Launched in February 2006, Talk 107 was the first local commercial talk radio show outside of London in the UK.
A division of Talk Sport, the station covered the city of Edinburgh and the area surrounding the Firth of Forth until its final broadcast in December 2008.
With a range of current affairs, sports, and morning talk shows, the station was set to be a success - though barely scraped by during it's two year run.
By the end of its first year on-air the average listeners sat at around 16,000 per week and Talk 107 recorded the lowest debut of any UK radio station in history, as well as Scotland’s smallest surveyed radio station.
The original presenter line-up included Mike Graham, former editor of the Scottish Daily Mirror, who hosted the mid-morning show The Independent Republic of Mike Graham.
Now working for Talk Radio Mike made headlines recently after an interview with a spokesman for protest group Insulate Britain, when he claimed it’s possible to grow concrete.
Elsewhere in the programme was Graham Stewart, who now presents Reporting Scotland for BBC Scotland.
Following the release of the station’s first audience reports, Talk 107 attempted to shake up the schedule and draw in more listeners.
Scottie McLue, the on-air persona of Colin Lamont, was brought in to host a late night show from Sunday to Thursday.
With a controversial past, Scottie had landed in hot water while working at Scot FM in the 90s after complaints to watchdog about his views on gay men and women, and his use of language.
Having turned his reputation around, Scottie remained at Talk 107 until March 2008, when the station was swapping out many segments in favour of broadcasts from its sister station; Talk Sport.
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Sunday afternoon sports reports were replaced with a similar transmission from Jeremy Kyle straight from London.
By April, former MSP Tommy Sheridan was ditched by the station after it was decided he was too confrontational.
At the time of his firing, Sheridan was also appearing in court with an ongoing investigation into whether he lied during a 2006 trial against the News of the World.
A spokesman for Talk 107 said the move to get rid of Sheridan had no connection to the trial.
They said: “Tommy’s style of broadcasting was quite confrontational.
People don’t want to hear that, they want more balance.”
This was the fourth departure in a short time at Talk 107, with Scottie McLue, Mike Graham, and Susan Morrison leaving the station within weeks of each other.
Try as they may, no amount of presenters swaps or celebrity names was going to save Talk 107 and it was announced that the station was for sale.
After being sacked, Mike Graham told The Scotsman his feelings on the future of the station.
He told them: “I feel quite sad at the news because I always felt that Talk 107 could have been a success.
“But I can’t say it was a complete surprise to hear it’s for sale.
“Everyone is talking about consolidating, small stations are being centralised, all the news input comes from one hub.”
Media watchdog Ofcom ruled out the option of moving from an all-speech format, meaning any interest in buying Talk 107 would require the purchasing party to continue without any music segments.
In the end, Talk 107 owners UTV received no offers to hand over the licence and ultimately gave the station back to Ofcom.
Towards the end of 2008, the station had 37,000 listeners out of a potential of 1 million according to Radio Joint Audience Research, reaching just 1.2% of their audience.
It was reported in 2008 that 11 permanent jobs, and up to nine freelance positions were lost when Talk 107 ceased production.
During the closure of the station, UTV Chief Executive Scott Taunton said: “It is disappointing that after an exhaustive search we have not been able to find a buyer for Talk 107.
“We explored a number of options, including a proposed management buyout, but none proved to be viable - so unfortunately we have been left with no alternative but to close the station.”
Staff at Talk 107 were informed of the closure on December 23 with Mark and Marissa, the Drive Time presenters, making the announcement live on air at 5.20pm.
The station intended to stop transmitting at 10pm on December 24, though broadcasts ended 24 hours earlier.
