NEW radio station Xfm South Wales is reality, this week a recipe of trendy beyond-ness arrives in the Prinicipality, all carefully market researched and brand steady, and the long overdue announcement of the new Breakfast Show has finally been made with six days to spare???

The Fox FM Drivetime duo Roop & Tom are coming back to Cardiff where Frimley man Roop and his teaboy Tom first hooked up on Cardiff University's student Xpress Radio and where another new Xfm DJ Jen Long was station manager in 2005/06.

Xplosure did consider making a bid to put Radio 2XS on the analogue air in South Wales. We decided against (bidding costs a non-refundable £10,000) after the strange decision making process surrounding the awarding of Plymouth's new FM licence. In this proud Devon City, despite there being three worthy local applicants backed by well known media 'celebrities' and financially sound businessmen, Ofcom awarded the franchise to the Australian bank Macquarie for it's Diamond FM indie rock service. The award has attracted much criticism from the people of Plymouth with there being little evidence of any local audience research being done by Macquarie. Two years on many questions have been asked in the House of Commons, many protests have been made and the people of Plymouth are still waiting for their new radio service. The Diamond FM, Plymouth website has been inactive for months making the statement 'coming soon' seem to be an idle boast, it rather appears to be an "ex web-site". plymouthdiamond.com

So what is going on, nobody can be quite sure yet but the successful applicant certainly had the most money.

As for the new regional South Wales franchise - Xfm South Wales, it will become the 150th GCap station and here's some gen. gleaned from Fox FM on the new 6 til 10 Breakfast men ...

Roop and Tom met at Cardiff University, where Roop did a student radio show and Tom was his tea-boy. They were so passionate about a career in radio that they would drive to Oxford each week to do overnight shows in the faint hope that one day somebody would pay them to talk and play music.
That dedication paid off when they got their own show on Fox FM in 2005. After hosting 'Late Night Grooves' and 'Fox Select', they're now the faces of The Big Drive Home from 4-7pm Monday-Friday.
Since moving to their new slot, they've interviewed the likes of Jason Donovan, Jimmy Carr, George Galloway and even ex-Big Break presenter Jim Davidson (even though they wanted John Virgo). They can count Ruth Badger as a fan of the show - she listened on her way to London for the filming of 'The Apprentice', and Roop and Tom also won an award last year - the Arqiva / Skillset Radio Presentation Newcomers of the Year 2006!
Call Roop and Tom (and producer Kirsty) in the studio on 01865 871026 or text them on 80026 (texts cost 25p plus standard network rate). Why not enter The Text Race at 4pm, or let them know what you'd like to hear in Car Tune Time between 6 and 7pm.
You can also catch the boys every Saturday afternoon between 2 and 6pm, which is a good alternative to shopping, watching your kids get muddy or watching Soccer Saturday all afternoon.

Roop is one half of the Big Drive Home duo. He's the one who presses the buttons that play music and stuff.
"Hi, I'm Roop from the Big Drive Home!
I grew up in Frimley Green (near where they play darts), moved to Exmoor when I was about 9, lived in Somerset for ten years, then went to Uni.
Tom and I have been doing radio together for a few years, he was originally my tea boy, but he made horrible tea, so that didn't last long. We met at Cardiff University doing student radio and decided to do a show together.
I did hospital radio before that, but student radio was more fun because a: We didn't have to play Daniel O'Donnell on a regular basis and b: Fewer of the listeners died during broadcasts.
It took us ages to get a job in proper radio mainly because we weren't very good and didn't do the things that DJs are supposed to do, like give interesting facts about the music ("Next up a song from the girl who says Tuna and Sweetcorn is her favourite sandwich filling" type of rubbish).
Anyway, we ended up at Fox and have been here ever since.
I bet you're glad you read that."

"Hello, I am Tom and I am one of the world's most famous people. Please read on to find out about my days as an entrepreneur, actor, singer, football chairman and super-spy...
I was delivered to my parents by a friendly stork in October 1982, and dreamed of growing up to become a Formula One racing driver. Of course I wasn't very good at driving (having had no practice), so I started my own business at the age of five – a company that delivers socks to those with cold feet. I amusingly called my business 'Sock It To ‘Em'.
After the business was shut down by the Office of Fair Trading two years later, I wouldn't let the setback stand in my way and jetted off to America to seek my fortune. It was here that I discovered a hidden talent for singing – taking roles on Broadway in musicals such as 'Dogs', 'Rivita' and 'The Phantom of the Oprah Winfrey Show'. I then returned to Britain, aged nine, to conquer the charts with my new band 'Tom Bowker and the Slash-Puppies' and achieved four number one singles including the 1992 Christmas number one 'Sleigh What You Want', originally by Texas.
After taking a career break to concentrate on my GCSE's, I returned to the public eye at the turn of the century when I won the jackpot in the first series of 'Who Wants to be a Millionnaire'. I used my winnings to buy and become chairman of Didcot Town F.C, and The Railwaymen went on to achieve great success - signing players such as Pele and Maradona and winning the F.A Cup before I left in 2002 to become the new head of M.I.6.
It was in the secret service that I met Roop, and after saving the world from nuclear disaster together many times we decided to try and make a career for ourselves in television, but were rejected for being too ugly. We then had no choice but to move into radio, and hosted our first show on FOX FM in 2005. Fox FM have tried to sack us on many occasions, but can't find any replacements that are cheap enough.
Nowadays, I am semi-retired and live off my vast fortune in a mansion in the Oxford suburbs with my good friend Roop. I have never spent any of my savings because I spend all my time on computer games such as Football Manager and Pro Evolution Soccer, writing bad puns, eating Ben and Jerry’s and watching Red Dwarf DVD’s. I am also an active campaigner against the un-moving eyebrows of Natasha Kaplinsky."

Here's this week's harvest ...

Charlatans
You Cross My Path
new single 12 November
The Charlatans pace it up a bit with 'You Cross My Path' a sauntering 144bpm. This is the first single from their as yet untitled new album which in a groundbreaking move will be available as a free download on the Xfm website, well it should ensure a healthy amount of airplay. Years ago this arrangement could have been labelled 'payola' but as it's free well, maybe the equation relates to future tour prospects.