If you live in Manchester and you love your music, chances
are your path will cross with Fiona Ledgard’s sooner or later. A compulsive
gig-goer, champion of new music, radio DJ and more, when I speak to Fiona she’s
just back from seeing Bob Marley's band The Wailers. (‘Moving and inspiring!’ she enthuses.)
After graduating Manchester University’s ‘Music,
Culture and Society' BA, Fiona made a trip to Berlin, returned to the city,
volunteered at All FM and has been broadcasting
eclectic quality music to south, east and central Manchester ever since. All FM
is Manchester’s community radio station and has been soundtracking the city for
over a decade now. As well as quality broadcasts, the station offers radio training and other unique opportunities to everyone from the city’s
unemployed, to Mancunians experiencing mental health issues, to students in musical training
programmes. The station’s remit is all about community and diversity, and for
that reason alone it’s a credit to the city.
Fiona’s own commitment to music and culture has seen
her interview a crazy range of people, from punk geniuses The Slits to
queer icon JD Samson, from fellow DJs like Mary Anne Hobbs and Dave Haslam to
radical performance artistes like David Hoyle and Justin Vivian Bond, plus more
bands than you can shake a tambourine at.
As of this week, Fiona is taking over the coveted
time slot of 5-7pm. That’s’s right, she’s going drive time! Her show will hit
the ground running tonight, including three brand new features: Is it 'anging or is it banging?, Rappers
Delight and Thank You For The Music.
Tune in to find out what exactly they're all about. You're going to hear something that will perfectly kick off another tremendous weekend in Manchester.
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