Music heads behind radio station bid

SOME of the biggest names in Irish music have emerged as the backers of a bid for a radio licence in Dublin.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness and concert promoter Denis Desmond have emerged as leading members of a consortium bidding to win the licence to set up an alternative rock music station in Dublin.

Other members of the consortium backing Phantom FM are: Frank Gleeson, who owns the Dublin music venues Whelans and The Village; Graham Molloy of Evolution Public Relations; Brian Molloy, a founding director of Today FM; and radio station consultant Paul Kavanagh. Mr McGuinness’s Principle Management company, which managers U2, PJ Harvey and Paddy Casey among others, is a shareholders in Beat FM, the commercial broadcaster that operates in the south-east.