Feature: A Tribute to NU: Everyone’s Home of NU Rock
Angelo FetalveroIt was a surreal moment, something never thought to be possible. Stifled cries and words of bereavement filled the audio booth as DJs broke from their cool personas and cried over the loss of something so dear to them. Outside, hundreds of mourning fans filled Emerald Road as a mixture of grief and disbelief ran through everyone’s heads. Finally, when the clock almost reached midnight, the moment everyone dreaded finally happened.
“It’s a minute before 12. NU107 is DWFM at 107.5 megahertz in Pasig, once the loudest and proudest member of KBP. This has been NU 107, the Philippine’s one and only home of new rock. This is NU 107, we are signing off.”
Chris Hermosisima’s words were the final ones to be broadcast on air by a DJ but the station was not yet done. Keeping with its hard core roots, the station went out with a bang. The Eraserhead’s “Huling El Bimbo” played in the airwaves and the fans outside the building sang it with all their heart. After the song has reached its final notes, and the fan’s adrenaline started to drop, the depressing tune of silence filled everything as hiss and static took over the frequency.
It’s hard to digest the fact that it has been nearly a year since NU 107 went off the air. The station was founded on October 31, 1987 and it rocked the airwaves for twenty three years until it ceased broadcasting on November 10, 2010. NU’s founder, banker Atom Henares, said in an interview with ANC that it was the right time to close the station as the network was languishing in the bottom of the ratings charts. The upscale market which NU targeted wasn’t advertiser friendly and they struggled in finding sponsors. Its listeners were also starting to listen to other sources of music as the station struggled to compete with the internet and music television.
