All day, everyday we listen to FIP fm at work. It seemed to be the only station that didn't play the same 10 songs all day long. Anyway, today they played something that I really liked and wanted to find out what it was, as I knew they run a continuously updated playlist.
I thought I'd just check it out through Google and find the station from there, but as is often the case with Google, it throws up all kinds of other results that you don't expect.
It turns out that FIP has it's own Wikipedia page where I found all kinds of interesting information about the station, hence me writing this blog entry.
The station was set up intentionally without DJs talking over the music and having certain hours to play music. Instead the station plays on a "wave" format rather than "clock" format like most radio station around the world. It tries to make one song compliment the next rather than playing one hour of a certain genre and then an hour of something else. Apparently this is quite rare. They have a group of 6 or 7 music specialists who select the playlists for the day with only one restriction, keep the music selection varied! The only talking that goes on is the women who gives the traffic news in what are described as a sugary sweet voice (!!) and the 10 minutes of news just before the hour.
As it turns out, we're not the only ones who appreciate FIP. In my Google search I discovered that there's a rebel band of radio enthusiasts in Brighton who have been picking up the satellite signal and broadcasting it in the Brighton and Hove area. The local newspaper has been reporting on the running battle the radio enthusiasts have been having with OFCOM, the broadcasting regulators in the UK, who have shut them down on several occasions. Apparently they have even gone as far as to set up a night at a local club and a website proclaiming their love for the station.
The strange thing is, you can listen to FIP over the internet, so I'm not sure why the people of Brighton are making such a fuss, but it does seem that the people who listen to the station, both here in France and those trying to get it in the UK, have quite an obsession about it. I guess you can tell that I do too, hence this blog posting!

Check out the links in the post if you've any interest in FIP. Give it a listen. It helps me get through the day!!!