SubscribeJK and Joel are good at what they do, but as I listened to them in the car on Saturday, I couldn’t help thinking that what they do is just so… well… so tin-pot local radio. Which, of course, is where they’ve come from and where they excelled. The thing is that local commercial radio is all about comfort zones – the familiar music of the 70s, 80s, 90s now-ish – nothing too threatening. And this is where JK & Joel should have stayed.
Yet it seems that having seen them win a Sony Award and beat off fading ladette Sara Cox, the BBC just wanted to kick Key 103 and so poached the duo, even though they had nowhere to put them.
Key 103 remains Manchester’s ever so mainstream and middle of the road chart music station, competing with the usual clutch of gold stations for zombies and Galaxy, its ever-so-slightly-younger brother. Galaxy’s supposed to be an innovative young person’s station but, much to industry watchers dismay, it’s anything but.
Anyway. The last thing we need is Key 103 happily being Key 103, with Galaxy trying to be Key 103 and Radio 1 presenting the best of Key 103.
