Liverpool’s first female radio station is set to return for new era

A Liverpool based radio station that ran from 1995 to 2000 is making a return through shows hosted at Hope Street’s Arts Bar.

ELLE FM, a station for women and young people, was founded by Ami Yasufu, who was 27 at the time, before the station closed down five years later. 

Alongside her friend Rachael Diop, Ami has brought ELLE FM sessions back.

Ami said:

“It’s free, it’s on a Sunday so it’s a boss start or end to your week. It’s a great time for us to get together”

Rachael said:

“It’s a night where we can go and dance, and have the variety of music that we like, and to give opportunities to some of the original DJ’s from 30 years ago. Some of their kids are DJ’ing now!

“The reason for ELLE FM, was that Ami had been working in Birmingham and London and she wasn’t hearing the things that she wanted to hear, music wise and discussion wise, when she came back to Liverpool she was like ‘right, I’m gonna set something up, I’m gonna give a voice to people who aren’t represented in the industry.”

ELLE FM was the first women’s radio station in Liverpool, and played music spanning a number of different genres from Afrobeat to drum and bass, with the current format at Arts Bar featuring Salsa music from Colombian artist Analuz.

Ami said:

“Genuinely not a month went by when people didn’t say ‘when is ELLE FM coming back’, so part of me did this for other people, for our crew. It certainly was (ahead of its time)

“It should have only been a one-off project, I was doing a media management course and my background was in radio. I worked for Radio Merseyside, Radio 4, Wavelength Plus and some pirate stations. I did ELLE FM and it should have been a one-off, but it ended up lasting five years, which was great. 

“I was still doing things in the sector, and I had a good connection from those days, James, who introduced me to these guys (at the Arts Bar)

“I just wanted to bring something back, in my head I was going to bring something back. (podcasting) is a potential area, not to discredit it, but it’s a weird one because im from the school before podcasts, im not that old, but i’m from the school of analogue.

“The boss thing about ELLE FM was we did not exclude, there were still men involved behind the scenes.”

Rachel told The Guide how ELLE FM’s return has helped her gain more confidence:

“I’ve been playing and writing music since I was a kid, I went to Goldsmiths Music College in London, did a degree there and then I went off travelling, I did a lot of open mics in London when I lived there.

“I had kids and moved up here, and lost a lot of confidence and stuff and hadn’t gotten myself out there and done an open mic in probably about 20 years, It wasn’t something I thought I could do again.

“To have gotten up in front of friends and even other people I didn’t actually know, it felt so safe and so welcoming and supportive. I don’t know anything that is so inclusive and welcoming and non-judgmental 

“We get together and listen to original music or covers, and that celebration of actually being creative is part of being human, and we don’t do it enough in our culture.”

Get the latest from ELLE FM here.

A young Liverpool based DJ recently told us how working at Arts Bar brought back his love for music, read more here.

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