on to tell kids stories.
Are you a radical alternative?
I think we are an
alternative who are using militant tactics to get a proper service
for the community. We want people to get on the air and to make
people realise that you don't have to be professional to make programmes.
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