UBC UK now national on digital radio
Last year UCB UK launched its Christian radio station across Northern Ireland and now it's national on DAB digital radio. UCB's newest presenter, Juls Martin, presents UCB Weeknights live from Belfast.Juls Martin has what he describes as the 'radio bug’. In his early teens, he visited the Commission recording studios with his dad and in a flash, found his calling. Juls explains, "At the time, Commission had just moved into a wartime community air raid shelter, which they’d converted into some impressive studios. I was just fascinated by what I saw and wanted to be involved." The opportunity to work in radio came a couple of years later, when Juls was asked to work on a Commission children’s programme, which eventually led in 1996, to him joining the Sunday Breakfast show on Downtown radio. “It was great fun”, he says, “so when they offered me my own show on U105, I jumped at the chance and I’m still doing that today”.Juls joined UCB at the beginning of 2009, to host the weeknights show from 7pm to midnight. “I was initially offered a job at UCB working on the Drive show, but I couldn’t really see myself making the move to Stoke on Trent”, he says. “But then came the chance to work from Belfast, doing the weeknights show. It would mean giving up a stable job in construction, but it didn’t take me long to accept and I was really excited about the new challenge.”Juls started his show at UCB unsure about the idea of working in ‘Christian radio’. ‘I wondered if I was ‘holy enough’ he says, ‘But Gary, the boss convinced me that I’d have a great time and it’s true, I have. The team in Stoke is great fun but I’m also enjoy broadcasting from Belfast’.The weeknights show on UCB is deliberately informal and laid back. ‘People can be tired after a long day’, says Juls ‘So, the show is relaxed, starting off with the Teaching Hour from 7pm, followed by music, chat, the nightly Brainteaser Hour from 9pm and finished off with the Worship Hour from 11pm. Juls says that the response to the new format has been really encouraging. “We’ve been getting calls and emails from people in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK, letting us know how much they’re enjoying the show. It can be easy to sit at home, passively listening to radio, but we really want to engage with our listeners and build up a community of people who feel like they’re part of our extended UCB family.” “Radio has always been in my blood”, says Juls, “but now I know that it can be used not just to entertain, but to encourage and build up people too.”Juls Martin hosts Weeknights on UCB, Monday to Friday 7pm to midnight. UCB is available on DAB digital radio across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, online at ucbmedia.co.uk/juls, as well as on Sky 0125 and Virgin Cable 914. For more information about United Christian Broadcasters, visit their website.