They have never played my song, or read out my traffic bulletin, or any of my other smses, leading me to often think I was on their RJs’ blacklist, but that did not prevent Go 92.5 from being my favourite FM station. The only one I tuned in to.
Few things represented the Mumbai spirit to me, and Go 92.5 was one of them.
It was more than 10 years ago, in its earlier avatar of Radio Mid-Day, and it was now.
My mornings and evenings, and over the weekends the days and nights, were never complete without having it play in the background. The times we had people over, I still had Go 92.5 playing in the background rather than take out my CDs etc.
The banter between Taraana and Jaggu in the morning, sometimes the over-enthusiastic Shruti who came on at 11 am, Horn OK Please with Malini on the way home which dovetailed into Classics with Glen past 9 pm, topped by the T-Man on Sunday mornings — man, I was hooked, you get the picture.
I was not the only one, most people I knew shared my fondness for Go 92.5. In particular their mix of English and Hindi, not just in the choice of songs but also by their RJs.
I remember the time when Anish Trivedi would host Good Morning Mumbai and stole hearts. I distinctly remember his last show, when he said ‘Good Morning Mumbai, Goodbye Mumbai’, I actually had tears in my eyes. I didn’t think anyone could replace him, yet months later I was hooked on to Taraana and Jaggu.
So often I have thought: man, here’s one station that’s playing my song.
I agreed with their catchline: If it’s in your head, it’s on Go.
If you ask me what was it about Go 92.5 that got me, I would have said, with apologies to Javed Jaffrey, it’s different.
All good things, the bosses at the station must have decided on All Fools Day, must come to an end. So this last week Go 92.5 has changed its colours, and become like any of the other FM stations in Mumbai, which are good I am told but not different.
What exactly has changed?
For one, the lingo. Every morning I grate my teeth as I hear Taraana and Jaggu’s familiar banter. Earlier, it was roughly 80 percent in English (Mumbai English, not the Bard’s) and the rest in Hindi which gave me so much joy. They spoke like the rest of us, dude. Now it is the other way round. And, I don’t get the feeling, listening to them, even they are comfortable with so much of Hindi. It’s not second nature to them — which is what RJing is all about.
Last evening on the way home I tuned in to see what was different at that hour. The bubbly Malini’s Horn OK Please, I realised, had made way for someone called Sangram whose language and choice of songs failed to hold my interest. And, no, Glen with his Classics did not come on at 9 pm either.
Sunday, there was no sign of the T-Man’s Brunch or Glen, his stand-in or even the stiff sounding Ayaz Memon. Was there an RJ at all, or was it the station on auto-pilot? I couldn’t figure.
Worse, the songs, the songs. The horrors Go 92.5 has been inflicting on Mumbai this last one week cannot by my song. Forget my head, you won’t find them within a mile of me!
Whatever happened? I thought the station chose its path after due deliberation, its owners wanted it to be a niche FM station and not replicate the formula of Radio Mirchi, City, Red and what have you. It was not meant to be oriented towards the mass market, but a very select crowd.
I don’t have its financials, but I am sure it worked. All its shows had sponsors, and they aired plenty of jingles. It was the station of choice for so many of Mumbai’s movers and shakers, any advertiser’s delight.
What gives a radio station its soul are the RJs, their lingo, and the songs, not necessarily in that order. Today, possibly the last day I will tune to Go 92.5 (all my other friends have already switched off), there’s nothing in it to hold me.
You’ve gone away, 92.5.
– Highway Star
I need good English music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This overdoze of hindi songs is killing me!pls ”Go” come back on air!!!!PPLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oppss.. just forgot to add… 107.1 Fm, that is apna Aakashwani ka frequency plays some Lovely music after 10pm and in the mornings till 10Am. Tune in there too. There is this chap Fali Arsingha who plays the most unknown songs and some lovely trivia + his voice adds to the masala. Hail to English gana bajaney wallah Radio channel
Waaaaaaaaaa…. when I came back from Jamshedpur is when I saw hoarding of Radio One launched. I was happy for a new channel till I saw the frequency! Bachaaooo uska I screamed in all my might… but Go 92.5Fm was gone… forever. I had dialed in, exhausted my last dime to sms 3030.. sab gaya. May it’’s soul rest in peace (and the one who brought this change, may his to pieces!!!! Hmph!!!)
i had been to bombay last weekend and i had the same sinking
experience. my favourite station - 92.5 fm - had changed so drastically; i
could recognise it no more.
why oh why had they to join the bandwagon???????
Radiocity bangalore.
Format - English CHR and Hot AC
Born - July 2001
Died - Sometime in 2004
Its been 2 years now…..sigh…and they still havent learnt…but
apparently the serials are off now. Who knows?!
Hey guys…Im not from Mumbai. A huge radio fan from Bangalore closely
following the radio scene in India…and what just happened to Go
happened in Bangalore 2 years back. RadioCity way back in 2001 with a
90% English format. Classics, current hits, hip-hop and new age rock at
nights. Big hindi hits only during drivetime. Those were the days. It was
heaven!Great music. Brillaint Jocks. And then oneday….it all changed. ..
They put hindi serials on air - some of their top jocks left and Sajid Khan
took their place. Even today….2 years later…people in Bangalore still talk
about those sunday evenings with fleetwood mac…. Those were the
days. Word of Advice. Been there - done that. Till the govt allowes a
company to run multiple frequencies in a city.. there aint any english
music gonna happen. So dont bother with the mails or blogs. Amen.
So how do you guys like Jao bavanve deshomlab panch FM?
I guess that is the new name of a lovely radio station.
RIP
Need to renew my worldspace subscription and get a CD player into my car.
I heard Malini yesterday afternoon, and it was real crap hindi. She
struggled with grammar and was very very un-comfortable. Perhaps,
now they would change the RJ’s too…
guys, this is a shock to me. as with u all , GO has been part of ma life all
through my grad. then i had to leave mumbai. i always thought i was
missing that radio station, that represented the quintessestial state of
Mumbai’s mind. jaggu, tarana, malini, glen.. all of them were like family.
listened to em atleast 8 hrs a day. wat happened is really sad. it’s all abt
the money. these guys were never good financially. the gov. licencsing
fee is fuckin high, u need loads of listenersship to lock profits. these guys
targeted the college audience, which is not very big. plus it’s divided. in
short it was always gona end like this. but it’s sad. what do one has to
do to be genuienly good and stil survive i ths country. highway star’s
effort to here is really worth an applause, but frankyl, chain mails and
blogs are not the criteria GO’s management would be looking at. lets just
farewell GO like a good friend, with a smile.
Guys,
I have already posted my filled-with-grievance wala mail over their site in
the feedback section. Its really saddening, I am just not able to spend
my time, seems like someone real close friend has passed away. GO
used to be my nearest, am just not able to live without it.
I have also posted this link in my post on G092.5 site … letsee if they
revert back. Go, the only youth oriented station is now gone, people
please suggest somthing to bring our music back.
If you want FM’s like GO 92.5 fm was based upon, just tune into SURGE,
URN and RADIO JACKIE .. over this link .. these are the ones, which I
have heard over the week and are superrrrb……
http://www.mikesradioworld.com/eu_uk.html
- Sushant.
Guys,
I have already posted my filled-with-grievance wala mail over their site in
the feedback section. Its really saddening, I am just not able to spend
my time, seems like someone real close friend has passed away. GO
used to be my nearest, am just not able to live without it.
I have also posted this link in my post on G092.5 site … letsee if they
revert back. Go, the only youth oriented station is now gone, people
please suggest somthing to bring our music back.
If you want FM’s like GO 92.5 fm was based upon, just tune into SURGE,
URN and RADIO JACKIE .. over this link .. these are the ones, which I
have heard over the week and are superrrrb……
http://www.mikesradioworld.com/eu_uk.html
- Sushant.
Whats their mail id? i’m not getting it anywhere….. Does anyone have
it????
if someone knows the GO Station Master’s e-Mail address, lets send a link
of this BLOG to him/her… i have switched to CDs and MP3 to assist me in
the drivetime mayhem that this city is become…
Come on fans of GO 92.5 before it faded… pour out…
am shocked… but not surprised. after anish trivedi quit sometime ago
citing his reasons, i knew that he was a smart man and a very good
presenter, true to himself. and secondly, that if GO went off in this vein,
they would ultimately arrive at what i have just read.
am sitting here in dubai and this news surely upsets me. i listened only
to go all my years in mumbai… the station was awesome.. now some
market dynamics or whatever has screwed it all…. start a chain mail
guys.. do something..
Go-fan, thanks! come on, whoever protests hindi, in the script or songs?
it was not as if go 92.5 was only english before. they had a good mix of
hindi and english, which they have changed. let them play hindi too,
dude, but let them also play english songs like they did before na. for the
life of me i can’t recall the last english song i heard there..“