KREM Radio
| City | Belize City, Belize |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National |
| Branding | "KREM" |
| Slogan | The Mighty Mandingo |
| Frequency | 96.5/91.1/101.1 MHz |
| First air date | November 17, 1989 |
| Format | Urban AC |
| ERP | 96,500 watts |
| Callsign meaning | none |
| Owner | Kremandala Ltd. |
| Sister stations | none |
| Website | KREM radio website |
KREM Radio is a Belize City radio station operating on the F.M. band at 96.5, 91.1 and 101.1 MHz since November 17, 1989. Its headquarters are located at 3304 Partridge Street in Belize City, also the home of the Amandala newspaper and Krem Television. It brands itself the "first private radio station in Belize" (not counting the now defunct British Forces installation in Ladyville).
KREM Radio chairman and shareholder Evan X Hyde had briefly dabbled in radio broadcasting in the late 1970s at the country's only radio station at the time, Radio Belize. He hosted various sports programs such as local football and basketball games. After the 1977 City Council elections in which he ran dead last as a People's United Party candidate, Hyde complained in the Amandala that he had not wanted to enter the race anyway and believed he was being chiseled by the party's officials, elements in the party led by Minister C.L.B. Rogers, according to Hyde, conspired to take him off the air in 1978 at a football game in Orange Walk. Michael Hulse, a government employee whose responsibility it was to inform Hyde of his termination scornfully asked him, "You come to announce in Spanish or what?" when Hyde attempted to begin broadcasting the match. Manfred Atkins of the BCB and Hulse were pre-selected as game announcers despite a commitment to Hyde, and Orange Walk is predominantly Mestizo.
Hyde left, vowing never to return to the air without a radio license in hand. His attempts to get this license lasted through 10 years and two governments, but eventually KREM made it to the air on signals 96.5 and 89.9 FM. Its DJs made use of dancehall and Belizean punta medleys in short two- to three-hour blocks, a sharp contrast to the educational half-hour programming then being favored by Radio Belize. Among the most popular DJ's playing on KREM in those days were J.C. Arzu and Dion Gentle aka "Presi-D" or the "President", Kenny Morgan, and on Saturdays Evan "Mose" Hyde and partner Marshall Nunez, dubbed the "M&M Attack". In early 1991, KREM sponsored an entertainment awards show featuring the best performers of that day, dubbed "KREMEXCEL".
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