By Alexa Copeland, Reporter (Darlington) 8:00am Thursday 9th August 2012
Middlesbrough News
BORO legend Bernie Slaven says getting the popular Three Legends football talk show back on local radio is a victory for the region.
The former Middlesbrough striker was axed from Real Radio last month with his Three Legends co-stars, Malcolm Macdonald of Newcastle, and Sunderland’s Micky Horswill, after 13 years on air.
Darlington-based Star Radio has now signed him up and Slaven will be joined by Macdonald and Horswill, or “The Gateshead Two”, once the contractual issues that are preventing them from broadcasting are resolved with their former employer.
He said: “I love Boro, I love the area and I love the banter between the fans.
“They give me a bit of stick and you give it back. We can all relate to each other.
“It’s a show based on local opinions and I think it’s important to keep that contact in the North-East.
“These guys from London don’t know who you are, they are not interested and it’s about time we started to put up a bit of a fight.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself, I look at guys who worked for Corus and the steelworkers losing their jobs and having four or five kids to feed.
“The big boys in London know that, they just don’t give a damn.”
When the show was axed, Morpeth-based internet station Koast radio approached the Legends, and Star Radio stepped in to ensure the show will be broadcast on FM airwaves starting this Monday, with Bernie Slaven at 6pm.
Slaven said: “My former employers may have stopped my severance money, but they will never stop my opinion.”
Real Radio said the Three Legends was cancelled due to a “gradual decline” in listeners and that social media had diminished the need for such programmes.
However, Mark Reason, managing director of Star Radio, is pleased to be bringing it back.
He said: “This is an iconic and hugely successful regional radio show, which has built up a huge fan following over the many years it has been broadcasting.”
He added: “At a time when other broadcasters are becoming national concerns, we want to confirm our place as being a North-East radio station serving the region’s communities and bringing them the regional content they want to hear.”
The Three Legends will broadcast daily from Monday at 6pm to 8pm on Star Radio, 103.2FM.
