Ian Henery, the former Legal Director and Poet in Residence of WCR FM in Wolverhampton, has resigned to take up a new position as host of The Ian Henery Show on Black Country Radio and Black Country Xtra. Black Country Radio broadcasts on 102.5 FM, DAB Online and blackcountryradio.com.
"I wasn`t able to mention the town of my birth" explained Ian" which is of course Walsall. I love the town with all of its little quirks and idiosyncrascies. People should be proud to hail from this part of the Black Country. I do! I was born in Palfrey, went to school at Blue Coat - and returned to live and work here after university, including raising my family. For the past 24 years I have been living in the same house in Aldridge".
Whilst at WCR FM Ian hosted 3 days of spoken word and music in the Mander Centre Community Hub as part of the 2023 Wolverhampton Literature Festival with an average footfall of 240 people per day raiising thousands of pounds in coporate sponsorship and benefit in kind for the Festival.
Ian was also the only director at WCR FM who brought in more coporate sponsors than any other member of the board during his tenure at Wolverhampton`s only radio station.
Ian will broadcast his show twice a week, Sundays at 4pm and Mondays at 6pm, with co-hosts Barry Harper and Linda Harper-Hocknull. Ian`s show will feature spoken word, comedy and theatre and guests as diverse as Simon Foster, West Midlands Police Crime Commissioner reading his favourite poems to Paul Jenkins of The Express and Star Newspaper. Other guests have included Sureena Brackenridge MP for Willenhall and Wolverhampton and Communities Against Racism Enterprise.
Before joining WCR FM as Poet in Residence and Legal Director Ian hosted The Ian Henery Show on Hope Radio 87.9 FM which operated on a temporary COVID licence in Birmingham. Ian`s show attracted 14,000 streams per show and it was broadcast twice a week. Highlights of Ian`s tenure at Hope Radio include the Hope VR Exhibition and two Hope Radio Community Poems featuring 114 poets standing in solidarity during COVID.
Ian is also a solicitor, published poet, former Poet Laureate and award winning playwright.
