"The Sound Of Kent, On Your Radio!"

As if my nostalgia trawl through Kentish broadcasting couldn't get any
better, I've managed to find a scan of the first ever schedule for
Invicta Sound as it was then, all the way back in October 1984.

Invicta Schedule

A heavy amount of the output was split between East and West,
whilst the overall direction of the station was sort of in the same
way TV-AM were going in it's struggling early days, i.e. a bit too
high-cultured.

It's interesting to note that the station in-line with Southern Sound
and Mercury did not take the recently launched Network Chart
with Kid Jensen, instead opting for their own countdown on Sundays.

Unsurpisingly it proved disastrous, and the following year the
station transformed into Invicta Radio, where under the helm of
Roger Day it became more pop-focused and introduced computers
to select the music.

Glenn Thompsett was promoted to breakfast with Neil Taylor
hosting evenings and Rod Lucas became popular in the evenings
assisted by one Caesar.

My memory of station schedules for Invicta FM is pretty vague (Coast AM,
and Invicta Supergold less so) but as it's been bugging me all night,
and I'm struggling to get any shut eye, I'll have a go with how far
my memory can stretch, starting off from around 1993;

6:30-9am: Simon West (East And West Kent)
Geoff Fitch (Thanet)
9:00-1pm: Glenn Thompsett
1:00-5:00: Neil Francis
5:00-9:00: Tim Stewart
9:00-1:am: Ian Collins
1:00-6:00: Nigel Harris

My memory of weekends is sketchy, although Neil Francis
hosted a dance show on Saturday's called "The Beat", trailed
with Ripple's "The Beat Goes On And On".

And of course there was Michael Fanstone's "Openline" on Sunday nights.

1997

5am-6:30: Steve Ladner
6:30-10:00: The Morning Zoo (Neil Francis And Sam Hughes)
10:00-1pm: Simon West (Including the Top 10 at 10)
1:00-4:00: Tim Stewart
4:00-8:00: James Heming
8:00-10:00: Ian Skye
10:00-12:00: The Wind Down Zone
12:00-05:00: Scott Hughes

I'm not sure if Scott Hughes was weeknight or weekend overnights
although the presenters of both were known for sending up fellow
presenters on the station.

1999

6:00-10:00: The Morning Zoo with Neil, Sam and Steve
10:00-1:00: Tony Fisher
1:00-4:00: Chris Finn
4:00-8:00: James Heming
8:00-10:00: John Osborne
10:00-12:00: The Wind Down Zone with John Osborne
12:00-06:00: Gary Ziepe

Fridays between 7 and 10 was "Just 80s" with John Osborne, usually
voicetracked as he would be DJing at either Strawberry Moons in Maidstone
or Escape in Margate.

Simon West was on weekend breakfast, and Paul Deacon presented
a topical sketch show on Sundays after the Pepsi Chart.

January 2000

6:00-10:00: The Morning Zoo with James and Sam
10:00-1:00: Tony Fisher
1:00-4:00: Steve Ladner
4:00-8:00: Chris Finn with The Big Drive Home
8:00-10:00: John Osborne (Featuring Online 2000)
10:00-1:00: The Wind Down Zone with John Osborne
12:00-06:00: Gary Ziepe

Neil Francis departed the station after 10 years to move
to Capital FM, and at the same time The Wind Down Zone
was extended by an extra hour.

Between May and December 2000, Rick Adams (ex 2CR, The Big Breakfast)
hosted a Sunday evening show containing comedy skits in between
records.

March 2001

6:00-10:00: The 7 Day Morning Zoo with James and Beccy
10:00-1:00: Steve Ladner
1:00-4:00: John Osborne
4:00-8:00: Chris Finn with The Big Drive Home
8:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan and Taz (Also on Sundays)
10:00-1:00: The Wind Down Zone with Doc Atherton (Sam Hughes
from September)
12:00-06:00: Dan Marsh

Weekends had Russ and Sam hosting the Morning Zoo between 8am and 12
with Simon West hosting early breakfast from 5am-8.

Also worth mentioning are The Kent Chart with Stephen Sullivan from
6-8pm on a Saturday and Club Invicta with John Osborne on Fridays
and John Leech on Saturdays from 8-midnight both days.

James Heming began hosting an Album Chart rundown on Sunday lunchtimes
from September 2001.

Syndicated shows around this time included "Takeover Invicta" broadcast
after The Pepsi Chart for an hour, and "Hit Music Sunday" with Cat Deeley and
Edith Bowman from January 2002.

October 2002

6:00-10:00: James Heming and The Morning Zoo
10:00-1:00: Simon West
1:00-4:00: Sam Hughes
4:00-7:00: Chris Finn with The Big Drive Home
7:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan and Taz (Also on Sundays)
10:00-1:00: Steve Penk (Capital FM Network)
12:00-06:00: Dan Marsh

At this stage the 7 day tag had been dropped from the Morning Zoo
with James now co-hosting with Nico Bassan.
With John Osborne now at Virgin, Club Invicta fell into the hands
of Andy Walker who carried on with the show until 2008.

June 2003

6:00-10:00: James Heming and The Morning Zoo
10:00-1:00: Neil Farraday
1:00-4:00: Sam Hughes
4:00-7:00: Simon West and Nico at Drivetime
7:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan
10:00-1:00: Late Night Grooves with Jonathan Miles
12:00-06:00: Ross Gilbert

New arrival Neil Faraday also held the reigns on "The Retro Show"
on Sunday mornings.

May 2004

6:00-10:00: James Heming and The Morning Zoo (With Ant Payne and
Producer Craig)
10:00-1:00: Neil Farraday
1:00-4:00: Luisse Shaw
4:00-7:00: Simon West and Claire Lawson at Drivetime
7:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan
10:00-1:00: Late Night Grooves with Jonathan Miles
12:00-06:00: Ross Gilbert

Claire Lawson also hosted Saturday breakfast, whilst weekend afternoons
saw the arrival of Myma Seldon (now at KMFM).
In October Ant Payne left the breakfast show and was eventually
replaced by Ali Wheeler in March 2005.

November 2005

6:00-10:00: James Heming and The Morning Zoo
10:00-2:00: Claire Lawson
2:00-7:00: Dave Bethell
7:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan
10:00-1:00: Late Night Love with Graham Torrington
12:00-06:00: Ross Gilbert

Following the GCap merger the station had transformed
into a clone of a GWR formatted mix station.

In spite of that Late Night Love was the only networked
show taken, remaining that way until 2008.

May 2006

6:00-10:00: James Heming and The Morning Zoo
10:00-1:00: Claire Lawson
1:00-4:00: Andy Walker
4:00-7:00: Kent's Home Run with Neil Kefford
7:00-10:00: The Fridge with Stephen Sullivan
10:00-1:00: Late Night Love with Graham Torrington

July 2008

6:00-10:00: James Heming In The Morning
10:00-1:00: Phillippa Collins (One Network)
1:00-4:00: Andy Walker
4:00-7:00: Neil Kefford
7:00-10:00: Music Control with Kevin Hughes
10:00-12:00: The Wind Down with Cat James

Following Ali Wheeler's departure to have a baby in May
James hosted solo until Gemma Shepherd arrived in November.

Networked output increased on weekday mornings and weekends after
midday, with Claire Lawson hosting weekend mornings.
The Fridge also departed to make way for Music Control.

So there we go, if anyone even duller than me can remember
further back or has additional information, then it would be much
appreciated.

Sadly for me, writing this blog hasn't made me any
more drowsier.