Smooth Radio London plays adult contemporary and easy listening music on 102.2 FM, built around soothing melodies and timeless classics for listeners across Greater London. You can stream it live and free right now on Radio Shuffle, wherever you happen to be.
Launched With Ella Fitzgerald
The 102.2 FM frequency Smooth Radio London occupies today began life as Jazz FM, launched on March 4, 1990, with an opening concert performed by Ella Fitzgerald at the Royal Albert Hall, according to Jazz Journal's retrospective on the station. The station itself was the product of a ten-year campaign by jazz musician Dave Lee, a former pianist for Johnny Dankworth, alongside Jasper Grinling, who had been inspired after hearing how much jazz filled the airwaves on Los Angeles radio during a 1980 work trip. What began as a single musician's frustration with British radio's lack of jazz turned into one of London's most distinctive station launches, complete with a jazz legend headlining opening night.
From Jazz to Smooth
Jazz FM's ratings eventually declined, and the London station closed on May 27, 2005, to prepare for a format change. It returned less than two weeks later as 102.2 Smooth FM on June 7, 2005, owned by GMG Radio, the Guardian Media Group's radio division, opening with a fittingly on-the-nose first track: Sade's "Smooth Operator." The new format kept a jazz programming requirement written into the license while shifting the bulk of daytime hours toward adult contemporary, soul, and R&B.
A National Network Takes Shape
After another ratings dip, the station closed again on March 23, 2007, and relaunched three days later as Smooth Radio, this time targeting listeners aged 50 and above with easy listening and oldies. That format proved durable enough that GMG merged five regional Smooth stations across England into a single national Smooth Radio service based in Salford, launching October 4, 2010, reaching listeners on both DAB and local FM frequencies. Guardian Media Group then sold its entire radio division, Smooth Radio included, to Global in June 2012 for an estimated 50 to 70 million pounds, and Smooth Radio's operations relocated to Global's Leicester Square headquarters in October 2013.
Famous Names on 102.2
The London frequency has carried a genuinely well-known presenter roster over the years. Tony Blackburn's weekend breakfast show was syndicated across the entire Smooth network starting in June 2006, Chris Tarrant hosted a weekly Saturday morning show from July 2006, and GMTV's Fiona Phillips presented a Sunday afternoon slot beginning Easter 2006, giving the station a level of mainstream broadcasting star power unusual for a regional adult contemporary service.
Tune In
From an Ella Fitzgerald concert at the Royal Albert Hall to a national Global-owned network built on easy listening, 102.2 has carried three distinct radio identities across three and a half decades. Stream Smooth Radio London free on Radio Shuffle to hear where that frequency landed.