On May 19 1975 Plymouth Sound came on air from studios in a converted organ factory on Earl's Acre in Plymouth.

The station could be received around Wembury, Ivybridge, Bickleigh and even deeper into the district on what was then called VHF (now FM) and Medium Wave (now AM).

The first show was hosted by Colin Bower and the programme controller was the highly experienced Canadian David Bassett whose daily phone-in became legendary.

Eventually the AM frequency split and was rebranded Plymouth Sound AM then Classic Gold 1152 and finally Smooth Radio before closing down.

The station carried on until 2009 when it became Heart Plymouth and the Plymouth studios were sold off the following year as programming transferred first to Exeter then London with a regional show from Bristol and finally all coming from London.

A new station Radio Plymouth employed some ex-Plymouth Sound presenters between 2010 and 2010 when it too was taken over by a nation network, Greatest Hits Radio.

Former Plymouth Sound programme controller Gavin Marshall decided the 50th must not pass without celebration so they organised a reunion in the original building.

He remembers: "I arrived in 1999 as a presenter and then started hosting the breakfast show which was known as the Morning Crew at the time along with two other presenters who are here today and were running the station through the 2000s.

What made Plymouth Sound special: "I would say everyone has a different view and the same view.

"It was very raw and people were learning on the job.

"Nobody knew what commercial radio was like.

"There had been pirate radio but this was very different and it was always a family not to make money."

Another former breakfast presenter Paul Philpott joined when he was 16 and explained what made it so special: "The family atmosphere and getting away with things you can't get away with nowadays.

"We live in a climate where it's so easy to be cancelled, nobody can take a joke, you can so easily put your foot in it.

"I made a career of putting my foot in it and everybody else's.

"If the walls could talk and the furniture and the floors, they'd all have something to say."

Alison Anderson who was then Alison Wise was Head of Sales at Plymouth Sound then moved to South Hams Radio in Churchstow and recalls: "I think if we'd had an HR department then we'd all have been fired.

"We had 52 per cent reach so over half of the population listened and we did a lot of community work.

"Moving to SHR, instead of traffic jams with cars it was cows and instead of business people I spoke to farmers"

The reunion even included some of the original and early voices presenters Carmella McKenzie, Brian Measures and Louise Churchill (via video message) as well as the original head of news Malcolm Carroll and his wife and fellow journalist Sue.

Some of the now departed were also remembered including Gordon Sparks, Bob Hussell, Simon Willis and David Bassett.

The radio station also produced a presenter who went on to become an MP in the form of Simon Jupp ,the former member for East Devon who was Plymouth-born.

Plymouth Sound may be no more but there is talk of a future radio project so watch this space...