Piccadilly Radio archives to be digitised following National Lottery grant

Manchester Central Library has received funding to maintain the archives of the historic Piccadilly Radio.

The history of the city's much loved station will be digitised for the first time in its history. These records date all the way back to April 1974.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded Manchester Central Library the £99,000 grant to make the archive catalogues browsable for new audiences by curating 300 Piccadilly Radio clips and ephemera at the Manchester Digital Music Archive (MDMA).

The lottery grant has been topped up with match funding from Manchester Libraries Trust and former Piccadilly Radio staff. Overseeing the project will be a newly hired project manager who will ensure that it is executed to the highest standard, while capturing a poignant look back through the archives and the legacy of Piccadilly Radio today.

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Introductory podcasts with those who listened to and made the radio station famous will be made by journalism students from the University of Salford. Students will put their talents to work interviewing former Piccadilly Radio staff members, presenters and loyal listeners for a series of special podcast episodes that will put the importance of the archive into context.

The project grant will also help to nurture new young radio lovers by making the station more interactive for younger people through a collaboration with the Manchester Hip Hop archive. This will be a three-month project with young people to educate them in podcast producing techniques through Piccadilly Radio’s soul and hip-hop shows.

Workshops and reminiscence sessions will take place for older people to help them gain new