LADY Christine Kenyon of  Tameside and Glossop Health Authority declared Heartbeat Radio officially open as Doug Cresswell presented the lunchtime show. Also in the picture are Ted Bennett, representing Heartbeat steering & planning committee and Joan Ryan, voluntary services organiser and our station founder. Photo: Reporter Group.

When the big day finally arrived, it was the culmination of eighteen months of fundraising and much hard work by volunteers to transform a disused hospital basement into a vibrant radio studio, with a communal area for programme preparation, newsroom, record library and engineering hub.