Introducing the online radio station for South Cheshire & beyond – This is Sonnet Radio!

The first South Cheshire Radio Station named Sonnet was originally born in October 1999 and broadcast on 106.2 FM.
It broadcasted on a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) and was on the airwaves for….wait for it….16 whole days! That was the length of the licence allowed by OFCOM!

Back in those days, the internet wasn’t anything like it is today. If it was, it could have carried on broadcasting online.
Bear in mind in 1999, Amazon was only 5 years old, Google about 1, Facebook was 5 years off & you’d have to wait for another 7 years to send a Tweet!

To access the internet in those days, you were stuck with a dial up connection and a whole 56 kbps of bandwidth! Oh, and if you wanted to use the phone, you had to disconnect your computer from the modem!

So it was with sadness that the original Sonnet FM closed its doors in November 1999. Gone, but certainly not forgotten!

Sonnet’s name & spirit are back!

During the first lockdown in 2020 the original Sonnet 106.2 FM program controller, Stephanie Jay, decided to bring back the popular station’s name and drag its spirit into the 21st century.

Stephanie told us:

“During the lockdown, a few people I know were trying to entertain on platforms like Facebook or YouTube using live streams.  However, they got taken down very quickly because of copyright and licensing issues.”

She adds “I was looking at ways to broadcast and originally turned to Mixcloud, which is properly licensed.  But it wasn’t really the way I wanted to bring the Sonnet name back to South Cheshire.

In October 2020, I asked 3 good friends and fellow presenters if they would be interested in doing shows?  Crazily they said ‘yes’.  I think it may just have been to humour me and my mad ideas, or lockdown had got to them too!”

Stephanie went on to say “That was it then!  I built a new website, found a reliable radio streaming service, and bought the licences needed to legally broadcast music in the UK.  Sonnet was back!”

Playing a mix of music from the 1950’s to the 2020’s, Sonnet Radio is on air 24 hours a day, every day of the year. 

With a range of shows, music & presenters from South Cheshire, and several other brilliant shows from the Community Radio Network there is something for everyone. 

There is even an interactive quiz on Sunday nights – some say it’s the most competitive Quiz on Radio! 

Sonnet’s new auto DJ ( affectionately known as ‘Sonny’) works tirelessly to bring you the music you love when the other presenters are doing other things!

Sonnet Radio’s Chosen Cause for 2022

For the first time in the Station’s history, they have the pleasure to announce that throughout 2022, they will be championing a chosen cause – and are delighted to announce that the cause is CAFO – Cheshire Animal Fundraising Organisation.

The non-profit organisation was set up in 2021 to help local animals in need at the various rescues. They pay for the medical care of the rescued animals plus any spaying, neutering, chipping, jabs, and tests etc.

Visit Sonnet Radio – Our Chosen Cause 2022 – Cafo for more details.

You can listen to Sonnet Radio on Google and Alexa, on mobile, Computer, Smart devices, TV or on Apple & Android apps.

So tune in, sit back and relax with the Radio Station that thinks YOU are number one!

Please visit Sonnet Radio at thisissonnet.co.uk for more information and to see the full schedule of programmes.

Facebook Page: facebook.com/SonnetRadio

Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/sonnetradio

Twitter: twitter.com/Sonnet_Radio