Virgin Radio streams hot adult contemporary and pop hits spanning the 1980s to today, live from the UK, and you can hear it free on Radio Shuffle from anywhere in the world.
Branson's Own Voice Opened the First Broadcast
The original Virgin Radio launched as Virgin 1215 at 12:15pm on April 30, 1993, and the first voice listeners heard was Richard Branson's own, broadcasting live from the Virgin Megastore in Manchester, according to Wikipedia's history of the station. The first song to play was a cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild," recorded by Australian group INXS, a fitting opener for a station built on Branson's own rebellious brand identity. It expanded onto FM in London in 1995 before running for fifteen years, until the station was sold and rebranded as Absolute Radio in September 2008, a deal that didn't include the rights to keep using the Virgin name.
A Second Launch, This Time on a Train
The Virgin Radio name returned to UK airwaves eight years later, relaunching on March 30, 2016, as an entirely new station under News Broadcasting, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, after the company acquired the Wireless Group that year. Fittingly for a brand built on Branson's travel empire, the relaunch broadcast live from a Virgin Trains service running from Manchester to London, with presenters Edith Bowman and Matt Richardson opening the show and a live cover of David Bowie's "Changes" by Gavin James as the first song.
Chris Evans and Graham Norton Joined the Lineup
The relaunched station built its credibility with major hires from British broadcasting. Chris Evans joined in January 2019 after thirteen years hosting BBC Radio 2's breakfast and drivetime shows, bringing one of the UK's best-known radio voices to a commercial rival. Graham Norton added his own sponsored weekend show starting in January 2021, staying until February 2024, giving the station two of the country's most recognizable broadcasting names within its first decade back on air.
Why Tune In
Virgin Radio now draws around 1.9 million weekly listeners, carrying Branson's original 1993 spirit through a second incarnation built on hot adult contemporary hits and some of British radio's biggest names. For listeners who want pop hits from the 80s through today with genuine broadcasting star power behind the mic, it delivers exactly that.
Listen to Virgin Radio free on Radio Shuffle, streaming hot adult contemporary hits live from the UK.